Posts Tagged ‘intervals’

But it’s ok, nobody’s playing funeral music over here.  Besides, I think this is only the third quality session I’ve ever cut short, so I was due. Today’s fun was supposed to be 8×800@10k pace w/1min rec’s.

The hamstring injury had me nervous as it hadn’t completely left the building.  And while I’d said I wanted at least one perfect hamstring day before attempting this session, tomorrow and Sunday are going to be “feels like” high 80s by 6am, so it was now or never.  And it feels much better, so I thought it worth chancing.

When I left the house at 6:30am, it was “feels like” 82, deeming 10k pace a concept rather than an absolute – I just needed to manage 8 at “whatever”.  I had a 2.5mi warmup which included some strides, then I stretched the hamstring, jogged a bit more and began.

In the end, I completed 5 of them, the first 4 pacewise went 7:05, 6:59, 6:58, 6:58, then I gave the hamstring a long stretch which had the opposite effect as intended, making it announce its presence, so the 5th one fell in at 7:18 and at that point, it was time to pack it in.  Honestly, it was the hamstring, feeling cooked from the heat and a bad attitude.

On the bright side, I managed almost 18 minutes of effort-filled running, so it wasn’t a waste by any means, just not the most efficient bang for the buck.  But I feel better than if I hadn’t done anything hard this week.

Injury Reflection
I think I know how I got the hamstring injury in the first place.  It’s no secret I’m always on the hunt for improving my form and something I’d been playing with recently was stride length.  A couple sessions ago (the one before I strained it) I’d noticed that if I increase my pushoff and lengthen that back leg, I gained some speed.  The problem, I think, is that my hamstring wasn’t accustomed to supporting this exaggerated movement.   Live and learn.  That’s a potential byproduct of experimentation.

Pace or Effort?
There’s an interesting thread going on at MRT about whether you get the same workout running slower paces in hotter weather.  I’m of the opinion that you don’t get an equivalent workout in poor conditions.  Not to say you don’t get benefit, just that you get more improvement when you’re able to fire on all cylinders.

With this in mind, I don’t see myself having the outcome I want for the RNR Philly Half (aka Distance Run) in September, which is a PR.  So if you look at my At The Races page, I’ve removed the note “goal race” from that one and added the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November to the schedule.  It’s a tad slower course than the September Half, but I’ll have another 2 months to train and in cooler weather, so at least I’ll have a clue about where I stand.  Right now, I’m so mixed up with the sludge and my last races, that I don’t know what to expect.

But this is not a boohoo situation!  It’s a “try to see clearly and plan accordingly” type of deal.  I know good things will come, but it’s a matter of time.  This is all about discovery and realization and frankly, even though I whine a lot, I love it.  Yeah, I get frustrated not moving ahead the way I’d like, but running is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before – the way it unfolds is such a mystery.  It keeps us on our toes, gives us a menu of emotions to choose from and makes life exciting.  How many things can you say that about?

Not on my person…my shoes.  Or rather, a shoe.  It’s always one shoe, the right shoe, to be exact.  This time, my lovely Kinvaras are giving me a hotspot on my right pinky toe, so I’m going to give it a week, trading off with my Elixirs, and if my toe doesn’t get hardened to the rub, seam ripper and scissors, here I come.

I’ve been operating on my running shoes for quite some time now, so I thought I’d give you a tour of my previous operations so if you ever have a troublesome shoe, this might give you some guts to go in and make your own modifications.

The first shoes I ever chopped into were my Mizuno Inspire 4s.  Great shoes, except on the right one, the plastic trim was keeping the shoe tighter across my foot than was comfortable, so I took a seam ripper (necessary tool if you’re going to cut stitches), opened up the side of the shoe and trimmed off the plastic that goes down to the sole.  Worked perfectly and I did it for every pair I bought afterwards.

The next shoe I operated on were the Inspire 5s, though this time, in a different place.  I remember running in my first pair and doing hills and the knuckle of my big toe kept jamming on the pretty piping trim, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I thought I had a stress fracture (at the time, I thought every ouch was a potential stress fracture).  I suffered for about 10 days with my foot killing me, making donuts out of moleskin to protect the area, but it wasn’t till I sat down and thought about it, that I realized it was the damn trim.  So I took some scissors and snipped right though it; fixed it like magic, made more room for my foot and no more jamming.  Did that for each of the numerous pairs I had in that series.

Now with the Kinvaras, it’s a little more difficult because the rubber part that’s rubbing isn’t stitched, it’s glued, which means this’ll be another scissor job.  It’s always a little scary the first time you attack a pair of shoes, but since the alternative is not wearing them at all, it’s worth it.  And it’s not like you change the structure of the shoe with a snip or a cut, it’s just a small thing but it makes all the difference in the world. Still, I’ll give it a week and if my toe doesn’t get used to it, that white rubber bit is getting snipped.

Hot Speed
Oh summer, how I hate ye for runnin’.  I set my alarm for 6:15 so I could get out at 7 for a speed session (need my morning coffee first) but still got stuck in 78 degrees with 66 dewpoint.  The one treat I gave myself is instead of starting at 2.5 miles, I started at 1.75 (which meant less slogging home). Workout was the usual lately: 6x.5mi w/90 sec rec’s.

Took it by effort, averaged 6:46 pace, splits were 3:26, 3:21, 3:23, 3:22, 3:26, 3:24.  I refused to think about the pace as it related to any sort of race pace, focusing instead on the fact that I got points for doing it and finishing it and that if I’m racing this summer, I should get used to manning up.  I was satisfied when it was over.

And with that, have a fab weekend folks.  Great racing to those braving the elements and I’ll see you back here next week.

In the past, when I tried to change my heelstriking ways, I’d focus on my feet, aiming for a flatter landing.  After a while, I’d assume I had it all figured out until a photo would show me otherwise.  I suspect this false response happens because:  A) heel cushioning in shoes and  B) our heels only touch down for an instant, the rest of your foot is what grabs the road and pushes you forward.

For being a heelstriker, I never felt like I landed on my heels.  No wonder I couldn’t fix it…I couldn’t identify the problem to begin with, so eventually I gave up trying.

This time, however, I really feel the difference.  It’s been 3 days of running this new way, with only occasional switches to the old way as confirmation.  The old way now feels like I’m attached to a  Nordic Track -- it’s that different.

Even more telling is the sticky area behind my knees.  My feet are rising higher towards my butt so my calves are touching my hamstrings.  This is also new and different.

Not Just Legs
Recently, I read a post on Letsrun about armswing that struck me as sensible and confirmed what I’d read before, that the forward swing is merely a recovery stroke and the backswing is what helps with momentum.  I lack a good backswing, never sending my elbow as far back as “real” runners do.

So in the last couple weeks, I’ve occasionally been visualizing a rope around my waist with 6″ hanging off each side, that I hold onto.  This keeps my arms from swinging too far in front while giving more play behind.  But most importantly, it opens my chest, which in turn affects the posture I’ve been trying to fix with core work, which is further affected by correcting the overstriding.  Nothing is isolated in this, it’s all working together!

Yesterday, I had a speed session in which I focused on form from start to finish.  It went well:  same as last week (9.25 mi with 6x.5 mi w/90sec rec’s) averaged 3:20s though it was hotter and way crappier dewpoint than last time, so I was pleased.  Concentrating solidly on form made the session go by pretty quickly, but I didn’t use the rope/arm visual because running fast naturally brings those arms up higher than a pretend 6″ of rope allows.

However, I did find something interesting in relation to arms with the new stride change:  You know that our arms coordinate with our strides naturally.  Now that my landing feels behind my body rather than in front, my arms naturally want to go back farther to match the legs.  So, the same way you can pump your arms harder to go faster, I was messing around with opening my backswing to lengthen the stride behind me.  I may be reading too much into this connection, but it has entertainment value.  More experimentation to come.

Video of Heel vs. Midfoot Before/After
This isn’t me but it might as well be -- I recognize myself in the left frame completely.  An interesting thing to notice is the difference in ground contact time just as I’d described in the last post.  It’s clearly less in the right frame than in the left.  That’s my goal…less skiing, more flying.

Good interval session today, though it put me in my place as far as my current fitness level. I’ve been getting back into a speed head with those 8x.25mi w/1min rec. workouts, which are entirely useless as indicators of anything, though perfect for getting the machine primed, as it were.

Today’s workout, on the other hand, was as standard as they come: 6x.5 mi w/90sec rec’s.  I was aiming to match my 5K PR time, so shooting for 3:18s.

Started pretty good, 3:17,3:18,3:18 but then I lost it for the next three 3:22,3:22,3:22.  So this tells me I’m a little wishful in where I am right now.  I should have aimed for 3:20s, then I would have had a more consistent session.

On the good side, it’s not that far off what I imagined, though it confirms I won’t be hitting a PR on the 30th at my 5K.  No worries though, I’m grateful to be near my old time at all and think a PR will be doable in June.

Oh, and I got on the scale today…123! Hah, not so good for fast running but looks pretty good. Time to put a muzzle on the cookie consumption. Not completely, mind you, just a little less.

Reminder:  Runners Round Table today at 4pm EST today.  Fun stuff!

I’m racing a 5K on the 30th and hope to get close to last year’s PR of 20:25, but have no expectations to exceed it.  Sub-20 is definitely on the radar this year and I’m confident it’ll be mine but not till Fall.

In the meantime, I had a speed session today, same as last week (8 x .25mi w/1mi recoveries) which was by design, since last week’s paces were all over the place and I wanted a basis for comparison.  Plus, it takes me a week or two to get used to faster running and this workout is a “no big deal” way to do that.

My splits, while not perfectly consistent, were eons better than last time:
1:37,1:35,1:39,1:35,1:37,1:38,1:38,1:38 (avg pace 6:28)

Three things helped:

1. The temperature was a lovely 60 degrees.  Interesting factoid: when it’s warm (last week was 75) my heart rate caps out low though the effort feels much harder.  Weird that, since you’d think the HR would be higher.

2. I did strides beforehand.  I know I should do this before every quality session, it gets your HR up and your body prepared for running faster. I will from now on, it really made a difference.

3. Confidence.  Last week, for all the crappy pacing and even though it was only 400s, that last fast one gave me an inkling that speed is indeed returning.  I needed that like nectar to a hummingbird.

Next two weeks I’ll do 6 x 800 w/ 90sec rec’s. and then my Half cycle begins!  Nice to be priming the pump before the heavy-duty work starts.  Though I must say, I’m pretty much doing what I’d do in a regular cycle anyway but it seems so casual and fun now, almost vacation-like.  Maybe it’s the weather.

Pill Popping
I’m not a huge pill-popper by nature, though I’ve been taking glucosamine and MSM since the IT band crap last summer.  This week I cut my glucosamine by half, so one pill instead of two.  So far, I’m not noticing anything different.  As for my MSM capsule, I’ll continue to take that daily but am open to seeing what’s what without these things.

I don’t think I mentioned that I started taking an Iron supplement a couple months ago.  I had my ferritin levels checked back in August which came out normal, but my mileage hadn’t reached the level it’s at now.  Also, I was still living with Nick at the time and ate red meat quite often.  I love red meat, so don’t think I’ve gone all veggie on you, but I’ve probably had it 3 times in the last 6 months.  I do eat a lot of fresh spinach but surprisingly, if you eat a whole bag of the stuff, it’s still only 30% of your daily requirement.  So anyway, I take an 18mg capsule daily.

Calcium is my other supplement – Viactiv chews, twice daily.  I wrote a whole blog piece two years ago on the different types of calcium and how this type (calcium carbonate) used to stop me up.  But now I eat so much more fiber and drink more liquids, I’m a great pooper.

Core Work Continued
I was doing those Runners World exercises for a couple weeks which are great, but I’ve started switching it up with one of my favorite exercise DVDs: Mari Winsor’s 20-minute Slimming Pilates.  It’s basically a fast-paced core workout that I love because she doesn’t chatter on, it goes boom boom boom, from one exercise to the next.

Group Thoughts
Today was a slow day on my running path, I only waved to about 7 people I knew.  Seriously.  I love my park because there are probably 35-40 regulars with whom I wave and exchange a couple words.  When we see each other in races or on the street, it’s a fun shot of recognition.

I was thinking about the whole “running with others” thing and while I enjoyed the outing, I’ll always be a lone runner at heart.  I’ll try to make the hill workout this Thursday because I like the idea of sharing a hard workout, but I guess I wanted to explain that while I’m out there on my own day-to-day, I’m surrounded by camaraderie every time I run.  So we’ll see how much running club action I get.  Maybe I need to work on my bar-hopping skills instead.

I’m enjoying my runs more than ever lately – without a huge scary race to worry about, the fun factor has gone up 10-fold.  In fact, I’m not taking a rest day this week so it looks like I’ll be around 65 miles by Sunday.  This is unexpected (was planning on keeping it mid-50s) but I’ll ride the wave and just keep doing what feels good.   Hell, I even considered doing a double the other day but gathered my wits about me to nip that one in the bud.

Monday was 7.5 easy, Tues 10.5 and Wednesday was my first speed session in a while (8 x .25mi with 1 minute recoveries, aiming for 6:35 pace).  It was a toasty 75 degrees and I’ve been out of the speed loop so I expected a rocky start…it was.  My first interval was a lethargic 6:56 pace but each one got progressively faster till my last one @ 6:16 pace.  The only reason I did that one so fast was a cute guy passed me earlier and I felt compelled to pass him back. Total for the run, 8.75 mi.

Yeah, it was some terribly erratic pacing but I’m just getting my feet back in the game, next week will surely be steadier.  I feel really good about the session – it’s the complete opposite of my first speedwork after the Philly Marathon when I went from bad to worse and had to abandon the workout entirely.

Yesterday was 9 easy and today was a tempo run.  I had planned on 7mi w/3 tempo but there was a huge regatta in the park, university rowers everywhere, so I couldn’t start my tempo till a couple miles beyond my usual start point so it ended up being 9 w/3 tempo.   The tempo miles were a tad slower than I wanted but I was doing some dodging and it was hot for me (near 70) so they went 7:11, 7:12 and 7:09, average 7:11.  Average for the entire run was 8:01.

Again, very satisfied with the session despite not hitting my intended pace target – like I say, it’s one more coin in the speed bank and every coin counts.  Also, the weekly recipe of 1 speed, 1 tempo, a medium long run and a long run is my favorite.  When I’m able to get all 4 in, I know I’m doing the best I can for myself.

Now, about Saturday’s group run and that vow…  The weather report says there’s a 50% chance of thunderstorms but it’s supposed to clear off by the afternoon.  So please don’t hold it against me if it’s thunderstorming and I don’t go clubbing tomorrow.  I’m genuinely excited about getting involved now so it won’t be because I’m trying to weasel out of it, I just want my intro run with them to include zero chance of electrocution.