A hard but successful week

Last week wasn't easy but was a successful week.  The speed/interval sessions are feeling more comfortable. I am able to keep an even pace and the walk/jog rest intervals have now become jog intervals. The pace itself for various speed intervals are now within a few seconds of each other showing I am able to get a hang of the intervals and manage my pace better. Compare this to interval work early on where the pace was hopping around all over the place.  Coming to threshold runs, I think I still need to figure out how my Garmin Forerunner 620 work for pace alerts when used in workout mode. In the week before my pace tracking got messed up and I ended up falling below the target pace which was a doable pace. So last week I changed my pace tracking to a more simple format and didn't use the workout mode in Forerunner.  The greatest success and the hardest part of the week was the 17 miler.  It was a must do run for me as I hadn't really completed a 17 miler before.  Last time I attempted it my lower legs froze at 15 miles or so. I could've dragged them for another 1/4 mile or so but didn't see much point in it. Also, the week after I couldn't do the long run due to personal schedule. So last week was in a mandatory mode. I had to get that longer run in.  It was a hot day - upper 80's F (about 30 C) and real feel in low to mid 90 F (around 35 C) :(   There was no way I was going to be able to complete it on the usual course which is 2 miles up hill 2 miles downhill - repeat as many times as needed to cover the distance. I decided to do those hills just one time and explore other flatter areas near a park and the town center.  That really helped.  Goal pace was 9:50 per mile which I decided to throw in the wind and focus on just completing it.   I had taken 1/2 gallon of Gatorade which was done before mile 15 or so due to the heat.  Legs, especially the lower legs, were feeling heavy and muscles were complaining almost refusing to move in the last couple of miles. As would happen when you run out of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) cramps were beginning to raise their ugly heads but somehow I managed to finish the distance. It was a great morale booster.  I ended up clocking 10:07 per mile which was way better than where I thought I was going to land.

One positive about the 17 miler I mentioned earlier that i wasn't able to finish a few weeks ago is that I think I was able to narrow down what caused it. There were also a couple of similar cases in the past where I couldn't complete a long run target I had planned.  In all these cases I had done fairly rigorous leg exercises the previous day.  One time there was a 5k in the neighborhood which I judiciously decided not to run, but walk. However, I did a lot of jumping that day in the celebration with color both before and after the 'run'. No wonder the next day's long run my legs refused to move after mile 10 or so.  On the 17 miler recently that I had to stop at mile 15 or so, the day before was a rigorous session involving plyometric squats and other leg exercises.  I think I really need fresh legs for the long runs for the distances that we are hitting now.  So from last week onwards I am keeping Saturday, which is the day before my long run, a complete rest day, at least for the legs.  I don't think it is a good idea to bike the previous day and also do other leg exercises... duh..

Other things that seem to help me is some resistance band exercises for the hips on the evening of my runs, and some strength exercises for the legs and glutes right after the runs.. So this may sound crazy, but after a 13 mile run today I was doing burpees in the parking lot!!

Anyway, here is my report from last week!

Key Run #3:  Sunday 8/21

Target: 17 miles @ 9:50 pace. Lets see how this goes we need to start getting the longer run in.

Actual: 17.1 miles @10.07 (9:58, 10:23, 10:15, 10:30, 10:00, 9:31, 10:14, 9:25, 10:00, 10:14, 10:23, 10:09, 9:47, 10:09, 10:36, 10:14, 10:24 & 0.1 mile @ 9:15 pace)

Hot & humid day. Stopped a few times for bathroom and for changing drink bottles. Stopped the clock also. Finished ½ Gallon Gatorade and still ran out of drink towards the end and started feeling the beginnings of cramps on the upper calf. I know this was not the pace we were aiming for, but wanted to finish the distance.  Heart rate reached higher than ever recorded. Avg HR’s recorded for miles 10, 17 and the last segment (186, 188 and 198) were at or above what I thought was my max HR of 186 or so! Max HR for those segments were 205, 206 and 202! Just wondering whether I should update my Max HR in the Garmin watch.

Key Run #1:  Wednesday 8/24

Target: Warm-up followed by 5 x 800m’s in 4:06, jog 400  for RI. Cool down.

Actual: Warm-up followed by 5 x 800m’s in avg 4:02 (4:06, 4:00, 4:02, 3:59, 4:01). RI’s jogged. Cool down. Although didn’t run at the target, felt better at managing pace this time.

Xt-2: Thursday  8/25

Target: 10 min. easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate 1 minute at level 4 resistance (on a perceived resistance scale of 1 to 5) as fast as you can followed by 4 easy (level 1) minutes of fast spinning. Repeat this 6 times. 5 min. easy as a cool-down.

Actual: Same.

Key Run #2:  Friday 8/26

Target: 5 mile run @ 9:17 pace. Ease into pace.

Actual: 5.08 mile @ 8:59 pace (9:29, 8:43, 8:53, 9:03, 8:54, + 0.08 miles @6:58)

My attempt was to keep an even effort so the downhill was faster. Uphills actually turned out to need hard/very hard effort level.  I deliberately ran faster to make sure I don’t miss the target on this run.

Today I experienced pain on the right upper quad a spot about 6-7 inches below the joint on the front slightly to the right and a similar spot on the lower leg about four inches below knee slightly to the right again.. I thought it will go away after the first mile or so, but it didn’t.. Felt like it reduced later but never went away. It wasn’t too bad or intolerable. I also felt it on the one mile walk back home. After the post run stretches the legs felt perfect, though.

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Thanks for staying with me.  I don't know most people who are reading this blog, but I know that you are in US, France, India, China, Jamaica, UAE, Brazil, Canada, Russia, etc. etc.. Thank you for following my training. When I am out there in the scorching sun with heavy legs in my last miles you give me the feeling that I am not alone.  Sometimes that is all I need to dig a little deeper and move forward.

Thanks again.

If I can run, u can run