BIKE: 30 miles in...1hr 40 mins?
Indoors again. Booooo...
Can I count the 7 hours of paint scraping today? What about yesterday? My arms and shoulders are gonna hurt tomorrow. But the smile I have for finishing it..nice!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
First swim since Redman
SWIM 1050y in 28-31 mins
5x100 swim
5x100 kick and pull
I've been saying that I need to get back to the pool, mostly as a way of convincing myself to do so. I haven't been in a swim cap since Redman-2 months ago! Between recovery, Glacial Trail, recover, and injuries, the pool was really a distant thought. But that's not to say I missed the pool either :)
This morning was just to break the ice, so to speak. I didn't have high goals other than to swim at least 30 minutes. Quite simply, I wanted to get back to the habit, test the injuries, and see what needs to be worked on this winter. The injuries were fine. My form was decidedly NOT.
In the first few laps, it seemed as if the pool was longer than it should be. In the next lap I counted my stroke and realized why. It usually takes me 11 right-arm strokes to go 25y (not an ideal number for a swimmer, but it's what I'm capable of). Today it was taking me 14. 14!!?? So the next few laps focused on finding what was wrong and reducing that to at least 12. I settled with a few 12.5's and 13's.
Dear Gawd, what have the last two months done to my swimming? Time to get it back!
If I've heard it a hundred times, then I've thought about it a hundred times more: my catch is weak. My forearms and hands slide backwards under me with little resistance. CHG suggested strength building to develop the muscles in my back. (He's suggested a lot of things, but this one seems like something I could actually make changes to right now). I have the bands, I bought them early this summer or late spring. They're hanging on the hook...waiting...
So that's one thing to work on. Let's keep it simple, and work on dryland strength training and just getting to the pool 2-3 times a week for now.
5x100 swim
5x100 kick and pull
I've been saying that I need to get back to the pool, mostly as a way of convincing myself to do so. I haven't been in a swim cap since Redman-2 months ago! Between recovery, Glacial Trail, recover, and injuries, the pool was really a distant thought. But that's not to say I missed the pool either :)
This morning was just to break the ice, so to speak. I didn't have high goals other than to swim at least 30 minutes. Quite simply, I wanted to get back to the habit, test the injuries, and see what needs to be worked on this winter. The injuries were fine. My form was decidedly NOT.
In the first few laps, it seemed as if the pool was longer than it should be. In the next lap I counted my stroke and realized why. It usually takes me 11 right-arm strokes to go 25y (not an ideal number for a swimmer, but it's what I'm capable of). Today it was taking me 14. 14!!?? So the next few laps focused on finding what was wrong and reducing that to at least 12. I settled with a few 12.5's and 13's.
Dear Gawd, what have the last two months done to my swimming? Time to get it back!
If I've heard it a hundred times, then I've thought about it a hundred times more: my catch is weak. My forearms and hands slide backwards under me with little resistance. CHG suggested strength building to develop the muscles in my back. (He's suggested a lot of things, but this one seems like something I could actually make changes to right now). I have the bands, I bought them early this summer or late spring. They're hanging on the hook...waiting...
So that's one thing to work on. Let's keep it simple, and work on dryland strength training and just getting to the pool 2-3 times a week for now.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wild Turkey run
Weds 1:55 on the trainer, 31 miles
Thurs ?:?? group run around FoPa, 6.5 miles
The upswing continues with an energetic ride on the trainer yesterday (really? I rode that long indoors in November?) and a great run today. So far, no pain. Just great energy!
Thurs ?:?? group run around FoPa, 6.5 miles
The upswing continues with an energetic ride on the trainer yesterday (really? I rode that long indoors in November?) and a great run today. So far, no pain. Just great energy!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Back in the saddle?
RUN: 50-ish minutes, 5 miles
OK so it was more like 4.5 miles of running and 0.5 miles walking. Whatever. I ran!!
OK and so I was on a treadmill. Whatever. I RAN!!
I ran I ran I ran I ran and oh yeah it felt fantabulous. Obviously, right? I mean, look at all the exclamation points I have going here. !!! :)
Everything still feeling good. I wanted to go for 6 miles but when I felt my form starting to fall off I called it quits. Less running now might mean more running later. I stayed focused on form, which is easy and hard to do on treadmill. Easy in that since the terrain and surface never change, you can zone out and just run on automatic. Hard in that sometimes when I come back from a zone-out only 2 tenths of a mile have gone by.
I felt great all morning, awake, excited, and fresh off a hit of drug. It's hard to capture in words, that feeling of being able to reopen the race calendars and weekly calendars and actually see the possibilities. For the past few weeks, I couldn't do it. I had a piece of paper with a 50 miler training schedule on it, I'd carry it with me to work thinking that over lunch I'd look at the numbers and see how I felt about it. For the first time, I started penciling mileage ramps and distance goals.
Every storm runs out of rain.
Off to bed, I want to get up early to SWIM!
OK so it was more like 4.5 miles of running and 0.5 miles walking. Whatever. I ran!!
OK and so I was on a treadmill. Whatever. I RAN!!
I ran I ran I ran I ran and oh yeah it felt fantabulous. Obviously, right? I mean, look at all the exclamation points I have going here. !!! :)
Everything still feeling good. I wanted to go for 6 miles but when I felt my form starting to fall off I called it quits. Less running now might mean more running later. I stayed focused on form, which is easy and hard to do on treadmill. Easy in that since the terrain and surface never change, you can zone out and just run on automatic. Hard in that sometimes when I come back from a zone-out only 2 tenths of a mile have gone by.
I felt great all morning, awake, excited, and fresh off a hit of drug. It's hard to capture in words, that feeling of being able to reopen the race calendars and weekly calendars and actually see the possibilities. For the past few weeks, I couldn't do it. I had a piece of paper with a 50 miler training schedule on it, I'd carry it with me to work thinking that over lunch I'd look at the numbers and see how I felt about it. For the first time, I started penciling mileage ramps and distance goals.
Every storm runs out of rain.
Off to bed, I want to get up early to SWIM!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
I've got nothing to lose
RUN! 3 miles in ~30 mins on the treadmill.
Today is Sunday, I ran this past Friday. Aside from a few trainer sessions--that's it and all I've done!
For whatever stupid reason, I hate going to see Dr M for injuries. Yeah, I know, that's what he's there for, he's getting paid, blah blah, etc. Yet I don't wan't to be the whiny maggot who comes through the door for every little creak and niggle. I don't want to act as if I need help with every little problem, or be the person for whom every pain is like the worst ever.
The knee continued to hurt to the point that it became a persistent worry for me. It seemed that I was always doing something to hurt it--rolling around in a wheeled chair, squatting, climbing stairs, turning on my heel, pushing the clutch, and even bending over (to avoid squatting!) with loose knees to pick something up. I knew it was really a problem when I readily compensated with my other leg, core, hip, whatever it took.
Some I did some researches on The Internets, that wonderful series of tubes and YouTubes to learn more about knee pain. Soon enough, after searching for medial patella knee pain, I found a few possibilities including patellofemoral pain (not sure of the spelling...) which can be caused my muscle imbalances, poorly supported shoes, and overly tight muscles. All of this sounded familiar to the line of thought I had in my recent post.
So what to do? I've been very diligent to keep it stretched, and in doing so found my left leg to be very tight. I've been watching my electrolytes and being mindful of not flexing my feet at night to avoid the cramps. I've been wearing my regular kicks instead of the Merrells. Since I don't know the source of my problem, I have been attacking at all angles. The down side of this is that if it recovers, I won't know what exactly I did. Same problem I had in creating the problem, as I changed a lot at once then too.
My anatomy research indicates that my patella is not tracking in the femoral grove like it should. A tight muscle or muscle imbalance can cause this, as the muscles need to act in coordination during knee flexion to keep it from tracking right or left. Between the tight crampy calf muscles and the tight hammies, I can see where there could be problems.
On Wednesday things were reaching threshold for me. Not that I couldn't tolerate the pain, rather I couldn't tolerate the immobility, the doubt, or the idea that I was causing more damage by continuing without treatment. Then that night I had a dream that I finally went to Dr M. Rich dropped me off to the building and I realized after he pulled away that we went to the wrong building! (This happened in reality, his office moved and I didn't know it, so we were late to an appt). I called Rich so he'd come back and I started wandering up long hallways trying to get out of the building. At one point I was on a small wheeled platform rolling around the hallways. I was terribly stressed about being late for my appt (this happened in reality, too).
When I woke up, kid you freakin' not my knee didn't hurt anymore. Seriously. And hasn't hurt much since!
WTH?! I dream about seeing my doctor and get fixed?
It also just so happened that my calf cramped badly overnight, a really painful one that kept me awake for awhile. Did that re-align things? Who knows?
So I woke up that morning feeling great! Using some knowledge from The YouTubes, I KT'd the joint and spent the rest of the day just fine.
The next morning I decided to risk it and join DH at the gym. He'd just renewed my Y membership on Wednesday, this would be my first trip there since before Redman. Two months ago!
I hopped on a treadmill overlooking the pool and started walking. Some tightness, a little pain that emanated from the patella connective tissue (so a different pain than before), but nothing to stop me. I decided to try running, and the best song for this situation came on: Josh Gracin's Nothing To Lose. (Why is it so many songs about girls remind me of running? Just replace the girl with a run and voila you've got yourself a song to run too?). A settled into a 6.0 setting at 1% incline, a 10m/m pace. I kept bumping the front of the treadmill, but I was hesitant to go any faster.
Today is Sunday, I ran this past Friday. Aside from a few trainer sessions--that's it and all I've done!
For whatever stupid reason, I hate going to see Dr M for injuries. Yeah, I know, that's what he's there for, he's getting paid, blah blah, etc. Yet I don't wan't to be the whiny maggot who comes through the door for every little creak and niggle. I don't want to act as if I need help with every little problem, or be the person for whom every pain is like the worst ever.
The knee continued to hurt to the point that it became a persistent worry for me. It seemed that I was always doing something to hurt it--rolling around in a wheeled chair, squatting, climbing stairs, turning on my heel, pushing the clutch, and even bending over (to avoid squatting!) with loose knees to pick something up. I knew it was really a problem when I readily compensated with my other leg, core, hip, whatever it took.
Some I did some researches on The Internets, that wonderful series of tubes and YouTubes to learn more about knee pain. Soon enough, after searching for medial patella knee pain, I found a few possibilities including patellofemoral pain (not sure of the spelling...) which can be caused my muscle imbalances, poorly supported shoes, and overly tight muscles. All of this sounded familiar to the line of thought I had in my recent post.
So what to do? I've been very diligent to keep it stretched, and in doing so found my left leg to be very tight. I've been watching my electrolytes and being mindful of not flexing my feet at night to avoid the cramps. I've been wearing my regular kicks instead of the Merrells. Since I don't know the source of my problem, I have been attacking at all angles. The down side of this is that if it recovers, I won't know what exactly I did. Same problem I had in creating the problem, as I changed a lot at once then too.
My anatomy research indicates that my patella is not tracking in the femoral grove like it should. A tight muscle or muscle imbalance can cause this, as the muscles need to act in coordination during knee flexion to keep it from tracking right or left. Between the tight crampy calf muscles and the tight hammies, I can see where there could be problems.
On Wednesday things were reaching threshold for me. Not that I couldn't tolerate the pain, rather I couldn't tolerate the immobility, the doubt, or the idea that I was causing more damage by continuing without treatment. Then that night I had a dream that I finally went to Dr M. Rich dropped me off to the building and I realized after he pulled away that we went to the wrong building! (This happened in reality, his office moved and I didn't know it, so we were late to an appt). I called Rich so he'd come back and I started wandering up long hallways trying to get out of the building. At one point I was on a small wheeled platform rolling around the hallways. I was terribly stressed about being late for my appt (this happened in reality, too).
When I woke up, kid you freakin' not my knee didn't hurt anymore. Seriously. And hasn't hurt much since!
WTH?! I dream about seeing my doctor and get fixed?
It also just so happened that my calf cramped badly overnight, a really painful one that kept me awake for awhile. Did that re-align things? Who knows?
So I woke up that morning feeling great! Using some knowledge from The YouTubes, I KT'd the joint and spent the rest of the day just fine.
The next morning I decided to risk it and join DH at the gym. He'd just renewed my Y membership on Wednesday, this would be my first trip there since before Redman. Two months ago!
I hopped on a treadmill overlooking the pool and started walking. Some tightness, a little pain that emanated from the patella connective tissue (so a different pain than before), but nothing to stop me. I decided to try running, and the best song for this situation came on: Josh Gracin's Nothing To Lose. (Why is it so many songs about girls remind me of running? Just replace the girl with a run and voila you've got yourself a song to run too?). A settled into a 6.0 setting at 1% incline, a 10m/m pace. I kept bumping the front of the treadmill, but I was hesitant to go any faster.
By now she's got me pretty tied upTied down, any way I chooseI've got nothin' to loseI started testing by focusing on what hurt, when in the stride, what if I changed my stride, what if I changed the contact time, on and on. I found that for the most part, I had only minor pain--a pain maybe best described as coming from connective tissues that have recently been thru a little hell and just had some residual hurts. No acute or focal pain like before. Am I healed? I could feel some discomfort from the ankle and had a few twinges in the hip, all likely compensation issues. Really, am I healed?
Now I'm in the fast lane going 98By now I know she can smooth operate meI know now she's no goody two shoesBut hey, I've got myself nothin' to lose
Saturday, November 3, 2012
So what have I been up to?
Nutthin.
Absolutely nutthin. I haven't ran since last Saturday (it's Saturday again now) at C-wood. Two reasons.
1. Left knee. It's been...not really hurting, but it hurts. On the Pain Scale it's a low 1-2, OK I'll admit sometimes it's maybe a 2.5. The issue is that it's not a constant issue. It's not a weigh-bearing one. It's a movement problem. It feels as if the muscles in my knee are pulling something out of alignment. Or as if something is out of alignment and pulling the muscles. I really can't tell which it is. Most of the time I think that something is slipping, like when I use my feet to scoot around on a wheeled chair--I can feel something 'pop' or 'shift' and Ouch. Usually it's when I stand up, it's like something moved in my knee. Then I feel the need to shake my foot or stretch or twist it in a bid to 'put it back'. But it seems to go back on it's own, and to be honest I can't tell if it just happens on it's own or something specific puts if back. Further, I can't tell if there's a muscle spasmy feeling before or after it shifts. In short, I don't know what's going on.
But I have theories. I always have theories. I get a lot of thinking done in the off season when I don't have hours of training. It's not always great thinking, and I don't always get it written down somewhere, but I'm always thinking.
It's possible that my new bare foot Merrells have changed the muscle stretch/alignment/movement. I have to admit too that every so often my right knee is uncomfortable, but that's just more of a light pain not this poppy stuffy. I did jump right into wearing those shoes everyday/allday. Did I jump in too fast?
It's also possible that the ankle injuries finally took their toll and I'm paying the price. Another possibility is that the lack of training has caused muscles to loosen or tighten, maybe at different races, and things are just pulling against each other wrong?
There's also the fact that my calf cramps almost every morning here the last week or so, right when I wake up or get out of bed for the alarm. It leaves my calf/knee/hammies feeling tight and stiff. It's been going on at least since last Weds and I haven't really thought much about it until today. That could easily be pulling on something the wrong. [As an aside, I've been having these calf cramps pretty often at night since I quit eating bananas after Redman, but it's hard to pin something like that on just a banana when I'm also SBR'ing less, sleeping more, moving less, etc].
Question is, which came first? Muscle problems pulling things out of alignment? Or out of alignment things pulling on muscles. I tend to think the former. Next question is, what to do about it? Well I'm afraid to run right now, for fear of something really getting screwy while under load. Heck, it bothers me to walk! I'm also wondering if foam rolling would address the tightness issue. I'm hesitant to use static or dynamic stretches. To avoid the cramps, I'm going to up my electrolyte levels.
2. I'm hibernating. Sometimes I look around the house and I'm reminded that I like bears. Sometimes I wonder, how did I start liking bears? Why did I get a bear tattoo? What is it about bears? In separate thoughts, I've wondered why I shut down after my last race so completely. Other training buds are still looking at group rides, cross races, 5Ks, etc, and I'm like "meh, I'm staying home". My pendulum swings from 20hrs a week to 2hrs a week pretty easy, and it's an annual event. Iron year, half year, doesn't matter. By Sept I'm wearing down, by Oct I'm resting but have all these grand ideas about the next year (like 50-milers...), and by Nov I'm cooked and done.
It seems that besides a love of honey, bears and I also share a winter hibernation. Except I do fall instead of winter. But regardless, I've lost my urge to train, run, swim, anything. I just want to sleep, rest, eat, sit, rest. In the not to distant past of oh...just 10 days ago...I had energy to burn and needed something to do to release it. Not now. No energy.
But I'm not worried about it. I don't think I'm sick, or missing something in the meals, or anything like that. I'll note that I've made a conscientious effort to decrease my daily carbs and up the fat, but I don't think that's it either, as I started that after Redman (about 5-6 weeks ago).
It's also worth reminding myself that I'm only 3 weeks out of a big race, and 6 weeks out of another big race. I've earned my rest. I pushed through 2 iron-distance tri's, a 50K, and Triple T, so dammit, I'm tired!
I learned last year that I can take advantage of this rest time and still ramp up OK for next season. This used to cause me some anxiety, the idea that I was going to turn into a weak, slow, unhealthy slob in the off-season. But that doesn't happen. If anything, the brief shut-down is wonderfully refreshing.
It's just not that refreshing right now. I feel run-down and out of time. It's as if I'm training and feeling that fatigue, yet I'm not doing anything. No swimming since Redman. No biking since...a commute weeks ago. Running? Nope. I take the stairs at work, and that's about it.
Enjoy it. But keep an eye on it. And that knee.
Absolutely nutthin. I haven't ran since last Saturday (it's Saturday again now) at C-wood. Two reasons.
1. Left knee. It's been...not really hurting, but it hurts. On the Pain Scale it's a low 1-2, OK I'll admit sometimes it's maybe a 2.5. The issue is that it's not a constant issue. It's not a weigh-bearing one. It's a movement problem. It feels as if the muscles in my knee are pulling something out of alignment. Or as if something is out of alignment and pulling the muscles. I really can't tell which it is. Most of the time I think that something is slipping, like when I use my feet to scoot around on a wheeled chair--I can feel something 'pop' or 'shift' and Ouch. Usually it's when I stand up, it's like something moved in my knee. Then I feel the need to shake my foot or stretch or twist it in a bid to 'put it back'. But it seems to go back on it's own, and to be honest I can't tell if it just happens on it's own or something specific puts if back. Further, I can't tell if there's a muscle spasmy feeling before or after it shifts. In short, I don't know what's going on.
But I have theories. I always have theories. I get a lot of thinking done in the off season when I don't have hours of training. It's not always great thinking, and I don't always get it written down somewhere, but I'm always thinking.
It's possible that my new bare foot Merrells have changed the muscle stretch/alignment/movement. I have to admit too that every so often my right knee is uncomfortable, but that's just more of a light pain not this poppy stuffy. I did jump right into wearing those shoes everyday/allday. Did I jump in too fast?
It's also possible that the ankle injuries finally took their toll and I'm paying the price. Another possibility is that the lack of training has caused muscles to loosen or tighten, maybe at different races, and things are just pulling against each other wrong?
There's also the fact that my calf cramps almost every morning here the last week or so, right when I wake up or get out of bed for the alarm. It leaves my calf/knee/hammies feeling tight and stiff. It's been going on at least since last Weds and I haven't really thought much about it until today. That could easily be pulling on something the wrong. [As an aside, I've been having these calf cramps pretty often at night since I quit eating bananas after Redman, but it's hard to pin something like that on just a banana when I'm also SBR'ing less, sleeping more, moving less, etc].
Question is, which came first? Muscle problems pulling things out of alignment? Or out of alignment things pulling on muscles. I tend to think the former. Next question is, what to do about it? Well I'm afraid to run right now, for fear of something really getting screwy while under load. Heck, it bothers me to walk! I'm also wondering if foam rolling would address the tightness issue. I'm hesitant to use static or dynamic stretches. To avoid the cramps, I'm going to up my electrolyte levels.
2. I'm hibernating. Sometimes I look around the house and I'm reminded that I like bears. Sometimes I wonder, how did I start liking bears? Why did I get a bear tattoo? What is it about bears? In separate thoughts, I've wondered why I shut down after my last race so completely. Other training buds are still looking at group rides, cross races, 5Ks, etc, and I'm like "meh, I'm staying home". My pendulum swings from 20hrs a week to 2hrs a week pretty easy, and it's an annual event. Iron year, half year, doesn't matter. By Sept I'm wearing down, by Oct I'm resting but have all these grand ideas about the next year (like 50-milers...), and by Nov I'm cooked and done.
It seems that besides a love of honey, bears and I also share a winter hibernation. Except I do fall instead of winter. But regardless, I've lost my urge to train, run, swim, anything. I just want to sleep, rest, eat, sit, rest. In the not to distant past of oh...just 10 days ago...I had energy to burn and needed something to do to release it. Not now. No energy.
But I'm not worried about it. I don't think I'm sick, or missing something in the meals, or anything like that. I'll note that I've made a conscientious effort to decrease my daily carbs and up the fat, but I don't think that's it either, as I started that after Redman (about 5-6 weeks ago).
It's also worth reminding myself that I'm only 3 weeks out of a big race, and 6 weeks out of another big race. I've earned my rest. I pushed through 2 iron-distance tri's, a 50K, and Triple T, so dammit, I'm tired!
I learned last year that I can take advantage of this rest time and still ramp up OK for next season. This used to cause me some anxiety, the idea that I was going to turn into a weak, slow, unhealthy slob in the off-season. But that doesn't happen. If anything, the brief shut-down is wonderfully refreshing.
It's just not that refreshing right now. I feel run-down and out of time. It's as if I'm training and feeling that fatigue, yet I'm not doing anything. No swimming since Redman. No biking since...a commute weeks ago. Running? Nope. I take the stairs at work, and that's about it.
Enjoy it. But keep an eye on it. And that knee.
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