MD Training 9/20/09 – 9/26/09

This week got off to a good start but ended on a bad note.  Looks like I am going to be taking Fall Break #2… this time not by choice.

Sun – 9:30 AM 70:00 @ Bent / 1:30 PM 45:00 run (5k steady)

Cold and rainy today… lame!  Ran in the morning with Stuart over at Bent Creek.  Then came back a couple of hours later to run in the Run for the Horses 5k.  One of the families from my HS XC team runs the non-profit organization, Hope for Horses, which the race benefited.  Jerad showed up for the race and we ran together for the first 1.5 miles then I ran solo the rest of the way.  I went through the mile in 5:20, two in 11:00 and ended up cruising it in for a 16:50… nice hard effort.  Jogged around with Jerad for about 2.5 miles then got in some dry clothes.

Monday – PM 70:00 @ Bent Creek

Tues – 6:30 AM 28:00 / 8:00 PM 56:00 in Biltmore Forest roads + CDS campus

Wed – PM 1:17 Tempo Run @ Arboretum

A 6 mile tempo run was on tap for today… since I was on the dirt, I used my HR monitor and ran for 34 minutes.

I warmed about 3 miles with KG and Stuart then added a mile of 20/40 strides.  Began the tempo at the bottom of the Arb and took the dirt road all the way up past Bent Creek Rd before turning around at 20ish minutes.  On my way back, I had some cramping and ended up stopping at 23:00 and walking for a minute.  It worked because I was able to get back at it and put out a good effort in the last mile and half.   I was really hauling the last half mile and felt great.

Thur – 6:30 AM 21:00 / PM 1:20 @ Bent Creek

Weird morning run – felt amazing for 2 miles then BAM took a step and my heel was killing me.  I walk/jogged for a mile then it miraculously felt better.  Not sure what the deal was with that.  Had a good evening run with the group – heel was not an issue. Finished the night by absolutely gorging myself at Papas and Beer.  I am going to feel that it the morning.

Fri – 6:00 AM 50:00 @ Biltmore Park / PM sprain ankle – lame!

Wow – rough run.  I was really feeling the tacos and cerveza from last night.  However, I got the run in, so it was a victory.

This afternoon, while dressed up as a rival school’s mascot, I sprained my ankle during the school’s pep rally.  Yes, classic.  It was just a stupid accident.  I was running backwards and stepped on a kid’s foot, which cranked my ankle over.  The ankle swelled up so badly that I was sure it must be broken.  I was able to get the mascot costume off but still had some face paint on when I went to Urgent Care.  Thankfully, the X-Rays came back negative and I was diagnosed with a 3rd degree sprain (but the Nurse Practitioner seemed like she was taking a guess, so who knows).  I have heard that sprains can be worse than breaks, but I have had enough fractures in the last few year… I don’t want to deal with another.  Strangely, the sprain did not hurt at all.  No pain whatsoever.  Hopefully, that is a good sign for the healing process.

To make matters worse, KG and I were supposed to be on a plane at 5:30 pm tonight – headed up to New England for a wedding.  Instead, we had to stay home and I had sit on my butt all weekend with my leg up.  Not cool!

Sat – Nothing!  Being on crutches is not fun.

Week Total
72 miles in 9 runs

Looks like another few weeks off for me.

MD Training 9/13/09 – 9/19/09

First week back (kinda).

Starting around the last week of August I took about a week off completely.  In the next week I started to build back up but something flared up (I honestly don’t even remember) so I backed off and took a few more days off.  Last week, I was back to running, but took a day or two off and kept most runs around 60 minutes.  It was probably in the 40-50 mile range.  This week, I finally got some consistency back, but still did not feel like I was “training” – still just running.  Next week, I am looking forward to getting back into workouts, doubling a few days and getting my mileage up a bit.

Sun – 1:28 Long Run – ran with KG nice and easy @ Bent

Mon – 70:00 with Stuart @ Bent

Tues – AM 25:00 in neighborhood / PM 45:00 on Biltmore Forest roads

Busy day – full day at school + HS XC meet.  I was tired by the second run, but still ran at a decent clip.

Wed – 70:00 with Stuart and Taylor @ Bent

Another long day with full day at school + Middle School XC meet.  Good run with the guys after all of that.

Thur – AM 37:00 in neighborhood with KG / 51:00 @ Arboretum with KG

Decent runs today. I am still trying to get used to the 6:00 AM morning run.  The pitch black outside my window is not inviting.

Fri – AM 40:00 with Stu @ Biltmore Park roads / PM 45:00 with HS XC team

Morning run was rough.  I was light headed and extremely hungry.  It couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that the only thing I put in my stomach between the PM run yesterday and this morning run was 3 baskets of tortilla chips, a couple of tacos and a big 32 ounce mug of Dos Equis…

My afternoon run was fun because I was able to pace my stud frosh in his tempo run.  I don’t often run with the kids but it was nice get the chance to pull him along.

Sat – AM 70:00 with Aaron + KG @ Bent

Good run in some great fall weather.

Week Total
76 miles in 10 runs.

Fall Break

Wow – I have really neglected my running log.  The training following my big-mileage week was anti-climactic to say the least.  I was a bit banged up and had a different nagging issue everyday.  I took a day off or two and ended with 68 miles.  By the end of the week, my right foot (out of nowhere) started to hurt. I could run on it, but just not on any uneven surfaces… those really bothered it.

The following week (8/23 – 8/29) things progressed a bit, but not as much as I have would liked.  Even having my foot feel 85% is not good enough because I know that any foot issues can definitely lead to a fracture. That plus my first week of teaching and a lack of sleep (see: first week of teaching) made for a rough training week.  I ran 8-10 most days but still had the foot giving me problems here and there.  On Thursday, after a run where I only made it 60 seconds before turning and walking back to the car, I finally just wised up and realized that I needed a break.

So, here I am – 5 days into my time off.  I will probably start spinning tomorrow and running by the end of the week.  From there I will take it day by day and just run based on how I feel for a week or two.

Hopefully, I can come out of my break with a healthy foot and survive my first couple of months of teaching + coaching enough to be able to make a strong push to Club XC Nationals in December.  Thats the goal, at least.

KG Training 8/9/09 – 8/22/09….

I’m not very good at posting these things on time, eh?

OK, so I spoke too soon about training not changing much two weeks ago. Randy switched things up on me and I had a rocking week of training (08/09-08/15). There were three up tempo sessions and I easily hit a total of 70 for the week. I love it. A quick run down of the week looks like this: 1:50 long run out at Bent Creek with 2 x 10 min tempos at the 40 min and 80 min mark, plus 10 x 20/40 strides to seal the deal. I felt fantastic on this run and wanted to keep going – it was a perfect Sunday morning. Later that week I had 24 x 200m @ 37 high – 39 mid (they were originally at 39-40, but myself and my training buddy RJ just got into a groove and went with it). For repeats 1-16 we were on 100m jog rest,  and for 17-24 it was a 200m jog rest. It felt so good to shake my legs out at a quicker pace. Another great day to log in the books.  Thursday evening I rolled my ankle running the trails, but it was a false alarm* and turned into a pleasant enough run.  Friday’s workout of a two mile tempo @ 5:56 pace followed by 3 x 3:30 pickups on the fields at A. School went off without a hitch, but by that evening I had a  bit of a sore ankle and by the this Wednesday I was taking the evening run off….crap!

Oh running, how sweet you are just before you run away again!

So that “false alarm” of an ankle roll apparently was a little more then it initially let on to be. The hypothesis is that when I rolled the ankle I created some minor injury in one of the tendons or ligaments that was barely detectable until the workout the next morning where  I further agrivated it, etc etc. It doesn’t really matter now how it happened now though. I guess the silver lining is that this past week was a planned down week from intensity and mileage all together. I have had 12 solid weeks of  up-tempo work, plus my longest stretch to date of uninterrupted running and not to mention highest volume, so as Randy has said there is no need to worry, there is money in the bank. I just wasn’t expecting this big of a down stretch, dang it! I have been attacking this little bugger of a sprain pretty aggressively with ART/Grastin/adjustments/rehab exercises with Dr. Myers here in Asheville (AKA kick ass chiropracter and all around stand up dude). It is slowly turning around so my goal(s) are 1) be back up an running normally by the end of next week and 2) keep my head on straight and use this down time to revive and refresh before the next cycle of training. Embracing the second goal I think could turn this debacle into a blessing in disguise.

So that is where I stand right now, and until further notice  I’ll be waltzing around with the bike, a large rotation of ice cups, and my ankle compression sleeve…stupid roots.

peace out, cub scouts.

…but I’m le tired…

…last week’s training will come with this week’s training…

MD Training 8/9/09 – 8/15/09

The plan for the week is to hit big miles.  I am just taking it day by day and seeing what it adds up to in the end.

Sun – 2:10 Long Run @ Bent Creek

Started the run a bit later than normal because we wanted to sleep in.  This made for a very hot run.  I was sweating buckets and running pretty ragged in the last 20 minutes.  Even though it was a longer run, it went by decently fast with KG’s company in the first 30 mins and Stu’s in the last 1:40.

Mon – AM 1:18 run easy @ Bent with 10 x 20/40 / PM 1:20 run steady @ Bent
Extras: HTL + leg swings, stretch, strides

AM run was with KG for a bit then solo. I took it easy for the most part and felt good.  The PM run was with a big group – Stu, Taylor and Corey and a few UNCA guys.  We kept up a steady, but comfortable clip from the start.  I finished the run feeling great, but I am sure the 23 miles I put in today will hit me tomorrow.

Tues – AM 46:00 shakeout @ Biltmore Forest roads / PM 58:00 easy run @ Biltmore Forest roads
Extras: HTL, Leg Swings

Very tired today!  Our apartment has been holding onto the heat and making sleep tricky.  At first it is hard to fall asleep, then when I do – it is a full-on coma.  I woke up this morning with a heat-hang over… not functioning.  I was dragging pretty hard in the morning as I ran with the XC kids.  All of the miles were very easy (8-8:30 pace) aside from the two miles in the middle where I tagged on with the kids running their tempos.

I had another rough one in the PM, but for different reasons.  I mistimed my meals and ended up bonking HARD around 50:00 into the run.  After a couple of walk breaks, I was finally able to stagger back to the car.  I have a run like this every 2 months or so, but this crash was the worst of recent memory.

Wed – AM Track Workout / PM 68:00 run @ Bent Creek
Extras: Myrtle, planks, strides

The AM workout was straight-forward, just a 2 mile @ 9:35.  I ended up running a 3200 and hitting 9:30.7. I felt smooth and got in a very good rhythm.  Other than the last lap, which I squeezed down to a 69-high, I was pretty consistent with my pacing.

26:30 warm-up
6 x 100 on / 100 off strides + drills
200 @ 35
3200 @ 9:30.7 (4:46.8, 4:43.9)
25:30 cool down

In the PM, I had a good run overall but there was a stretch of about 5 minutes on Southridge where my foot was feeling weak and I kept rolling my ankle on the loose rocks.  It had me a bit worried, but once we hit the smooth trails, all was fine.

Thur – AM 60:00 run @ Biltmore Forest roads / PM 1:20+ run @ Bent Creek group run
Extras: Myrtle routine

Fri – AM 69:00 run @ Biltmore Forest roads / PM 65:00 run @ NC Arb
Extras: HTL + Leg Swings

Left IT Band & quad were pretty tight today.

Sat – AM 75:00 run @ Biltmore Estate / PM 72:00 run @ Bent Creek
Extras: Stretch + Chiro, ART & Graston

IT Band was still barking at me a bit in the morning and my quad had a few big knots in it.  After the AM run, I had a great appointment with Dr. Meyers – he spent close to an hour working on all of my leg issues.  In the PM run I still felt a bit beat up in the quads but IT Band was not as much of an issue.

.Week Total
135 miles in 13 runs

Well that was a new mileage PR… by a lot.  All in all the week went very well. I was definitely feeling a bit beat up by the end with the leg issues, but I was not as fatigued as I thought I would be.  Maybe that will hit next week?  The 320o on Wednesday was encouraging, especially during a high volume phase.  If I can get past the IT Band / Quad issues soon, next week will probably another 100+.

KG Training 07/26 – 08/08/09

Jumped on the slacker train the past two weeks regarding the upkeep of this thing.  So without further ado, here are the last two weeks! Do you notice the pattern over the past 2 months, or so? Exactly. I would not expect too much variation in the next few weeks either (then again I haven’t seen what is on tap for this week yet, so I could be way off) . MD and I are working on our schedules and getting consistent with the extras, especially as he heads into the school year. I think he is actually posting the extras. I’ll get around to that one of these days, but for the time being just take whatever he is posting and then think bigger and better to get an idea of what I am doing.

Here are the numbers…

Training week 07/26/ – 08/01/09

Totals: 68 miles/6 days

Sunday: 83 min w. 30 second pops at the 4’s & 9’s

Monday: AM 40 min / PM 44 min + strides & mini drill set

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: AM Workout (~70 min run time) / PM 38 min shakeout @ Kenilworth
17 min wu
6x 100 stride, 100 jog
3 miles @ 172-180 (554, 553, 558?)
8x 100 stride, 100 jog
24 min cd

Thursday: PM 50 min @ Rice Pinnacle

Friday: 76 min run w. strides

Saturday: AM workout (63 min run time)/ PM 30 min shakeout + mini drill set
20 min wu
6 x 20/40 strides
4×3:30 @175-178BPM, ~70sec rec to 140 bpm
6 x 20/40 strides
15 min cd

Training Week of 08/02-08/08/09

Sunday: 90 min LR

Monday: 60 min easy @ Amboy

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: AM workout (~ 70+ min run time)
17:30 min wu
6x 100m stride, 100 jog
4 miles @ 612-610 pace (615, 611, 611, 608)
6×100m stride, 100 jog
17:30 min CD + mini leg circuit

Thursday: 60 min soft from Rice Pinnacle

Friday: AM Workout/ PM 30 min easy on M2S + mini leg circuit
17:30 min wu
6x 100m stride, 100m jog
5x 3:30, 60-70 sec rest on fields (forgot HR monitor)
8x 100m stride, 100m jog
24 min CD

Saturday: 30 min easy + drills and CD routine

MD Training 8/2/09 – 8/08/09

Sun – 90 min @ Bent Creek w/ KG

Hips + Glutes locked up with 20 minutes to go.  Apparently, the drill set from yesterday caught up with me.

Mon – PM 1:15 run @ Bent Creek
Extras: Myrtle, Pedestal

Mario’s journey to NC was anything but smooth and left him stranded in Charlotte last night.  This morning I got up with the sun, pounded a huge coffee, cranked up the radio and hit the road.  I made it to Charlotte in just under 2 hours, grabbed Mario,  hit up Waffle House for some fuel then turned right back around. The whole journey left me pretty toasted, so I wisely passed on the AM run.

In the PM, we joined up with Stu & Taylor for a nice trot through the woods.  About 30 minutes in we got passed by a High Schooler. Our pace quickly picked up and the planned easy hour run turned into a steady 75 minutes.  It’s one thing to be passed by a 15 year old, but the fact that he turned to us as he passed and asked “What school do you run for?” just added insult to injury.

Tues – AM 43:30 @ Kenilworth roads with Mario / PM 62:00 run @ Bent Creek with 8 x 20/40
Extras: Myrtle, Pedestal

Wed – AM Steady Run @ AS
Extras: Myrtle, Pedestal, Leg Circuit #1

17:30 warm-up
6 x 100 on / 100 off
Paced KG’s 4 mile tempo (6:15, 6:11, 6:11, 6:08)
6 x 100 on / 100 off
15:00 cool down

In the PM, we took Mario to a couple of swim holes in Brevard (which were great) on our way to dropping him off at the airport.  Great visit!

Thur – AM 33:00 run @ Biltmore Forest / PM 84:00 run @ Bent Creek group run
Extras: Myrtle, Pedestal

AM run was a nice shakeout with the HS team.  In the PM, I felt very good and cruised along as the pace picked up in the last 20 minutes.

Fri – AM KG’s fartlek workout / PM 1:11 run @ Mtn 2 Seas & Biltmore Forest
Extras: Myrtle, Pedestal

In the AM I once again played pacer for KG’s workout.  It was 5 x 3:30 with 70-80 sec easy.  We warmed up 2.5 mi, did about 4 laps of 100 on / 100 off before and after the fartlek then cooled down 3.5 miles.

The plan for the PM run was an easy 35 – 45 minutes.  I ran with KG, Aaron and Robert on Mtn 2 Seas for the the first 35 minutes, but I felt great so I continued on with Aaron until 60 minutes.  From there I headed down to CDS to meet KG and ended up a bit over 70 minutes. Overall, I felt really good. It was unplanned, but it turned out to be a big day of around 21 miles.

Sat – AM 37:00 @ Black Mountain / PM 69:00 @ Bent Creek
Extras: Myrtle, Pedestal + Push-ups

Very tired in the PM.  It took me about 45 minutes to loosen up, but I ended the run feeling good.

Week Total
100 miles in 11 runs

Really good week.  We had a great visit with Mario and I got in some decent running.  The plan for next week is big volume and the goal for the month is 400 miles.  I am on pace now, but I will just take it day by day.

Also – KG and I have started doing some of the Jay Johnson strength routines daily.  I have implemented a couple of the routines into the daily routine of my HS XC team, as well.  My hips & glutes were definitely sore for the first few days, but I getting used to it now.

MD Training 7/26/09 – 8/01/09

Sun – OFF

Soleus really sore today… I tried to jog a bit but stopped at 5 mins because my leg was getting tighter and tighter.

Mon – AM 45:00 spin / 4:00 PM Chiro & ART with Dr. Meyers / 7:00 PM 45:00 spin

Tues – AM 30:00 spin / 3:30 PM 60:00 spin / 7:00 pm 40:00 run

Drove Stu & Daniel to the 2 mile track race at Furman University and cheered them on.  I was bummed to watch the race and not be in it, but I know that I made the right decision in taking a few down days. The race was really good with Matt (miler from SC) taking first in 9:09, Stu in 2nd in 9:11 and Daniel next across in 9:24.  The pace slowed a bit in the middle than Stu threw in a monster move with 500m to go.  He ended up running a 62.5 last 400, but Matt was able to catch him and squeeze out a 60 to grab the W.

Ran the warm-up and cool down with the guys and felt surprisingly good.  Soleus and Peroneal Tendon were tight on warm-up but felt really good on second run.  Progress!

Wed – AM 55:00 run @ AS / PM Rehab – Chiro, ART & Graston with Dr. Meyers / 45:00 spin

Ran KG’s warm-up, jogged around a bit when she worked out then joined her for the cool down.  Took breaks to stretch out periodically.  Soleus and Peroneal tendon feeling much better – still a tad tight down by my foot, though.

Thur – AM 36:00 run @ Kenilworth roads / PM 50:00 run @ Bent Creek with KG

Had a great AM run.  Peroneal tendon & soleus were a bit tight but very bearable… they are getting better each day.  I can tell the work that Dr. Meyers did has made a huge difference.

Fri – AM 1:40 Long Run @ Bent Creek with James

Felt 100%, so I just went with it.  “It” happened to be a long run with James, a ZAP intern stopping through town.

Sat – AM 63:00 run @ NC Arb / PM 30:00 run + mini drill set

Leg felt fine.

Week Total
52 miles in 7 runs / 3:45 bike

Down week.  Played it safe and smart with the mini-injury and after a few days, I got past it.  Dr. Meyers helped out a great deal with much needed Chiro, ART & Graston work on my trouble spots.  Now, I am looking to get back at it next week and push the volume up a bit in August.

MD Training 7/12/09 – 7/25/09

Week of 7/12 – 7/18

Sun – 60:00 easy with Randy

Mon – AM 90:00 solo / PM 28:00

Tues – AM 42:00 / PM 33:00 including 10 x 20/40

During the PM run, I felt pretty ragged but ended up finishing with a 5:20 on a marked mile doing 20/40s.

Wed – AM Track workout / PM 34:00 quick pace

Workout was 10 x 300 with 300 jog recovery
26:30 warm-up
drills + strides
49.56 (1:38), 49.73 (1:24), 49.88 (1:26), 50.4 (1:28), 49.57 (1:30),
49.34 (1:29), 49.18 (1:27), 49.17 (1:25), 48.64 (1:27), 48.53
20:00 cool down

300s felt pretty smooth, but I was a bit tired overall.

Thurs – 43:00 @ NC Arb – TIRED / 60:00 with randy nice and easy

Fri – AM 44:00 with Trevor / PM 29:00 with 8 x 20/40

Sat – AM 20:00 @ NC Arb / PM Beat the Heat 5k (5th overall – 15:00)

20:00 warm-up + strides
5k Road Race – 15:00, 5th place – 4:36, 9:37 (5:01), 15:00 (5:23 for 1.1 mi)
20:00+ cooldown

This year, the Beat The Heat 5k served as the USATF-NC 5k road race championships. I had a surprisingly good race.  It started bad – I had a top 3 worst warm-up of my career.  Just felt completely flat.  Hamstrings very tight and absolutely no pop.  However, the Mizuno Ronin racing flats worked their magic and once I laced them up I felt like a new man!  I did some dynamic stretching, drills and when I hit the strides, I miraculously felt quick.  Just in time.

I knew it would be a strong field up front – there are a bunch of NC State alums ripping up the roads this year.  When the gun went off, I got out well and tucked into the lead pack with 4 other guys. I hung well for the first 800-1k, but by 1200 I knew I was out too quick and I dropped back right before the mile.  When I finally made the decision to ease off the pack, they immediately put some serious ground on me.  I hit the mile in 4:36 (about 3-4 seconds back) and the effort hit me quickly.  The leaders kept up their pace in the second mile and put a good 75 – 100m on me. I expected to get eaten up by a chase pack at any second, but when I turned around at 1.5 miles, I couldn’t see a soul behind me.  I worked hard in the 2nd mile to keep up a respectable pace but the gradual mile-long hill (from 1.25 to about 2.25 miles) was very cruel.  I hit two miles in 9:37 and realized that I was still on sub 15 pace.  That lifted my spirits, but at this point I was just trying to hold my form together.  When I hit the long gradual downhill finish (600m?) I tried hard to push it and make up some time. A nice little head wind gave me something to curse about, but I just tried to put my head down and grind it out.  I didn’t have much of a kick, but I was able to squeak out a little speed in the last 150m.  When I crossed the line, I figured that I would be lucky to crack 15:10, but the announcer yelled “14:59!”.  I was psyched when I heard the time, but knew that it would, of course, be a 15:00 on the official results… and it was.

I was happy with the final time and, more importantly, happy with my ability to hang on after a quick first mile.  It certainly did not feel good at all and it was a fairly ugly performance, but I’ll take it.  My goal for this summer was to break 15:00 on the roads. I would have been pretty bummed by narrowly missing it, but I made some $$$ for 4th place in the USATF-NC division (3rd place was a Kenyan), and that made everything alright.  I even treated KG to a burrito at Moe’s … I know, I know – “don’t spend it all in one place”.

The race upfront was very fast.  The leaders pretty much held pace and battled it out in the last mile.  The next place behind me was almost a minute back.  If I had let the leaders go from the start and tried to run even 4:45’s, I would have run the whole race by myself.  At least this way I had some company for a mile.

Results:

1    Bobby Mack  24  Raleigh    NC    14:20
2    Stephen Furst  23  Raleigh    NC    14:28
3    Julius Kogo  24  Chapel Hill   NC   14:34
4    Ryan Woods  30    Boone    NC    14:46
5    Mark Driscoll  25    Asheville    NC    15:00

Week total
87 miles in 13 runs

Good week of training & good race.  Running 15:00 was nice, but I am looking forward to running another 5k, pacing it evenly and feeling stronger.

Week of 7/19 – 7/25

Sun – 85:00 @ Bent Creek with Stu

Mon – AM 55:00 @ Biltmore Estate with KG / PM 55:00 @ Bent Creek with some dudes

Tues – AM 60:00 @ Biltmore Forest roads

Wed – AM 32:00 / PM Track Workout

I completely messed up the workout tonight. I read the plan wrong and ended up taking wayyyy too much rest.  It was supposed to be a continuous effort and I ended up doing the opposite by taking huge rest intervals.  Whoops!  I was incredibly pissed later on when I realized that I botched it, but in the end its not a big deal.

I am not going to even recount the workout because it will just rile me up.  The positives I can take away from it was that within the overabundance of rest, I did run six 400’s (66.1, 65.9, 65.6, 64.9, 64.7, 62.9) that felt easy and smooth.

Thur – 2:30 PM Massage/Stretch with Steve / PM 66:00 @ Bent Creek Group Run

I had a much needed massage & Active Isolated Stretching session this afternoon with Steve at Hands on Health.  My hamstring flexibility was pathetic (this is not news to me), but this session really worked out some tightness.  Now I just need to keep it up on my own (no small task!).

The PM run was a bit of a bummer.  About 20:00 in, my left soleus got very tight while descending a steep singletrack.  I had a few tugs on the top of the achilles/soleus that forced me to hop/limp for a couple of steps.  It gradually got better as we got to flatter terrain and I finished the run with it feeling OK.  It felt okay when we got dinner with the crew at Papas and Beer (I fell off my tortilla chip detox plan and ate about 2lbs of chips), however hours later when I was taking out the trash it randomly started hurting. It was extremely tight around the soleus/top of achilles and it gave me pins & needles on the outside of the foot.  Weird!  Iced like crazy after.

Fri – OFF – soleus jacked up.

Took a day of rest and rehabbed the hell out of it.  Stretch, roll on foam roller + tennis ball, ice, ibuprofen.  Repeat.

Sat – AM Track Workout (10 x 200)

When I woke up the soleus was feeling a lot better.  I wanted to try the workout, so Randy had me do a long warm-up and some hard strides and then make the call.  It felt 100% on the run and the strides, so I gave the workout a go.  Spiked up for the first time in 2 years. I forgot how light and fast spikes make you feel.

Workout was 10 x 200 @ 32-33 with 27-28 sec rest.  So, every 60 sec its go-time.

30:00 warm-up

Drills + lots of dynamic stretching + rope stretching
6 x 100 on / 100 off strides (hitting 16s and 17s)
10 x 200
6 x 100 on / 100 off strides (hitting 15s and 16s)
15:00 cool down

I lost the splits from my watch but it went like this – first 200 @ 30, next 9 all 31.5 – 32.5.  There was a headwind on the homestretch and a tailwind on the backstretch, so every other 200 was a tad fast or slow.  With that in mind, it was pretty damn consistent.  I felt fast and smooth.

Soleus never bothered me.  Right adducter was a bit sore on the warm-up, so I did a lot of dynamic stretching to loosen it up.

Just like Thursday night, 3 hours after workout the soleus acted up.  I was stepping up a ladder at work and I had a shot of pain.  Come on now!  It was tight the rest of the day.

Week Total
68 miles in 8 runs

Good week up until Thursday when I tweaked my soleus.  After re-tweaking it on Saturday, the 2 mile on Tuesday is in jepoardy.  I just need to play it safe + smart.  I am not too stressed about the bad luck because this is my first real training hiccup in about 6 months.  That is huge for me.  If I can get over this leg annoyance, I think August will be a stretch of high volume with fewer workouts.  I start school prep in mid-August then actual teaching in the last week of the month.  HS XC practice start in the first week of August. It is going to be all about getting into a routine during the next couple of months.