A Giant's Foray

So yeah, probably not going to run the marathon in June. Tried to come back too fast after my near-broken ankle in early January, then tried to build up to quickly once it properly healed, and then did the same thing after getting a good race result (probably a result of base work at the end of last year). I simply don't have the time to safely build up aerobic capacity to do well at 26.2, and I don't want my first marathon to be awful. 

 Basically: Going to blow the house up, and start over, slowly rebuilding the base.

Half hour on the dreadmill. Felt pretty good. 

Half hour on the dreadmill, felt really good; HR was perfect and steady, and I felt great after.

Half hour on the dreadmill. Felt pretty good, though I need to hydrate better (got a little crampy at the end). 3 days of base rebuilding down, and only the second time I've run 4 days in a row since January; no ankle pain, can definitely tell the pain from before was because I was trying to add too much mileage too quickly. Going to do nothing but treadmill runs for the next couple weeks, and do a couple 5ks after that. Might sign up for a 12k, and probably will do a half when I'm up in Alaska over the summer. 

Dreadmill for a half hour. Didn't go as fast, because I haven't been sleeping very well, and spent all day in the sun watching the alma mater row, but I was able to keep myself contained, even though my mind wanted to go faster than my body wanted to go in the aerobic zone. No pain, and we move on. Frustrating, as my cardio is so much stronger than my legs, but its clear this is the only way. 

Another basic dreadmill run. Ankle is being stubborn, though its not getting any worse. I up the mileage a little next week, and will ease back if there's a problem. 

35 minute dreadmill run. Kept it controlled. HRM died, unfortunately, but I was able to cruise through no problem. Felt great after, and still feels fine, though I'm afraid for what the morning (and those first steps out of bed) will bring. 

Dreadmill for 35. Wearing stabilities shifted the pain to the outside, and it was duller than last week. Was able to wear the stabilities for two days as well. Ankle is getting better, albeit slowly. Slowly but surely, slowly but surely. 

Treadmill run, 35 minutes. Heartrate was higher than it has been, but I did a half hour row 2/3 hours before running. Not bad, though morning after, ankle is a little sore, though after like five steps, it feels better. 

A little more than 35 minutes on the dreadmill. As much as I hate the device, it really does control variables, and magnifies the effects of lifestyle choices. I've noticed my HR starts to spike 20-25 minutes into runs on days when I haven't gotten enough sleep the night before, and its interesting to see what effect other exercise during the day has on my running.

 Big thing, I guess, is that I'm on my 10th straight day of running, and if anything the ankle is getting better. I'm at maybe half the training I want to be at, but this is the most consistent I"ve EVER run, even compared to when I was able to do ~45 for 6 straight weeks in the fall. Motto: slowly build! At least 4-5 more weeks of this, and then I look forward to throwing a few tempo miles in there. In the meanwhile, I've got swimming for my threshold work!

Basic dreadmill run, felt pretty good. Went maybe 35:20; kept my heart rate limited, but really felt like just finishing the last half mile.

Another dreadmill run. Very impressed with how my body is holding up. Shocking, isn't it, that I'm not getting foot pain, anymore, after not subjecting my body to the shock of disparate 8 mile runs 4 times a week, instead of applying even pressure?

 Went 35 minutes. Going to bump up 3/4 miles next week, got a race on Saturday! 

Dreadmill run. Same as always, felt good, etc., etc. 

Same as always, 35 minutes on the treadmill. Going to run outside on Wednesday, and super stoked about it. Going to try ~35 miles this week, will probably stay there for a couple weeks, depending on how I'm feeling, before increasing again. No pain!

Woo Hoo, another treadmill. 

Ran outside today, which was lovely. Pretty much went 1 mile aerobic, 1 mile 5k-ish speed twice through, and then a mile and a half aerobic. Twice around the inner ring of Green Lake, where the race is this Sunday. Went 5:58 and 5:49 for the miles, though I used the lake markings which are accurate if you follow the middle lines, but I was able to cut some time out doing tangents. Nonetheless, faster than 5k speed, but not too much! Particularly good considering I'm wearing the slower Asics. Maybe I'll break 19 on Sunday...

Treadmill, felt pretty good. Really excited for Sunday.

Ran Sunday's course twice, basically aerobic, though I ran the last half mile fast, at a 5:35 pace, was surprised at the pace. Might aim for 19:30 or faster, rather than just 20...

Last run before the 5k. Treadmill, easier pace, a little longer time to stretch the legs out. Was a little stiff, because today was the alumni regatta up in Bellingham, alumni beat the current rowers for the fourth year running!

 Here's to a PR tommorrow morning, and good studying tonight! 

Had some oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast, and then took the jog down to Green Lake, which was about 1.5 miles from the house. Figured I could arrive fashionably late having already warmed up, and it would've taken a solid 10 minutes to run from wherever I might find parking anyways. Saw a few people who I've seen at random races here and there, though I'm not really a fixture in the Seattle 5k "scene". Stretched a little, and prepped myself for the race. 

Was looking to go out at a 6:05, wanted to break 19. Haven't run in a 5k since October, and I've lost 15 lbs. and gotten in much better shape since.  

 Mile 1: Airhorn went, and everybody was off, and I was really glad at this  point that I decided to bring the Garmin, as it told me I was running at a 5:20 pace. Not really sustainable! Felt really easy, actually. Made it up the first of two bumps in the otherwise pancake flat course without slowing. Found myself in a pack of 3/4 Club Northwest girls, and some random dude in basketball shorts who was looking worse for the wear.  Crossed the marked mile split in 5:58, though Garmin told me 5:50.

 Mile 2: Felt pretty good for most of this mile, though some idiot who was walking around the lake in the opposite direction was yelling for people to get out of his way. I may have said some things that would be considered inappropriate in any forum, and made the people around me blush. I was starting to feel a little ragged, and then hit the second bump, which almost constitutes a mini-hill, and it smacked me pretty hard. It clearly smacked everybody else in the same way, though, and I started bridging up to the guys in pack in front. A Club NW master's runner moved through us and I tried latching on to him. Mile 2 marker said a 5:46, though Garmin tells me 5:50, which makes sense, given the length of the last mile. 

 Mile 3: Should be noted that I've never once in my life run consecutive miles at sub-6:00, so at this point, I really started to feel it. I was physically capable of moving quicker, but slowed my pace down to a 6:03-6:04 for the first half of this mile, to preserve what I knew was going to be a monster PR. I've never pushed myself like this without crumbling, so control was of the essence. I lost contact with the group I was with, who started moving single file, and with a half mile to go, took stock of my position. There was a girl who was about 5/6 seconds in front of me, and I told myself I was going to catch her, and started moving much faster. Mind you, it took me another quarter mile before I was confident that kicking wouldn't crush me, but eventually I really picked up the pace. Started really fast with about 400 meters left. Crossed the Mile 3 marker in  5:51, though Garmin tells me 5:56, and again, I'm inclined to believe it. 

 Mile 3.1: As soon as the Mile 3 marker passed, there was a wicked turn I caught this girl's shoulder, and blew by her. Second race in a row I've outkicked a girl... I'm a real man! Crossed the line in 18:10 and was elated... I had no idea I had closed that quickly... 34 seconds for the last .1. Felt much more winded than any other race I've done, almost hurled walking home.

 Really, really, really thrilled about the result. Can't wait to see my times when I'm actually able to put a few months of consistent training in! A depressing 350 miles this year can't hold me back!

Ran on treadmill, shouldn't have, minor plantar fasciitis flare-up, going to treat it tenderly, should be solid soon. 

Ran for about 30.5 minutes on the treadmill. Went until I felt any twinge of foot pain; went a fair bit longer than I had hoped for, will probably try again tomorrow depending on how I feel.

 Almost happy that this has happened, as its another reminder to take care of myself... been using a foam roller on my calves, releasing fascia tension with a golf ball, icing, ibuprofen and wearing a shoe on my left foot to bed, and its all been working pretty well. Probably going to skip the Haggen to Haggen next weekend, but that's mostly because of law school finals.  

35 minutes on the treadmill. Ran through the gamut of PF stuff: foam roller, icing, golf ball, stretching, ankle exercises, ibuprofen, massage. Felt much better should be back to normal soon; I'll make sure it never happens again by taking better care of myself!