Finally . . . . A Workout!

Exactly 3 weeks to the day since my last workout (and 3 weeks to the day since my hip/back got zapped) I was on the track for a quasi-legit session.  

I've been feeling much better these past few days.  However the calf/adductor combo that caused some issues going around the turns on the track is still present, albeit to a lesser degree.  

I had 3 goals for this session:

1.  Determine how far the calf/adductor have come along over the past 10 days.

2.  Get in some controlled speed work .

3.  If possible, get into the spikes for a few quick repeats.

I wasn't exactly sure where my fitness would be w/ about a week off and two very down weeks, but I penciled in the following wo as a target:

2 x 200m (at whatever the calf/adductor would allow - hopefully under 30)

5-minutes to re-stretch the trouble spots

2 x 600m @ sub-1:45 (3-min rest between)

8-minute set break

3 x 300m (in spikes) w/ about 90-second rests.  Pace TBD depending on how I was feeling.

I could feel the calf on the turns of the 200s, but I was able to get to a slightly quicker pace before they flared up, and the discomfort wasn't nearly as bad.  The 200s came in at 28.8 and 28.0.

The first 600 felt really good.  Relaxed, controlled effort and pretty even pace the whole way - 1:43.  On #2 I did what I usually do and let the pace come naturally.  Typically this means that #2 is faster than #1 and this was the case early on.  At 300m I was 2-seconds ahead of the rep-1 pace and I was looking for a 1:41-1:42 . . . but at this point, my fitness drop became apparent.  I struggled a bit through the 2nd half and finished w/ a 1:45.  Not that big a deal, it's probably going to take a couple of weeks to get that fitness back up - at least I now know where I stand.

During the set break I changed into my spikes and got ready for my 300s.  I figured I'd need to be careful as the calf issue was definitely going to be there to some degree.  On the first 300 I could feel the calf a little during the opening straightaway - this was new - I assumed it was due to being in spikes, but it wasn't too bad.  Thankfully, it didn't get any worse on the turn and I came through the finish in 45.1  After a 100m jog back to the start followed by an additional 1-minute rest I was off on #2.  I backed off on the pace just a hair to keep from flaring up the calf and surprisingly this worked perfectly.  No calf issues at all on #2 and I was still able to come in at 45.9  

At this point I decided not to press my luck w/ a 3rd rep - I had gotten everything I wanted out of this session and I felt it was important for me to leave the track on a high note w/ some precious confidence restored.

Overall things went very well considering I haven't done much these past 3-weeks.  My fitness is off obviously, but probably not by too much.  Clearly I did not feel like myself during the 2nd half of the 2nd 600 - but I guess that should have been expected.  The calf/adductor are getting better, but not all the way back.  This kept my speed from being back near 100%, but that was only because the tightness kept a lid on how hard I can push it.  The massage is helping tremendously here, but they were so locked up that it's going to take a few sessions to get these guys back to normal.  Hopefully I continue to make progress here in the coming weeks.

Finally - the hip/back gave me ZERO issues today.  Again, I'll need to be hopeful that this remains the case going forward, but so far so good.  

Easy day tomorrow - massage on Monday, and if all's clear, the next workout should be Wednesday.  

Training:  

Fri, 6/19:  31-minutes @ 6:51 pace

Sat, 6/20:  2 x 200m (28.8, 28.0), 2 x 600m (1:43, 1:45), 2 x 300m (45.1, 45.9)

That was Scary

Strength-speed workout on Saturday.  I didn't nail the session as I'd have liked, but to some degree I think it was because it was a bit too aggressive (target - three 800s and a 600 all under 2:20 half pace in the span of about 25-minutes)  However, I did run hard so at least I got in some quality work.

The big story was later that evening. I was icing my calves (which surprisingly are feeling much better now).  Just sitting down w/ the lower legs in some ice water.  After about 15-minutes it was time to step out and dry off.  As I stood up, my lower back felt odd.  I toweled off, walked into the bedroom and a severe pain shot through me like a lightning bolt.  I went to the bed to lie down for a few minutes - maybe I was in the ice water a few minutes too long?  About 5-minutes later I stood up again and my lower back didn't feel right.  I tried walking - definitely some pain - about 10-seconds later a violent pain shot through me again and I hit the deck - couldn't even stand.  Something was seriously wrong.

I've never had lower back pain before (aside from muscle soreness from lifting or working in the yard, etc)  This was definitely nerve related - not muscular.  I was thinking, "did I slip a disk?", "do I have a pinched nerve?"  In either case, I knew one thing for certain - I couldn't walk w/o fear of falling to the ground at any moment.  This was scary.

At this point I certainly had bigger problems than "how/when was I going to be able to run again?", but from the running perspective, yeah - it looked it was all but over for a while.  How can you run workouts and races when you can't even stand up much less walk??

For the next hour I tried to figure out what had gone wrong w/o much luck.  I kept "testing" it by moving into different positions and occasionally trying to walk (I dropped to the ground at least 5 more times)  Then while standing I did some kind of movement w/ the spine and I heard a "pop".  The area was still sore, but all of a sudden I could walk.  I walked around for a while and I thought the problem was essentially solved - whatever popped out popped back in and I was OK.

Not so much.  A short while later it was back "out".  It soon became apparent that this wasn't a disk popping in and out, but in a certain position it was much better.

I went to bed very early and had a miserable night's sleep.  When I could get the back into the "good position" by laying on one side I was OK, but if I moved to the other side it shifted to the "bad position".  I wound up doing some self-physio on the hip and glute muscles around 2:45 am as the whole hip joint didn't feel right.  (this combo of tennis ball and foam roller that does wonders on this area)  This actually helped some and I was able to then get some sleep.

By the next day I was "experienced" enough w/ this thing to get back into the "good position" more quickly which kept me from hitting the floor, and I was able to keep it in this position longer.  When it got into the bad position I could position myself in a certain way where I'd hear the slight pop (almost like cracking a knuckle) and I'd be OK.  Of course the overall area was still sore.  

By mid-day I went outside and started doing some minor things in the yard.  Later in the day I was able to do more and although the back was still a problem, for the first time I started thinking that it was actually improving. 

Here comes the part where you'll think I'm nuts - of course I couldn't run, but I figured, "hey if I can do some stuff in the yard I should be able to x-train".  So I was off to the gym only 20-hours after being unable to stand.  (maybe I am a little crazy)  

Twenty-five minutes on the elliptical actually made it feel better!  Then 20-minutes on the spinner bike where I did 3 solid intervals.  I finished up w/ 20-minutes on another stationary bike as a cool down.  All in all not bad - nothing got worse and honestly I was feeling a little better.

Last night it still went in and out, but the feeling when it was out was improving and it was now very easy to get it back in.  Today it's still sore and I can get some pains in it, but there is no longer an in and out at all, just general soreness.  

When it comes to nerve/disk issues w/ the back, I can't say I know too much about it, but I know enough to know that there is no such thing as "out of the woods".  So although things are improving quickly, there are no guarantees what will happen even 3-minutes from now.  I don't know what caused it - all I know is that I had both legs in ice water up to the knees for 15-minutes and was sitting when it happened, and my left hip joint (same side the pain was on) had felt tight for a day or two beforehand.  Maybe my CMT can shed some light on the subject.

I don't know when I'll feel healthy enough to try a run, maybe Wednesday, maybe not until the weekend, maybe later than that - I just don't know.

At this point, I'm just thankful to be able to walk and do most day-to-day things.  Every 8-12 hours there is noticeable improvement so I'll just hang my hat on that for now.  Hopefully the worst is over and I'll be back in action soon.

Training:

Sat, 5/30:  800m-2:21, 550m-1:35, 800m-2:23, 600m-1:45  (550 was supposed to be 800, just didn't feel like I could get it done.  Re-grouped and got in the 2nd half of the w/o)  the 600 was supposed to be 600 - didn't cut that one short.

Sun, 5/31:  X-train  (elliptical, spinner bike)

Thrown to the Lions

June 18th will kick off the season for me in Los Gatos, CA.  They run an All Comers Meet every week from the 18th up through August 6th.  I certainly won't be racing there every week, but I hope to get a good 4-6 races in over that span.  They have three age groups for each event - HS, Open, and Masters.  

Coach and I were looking for a race a few weeks prior to June 18th just to get a time and for me to get my feet wet running this distance (as I have never actually raced an 800m before)  What I found was an Open Meet (Pacific Association T&F Championships) this Sunday, May 24th.  It's not a Masters meet, but I looked at the entry list the past two years and saw that although last year's top seed time was 1:53, there were several guys in the 2:05 - 2:12 range and a few guys in the low 2:20s.  Back in '07 the top guy was 1:50, but again there were several 2:05 - 2:12 guys and the last guy was 2:15.  I felt comfortable that I'd have some guys to race with, so we targeted the race this weekend for my "pre-season" debut.

Well, looking at the entry list for this year there are only 7 guys signed up so far and only one other guy is SLOWER than 1:53.  Here are the top 4 seeds:

1.  1:46.0

2.  1:46.5

3.  1:48.8

4.  1:48.9

Essentially this is turning into the US Olympic Trials . . . . and me.  

Needless to say w/o me ever having raced this distance before, I'm going to be very nervous anyway, but to run this race for the very first time w/ guys like this - let's just say this is not the experience I was looking for.  Is it possible to get lapped in a 2 lap race?

I'll update the entry list if/when more guys enter (although tomorrow is the last day to enter unless you want to pay double on the day of the race)  Who knows, maybe Wilson Kipketer will come out of retirement and throw a 1:42 up there!  I'd like to have an up close view of this race, but it's sad to say that even though I'm going to be in the race I will be further away from the finish than 90% of the spectators!

On to today's workout - a bit of a race prep.  The plan:

3 x 200m:  31-30-29 (60-sec rests)

7-min break

500m:  Simulation of first 400m of 800m race w/ 100m kick.  

Target splits:  29.5 - 30 @ 200, 61 @ 400.

The 200s went:  32.0, 30.4, 29.1 - On target except for rep #1.  (all done in lane-1)

I didn't run the proper splits in the 500m so it didn't quite go as planned.  Also, I was going to set the watch to take splits at 200m and 400m, but 100m into the run I realized I forgot to set it up so I'd have to look down at each split myself - which is a pain when you're trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

200m split:  about 28-flat (too fast)

400m split:  about 58.8 (meaning the 2nd 200m was about on pace)

However, the total time of sub-59 scared the hell out of me.  When I saw that time I figured I was done for - this caused me to inadvertently slow down for the next 30-40m.  At that point I re-focused and surprised myself a bit when I was able to pick up the pace again and go faster.  Unfortunately, the damage was done during the slow 40m and the last 100m came in about 16.7 (that's just too slow) giving me a total time of 75.6

I'm not sure how this translates to an 800m race, but I guess I'll find out in a few days.  Tough to imagine running 300m more today w/ how I was feeling after 500m, but #1 I went out a little too fast, #2 no race day adrenaline, and #3 I obviously won't be running 3 x 200m before the race.  

I really hope I have at least 1 or 2 guys in my pace range to race with on Sunday.  I can't say as I'm looking forward to still being on the far turn when the rest of the guys are finished and congratulating each other - that's just plain ugly.  

Training:

Mon, 5/18:  AM:  4-miles @ 6:46 pace, then 50-minutes on elliptical

PM:  CMT appt - focus on calf

Tues, 5/19:  30-minutes @ 6:44 pace (probably a bit too fast w/ a workout the next day)

Wed, 5/20:  Race Prep:  3 x 200m (32-30-29), 500m (75.6)

Disaster Avoided?

As I mentioned in my last post, the plan was to take a down week after Sunday partially due to my right calf being a little stiffer than usual.  As planned, I x-trained on Tuesday (spinner bike session) and ran easy on Wed and Thurs.  

The problem was that I continued to have a dull pain about 3 inches above the ankle primarily on the inside of the leg.  I was able to diagnose this issue as the coming of posterior shin splints (both by what my CMT said on Monday, and comparing my symptoms to a few likely candidates for the discomfort)  I've never had shin splints of any kind before so this was new to me, but from what I read I could be in for real trouble if I didn't take care of it very early.

I called my CMT and asked what I should do here at home before seeing her on Monday (tomorrow).  I wound up going on Advil, stretching, rolling and using the stick on the area 3 x per day followed by icing.  No running Friday or Saturday.  This was great for relieving the symptoms - but as is always the case - unless you fix the root cause of the problem, you've really accomplished very little.

I remembered having a different type of right leg pain a few months ago when my flats wore down.  At that time, I replaced the flats and the problems cleared up almost instantly.  A quick check of the flats showed that they were worn at least as much as the previous pair - jeez, how could I have missed this??  I ordered my new flats from Zappos which which arrived via complimentary overnight shipping and planned on doing the Saturday wo today to test out this theory.  

At this point, with the workout being over, my shin/calf are no worse off than they were yesterday, which means that all the gains I made on Fri and Sat are still there.  I'm certainly not out of the woods yet as I need to see how I feel tomorrow.  Also, I skipped the spikes today on the final set and it's possible that the spikes added to the issues, but I firmly believe that all the long intervals and 70% of the rep sessions being run on worn out flats (I just shred the whole mid-foot and forefoot areas of these things) was the main cause of the problem.  

All I know for sure is that I just finished a very tough session that contributed ZERO to my calf/shin issues.  I'll take that as a sign that I'm on my way to recovery, but I'll still be watchful of any regression.

As far as the wo went - it was a killer lactate session very similar to the one I did on 12/31.  In that one it was 6 x 300m @ 48.3 w/ 1:45 rests, followed by a 5.5' break.  Switch to the spikes and then set #2 of 3 x 300m @ 46.3 w/ the same rests.  The idea is that the first set's purpose is simply to generate fatigue.  The 2nd set is performed w/ fatigue already in the system, and this 2nd set is faster than the first.  Rep #1 feels OK, but rep #2 is awful.  By rep #3 you can barely walk to the starting line, and you swear that it simply isn't possible to do another one - and then you force yourself to do one more.  There's so much lactic acid in your system that the 2nd half of rep #3 is sheer torture - it's meant to simulate the final 150m of an 800m race - not much fun!

Today's session was almost the same workout . . . . the main difference was, it was 96 degrees!  Long story short - the first set averaged 47.6 per, but w/ the heat and me having to stay in my flats for set #2 I wasn't able to generate the speeds I wanted on the 2nd set.  I averaged 46.6 on Set #2.  (which probably translates to about 45.8 w/ spikes)  Not bad - I hit the wo as it was drawn up, but to be 100% honest I was hoping for a little better on that 2nd set.  In addition to the lack of spikes, I'm sure the godawful temps had something to do w/ it - but hey, the season is almost here - no time for crybaby excuses!

Obviously the best news is simply that my leg feels OK.  I have the CMT appt tomorrow - I'll try to get in a few easy miles beforehand.  Either a short run, x-train or take Tuesday off depending on how I feel, and then I've got a wo Wednesday provided that the leg cooperates.  

Training:

Tues, 5/12:  x-train.  35-minutes on spinner bike (12-min w/u, 3x90" high intensity w/ 2' rests, then 3x60" higher intensity w/ 90" rests, 10-min c/d)

Lifting (upper-A, abs, core)  stretching rolling

Wed, 5/13:  32-minutes @ 6:51 pace 

Thurs, 5/14:  32-minutes @ 6:55 pace

Fri, 5/15:  No running.  stretching, rolling, stick (3x) followed by icing

Lifting (upper-B, abs, core)

Sat, 5/16:  No running.  stretching, rolling, stick (3x) followed by icing

Sun, 5/17:  Set #1 - 5 x 300m (46.6, 47.6, 47.6, 47.6, 48.0),  Set #2 - 3 x 300m (45.9, 46.9, 47.0)  ** No spikes for 2nd set.  

Wheels of Fire

A great Cream album, yes - but also an appropriate title for today.  On tap was a straight speed session - not volume speed, not lactate training - no, just go out and run.   (that's how I like 'em!)

The workout was comprised of several small sets w/ short rests between repeats and long rests between sets.  The last set was one 400m rep that was to be run w/ whatever I had left in the tank.  It was similar to this workout that I did building up to the winter season - in that one, my final quarter was done in 58.15

Target for the wo was as follows:

3 x 200m @ 31 (60-sec rests)

7-minutes

2 x 300m @ 46-47 (90-sec rest)

7-minutes

2 x 200m @ 29 (60-sec rest)

10-minutes

400m - 58

As you can see, everything is funneling down towards that final 400m.  Last time I did a session similar to this one, the plan was to stay on the slower end of all of the reps to conserve energy to hit that 400m hard.  The plan for today was intended to be the same - conserve, conserve, conserve.  

Set #1 came in pretty much on target - 30.9, 30.0, 30.1

Yeah, a little fast, but I'm always a little fast on the 200s.  So far so good.  

I got my first real taste of how today's session was going to unfold on the first 300m.  Target was 46-47, and I was figuring on hitting a 46-flat.  I ran a nice controlled 300m on #1 and fully expected to see about a 46 on the watch - instead I saw 44.8  Surely that would mean 300 #2 would be close to 47 because I went too hard on #1, right?  300m #2 - 45.3  Honestly, this was a surprise.  I was running 60-flat quarter pace here w/o kicking it into high gear at all - and w/ only 90-seconds between reps.

As I took my break between sets I switched over to my spikes and took a gel.  I only had a couple 200s to do next, but the 400m loomed and I knew it would be a great confidence booster if I could find a way to break 58.  But as much as I tried to focus on that finishing 400, the reps leading up to it continued to be the story of the day. . . 

The next 200m left me scratching my head.  I ran a nice opening turn - I remember thinking that although I wasn't in full sprint mode and my arm action was minimal, my turnover was actually pretty good.  (up until today, I needed to really get after it to get what I'd consider decent turnover)  I figured the opening 100m was pretty quick, but not as quick as the 12.x I saw on the watch.  I then headed down the straight into the breeze (we only had a slight wind today).  I recall easing up just a touch because I'm supposed to be conserving energy and the thing still came in at 27.07  (that's the fastest workout 200m I've done since I started Masters training . . . . by 3/4 of a second)  After my 60-second rest I was back at it.  First 150m was great, but then I felt the fatigue finally start settling in.  Still I managed a 28.0

Up to this point, every rep was a full second faster than target.  I was shocked - I know the effort I'm supposed to put into this portion of the wo, and I felt that was on target - the paces were just a lot faster than expected.  

On to the 400m.  I knew during the last 40m of the previous 200 that I had finally gone over the edge.  I wasn't going to be 100% for this 400.  The cardio would recover w/ the 10-minute break, but the legs were now sapped of some strength for the rest of the day - nothing I could do about that now.

After the first 120m of the 400, the strength loss in the legs was confirmed.  I just didn't have what I had on the first 200m of the last set.  I kept up the effort and came through the 200m in 27.x, but it was tough - not at all the smooth fluid 27.07 200m of the last set.  At this point, my training seemed to kick in as I was able to up my effort and run a decent turn.  I came through the 300m in about 42 and headed for home determined to clock sub-58, tired legs or not.  Surprisingly, as long as I was mentally committed to pushing through, the body had little trouble responding.  I came through the finish in 57.09 - tired legs and all.  I knew for sure had I backed off on some of the previous reps I could have clocked 56.5 here easily.  Where does that put me on a fresh 400m w/ blocks?  I don't know, 55 maybe?  I'm certainly not all the way there yet, but it's definitely coming along.

Damn - this was a great session.  Every rep was solid, and I was able to generate some speed w/o having to sprint.  I was running nice and relaxed (until the final 200m of the 400), but still the paces were much better than expected.  

Hopefully, I can build on this session throughout the remainder of the season and turn in some decent 800m times this summer.

Training:

Thurs, 5/7:  32-minutes @ 7:03 pace

Fri, 5/8:  32-minutes @ 7:00 pace

PM  lifting (general upper, core)  stretching, rolling

Sat, 5/9:  3x200 (30.9, 30, 30.1), 2 x 300 (44.8, 45.3), 2x200 (27.07, 28.0), 400 (57.09)

PM  lifting (legs)

Stepping it Up

With the season starting up here in June, May is the critical month.  It's now time to take all of the other training - the tempo runs, cruise intervals, and hill repeats - the lifting, the core work, the long Sunday runs, as well as the long intervals, and volume speed sessions - and draw from all of that to handle the intensity of what's coming.  

At this point in the build, it's pretty much "Go Time".  I got my first taste of some speedwork last Saturday w/ the three 62 quarters after the 5:14 mile.  On Wednesday, after the 3x800m, I got a little taste of a short rest speed session w/ the 6 x 200m (60-seconds rest).  Today it was time to bring it together for my first high intensity anaerobic session.

Today's workout:

3 x 200m

2 x 300m

500m

2 x 300m

3 x 200m

all at 32-second/200 pace, and the whole lot w/ 90-seconds rest between reps.

After that, it's an 8-10 minute break - then:

500m @ 62-second/400m pace. 

What makes this session so much tougher than the others is that 2x300/500/2x300 section in the middle - having to go 48-48-80-48-48 getting only 90-seconds between each repeat.  That's a tall order for me - the 500m is very difficult w/ what comes before it.  After the 500, you're not going to be feeling all that great and you've still got half the workout to go.  The lactic acid just keeps building and you're forced to run through it w/o ever slowing down.  And all of this simply builds up to that last 500m which is faster than anything else in the workout - even after the break, you just don't have much left in the legs to run the thing properly.  

I told coach that I thought I'd struggle w/ the 500s on this one, and that hitting this entire w/o as it's drawn up may be something I'd need to build towards during the next 2-3 months.  She told me that it was OK if the first 500 was at 82-83, and for the last one she said, "just hit the pace for 400m, the last 100 we'll just consider a bonus".  

The session started well enough w/ the 200s:  31-31-30.  The initial 300s weren't bad either, 47-48.  By now I was feeling it and I had that bear of a 500 in front of me.  I was targeting 82, but w/ the short rest I started to get into trouble after 350m.  I pushed to get in by 83, a little slower than I wanted, but I had no time to be disappointed.  In a few seconds I had another 48-second 300 to do and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how that was going to be possible.  Somehow though, it just worked - 48.  Feeling quite horrible at this point I counted down my minute and a half and took off again, another 48.  

After the last 300 I got lightheaded for a few seconds.  I was going on fumes at this point, but the tough middle section was thankfully over.  "Just 200s left", I told myself.  "You can always do 200s".  The first one was actually the toughest.  The 90-second rest was long enough such that w/ just 200m reps, I was surprisingly recovering during this portion of the wo.  The 200s went: 31-31-30, same as the opening 200s.  (perhaps I did have enough in the tank to hit that 500 a little harder?)

During my break, I walked a lap and then put on my spikes.  I had 500m left to go w/ whatever I could throw out there.  The target I had in my head was to just break 80.  JT wanted a good first 400m and we'd take whatever we got on the last 100, but still I thought sub-80 was possible.  

The first 100m felt smooth and effortless.  I was running very relaxed w/ almost no arm action and still I crossed the 200m mark in 29.  I crossed the 300m mark in 45.x, "damn I'm on 61 quarter pace after all that!"  Unfortunately this is the point where the fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks.  I still managed to cross the 400m mark in 62.x, but I was dead in the water here.  I got down the last straightaway as best I could, fumbled a bit stopping the watch, and when I finally turned it off it read:  80.02  Well, maybe that was a 79.8, but I'll call it an 80 and just look to do better next time.  

That was tough.  All totaled it was 3.4km (2.11 miles) @ 4:15 pace - for me, that's a solid day's work.

Training:

Thurs, 4/30:  5-miles @ 6:58

Fri, 5/1:  5-miles @ 7:09

AM  lifting (upper-A, abs)  stretching, rolling

Sat, 5/2:   3x200m, 2x300m, 500m, 2x300m, 3x200m (31-31-30-47-48-83-48-48-31-31-30) (1.5' rests) 10-minutes, 500m:  80 (62.x @ 400m)

Mix and Match

Today was another "combo workout" where I did some long intervals up front followed by some speed work on the back end.  These sessions are new to me - I'm used to running the entire w/o at close to the same pace, so it takes some getting used to.  I can clearly see the value in the sessions - use the long intervals to get in some VO2Max type work (even if it is in lower volume) which also pre-fatigues the legs such that I can be forced to work hard on the speed portion even though I'm no longer able to go all that fast. (which hopefully decreases the chances of injury)

Today's deal:

Standard warm up:  Mile jog, stretching, 2x200m (the 200s are like long strides to get the legs ready to go)

3 x 800m @ 2:35 (2.5' rests)

5-minutes

6 x 200m @ 30-31 (60-second rests)

The 8s went off without a hitch, but one thing I learned today:  coming from a sprinter's background - I'm not that big a fan of combining 60-second rests w/ speed work!  (although this is exactly the type of training I need to process the lactate better to handle that 2nd lap during an 800m race - the reality is, I need to do a lot more of this, unfortunately)

I hit all the times, but the 5th one wasn't much fun, and I honestly didn't even want to go to the starting line for #6.  The fastest one was 30.0, the slowest was 31.4 and I averaged 30.8.  Not too bad, but these guys should get better when I get more of these short rest sessions under my belt.

A few easy days ahead - I have a session from hell scheduled for Saturday. 

Training:

Sun, 4/26:  5-miles @ 6:56  (should have been a long run, but the hip was tight so I cut it short)

Mon, 4/27:  Appointment w/ CMT - hip is getting better, everything else was much improved, and there are now no other issues.  No running (scheduled off day)

Tues, 4/28:  lifting (upper-B, abs) stretching, rolling. 

No running - took an extra day to rest the hip

Wed, 4/29:  Interval/Rep combo.  Standard w/u, 3 x 800m (2:34, 2:35, 2:35 - w/ 2.5' rests), 6 x 200m (30.8 average - 60-sec rests)

Dustin' Off the Track Spikes

I was supposed to do some speed work on Tuesday, however the mild issues w/ the hip and quad caused us to call an audible and do a volume speed session instead.  (400s @ 68)

There are still a few sore spots here and there, so I needed to be careful, but I was feeling good enough to do my first real speed work of the season.  Today's workout was a few 400s at a quick pace w/ near full recoveries.  JT being as clever as she is, decided to 'extend' my warm up just a tad to make sure I wouldn't be able to really go out and hit it on the 400s.  What we didn't want to have happen was me overdoing it on the 4's and potentially straining a muscle somewhere, so the idea was to pre-fatigue the legs to keep this from happening.  This warm up 'extension' came in the form of a 5:15 mile that I was to do prior to the quarters.  "Yeah", I said, "that ought to do the trick".

The target for the session was as follows:

Mile warm up

2 x 200m

Mile @ 5:15

7-minute rest

3 x 400m @ 62-63 w/ near full recoveries (about 7-minutes)

**  I was to switch over from the flats to the spikes for the last two 400s

I nearly nailed the session.  Once again I didn't bother to time the 200s.  Just ramped the pace up - went at speed for about 100m and then ramped it back down.  I was a little lax early on w/ the mile (2:38 first half), but I closed w/ a 2:36 to come in at 5:14.  Clearly this was a little tougher than my usual warm up - let's not turn this into the standard deal, shall we!?

The first 400m came in at 62.3  I then switched over to my spikes for the first time in, well, way too long.  Ah the feeling of being back in spikes - you feel like a duck when walking in them, but boy they're nice to have when moving around an all-weather oval - 400 #2:  61.1  

After #2 I think the adrenaline was wearing off as I started to feel some of the soreness from before.  In addition, my legs were already getting tired.  (this should improve drastically after a few legit speed sessions)  I knew I had just run my fastest 400 for today, and all I wanted out of #3 was to go under 63.  The session was going pretty well, and if I could just hit a 62.x w/ all the work I'd put in thus far, I'd feel like it would be an excellent opening speed session.

After the first 200 I knew I was a little slow, but I was surprised to see that it was almost 32.  "Yikes, this is a problem I need to pick it up".  I was happy in that I did negative split this last guy, but I came in just over the wire in 63.1 - oh well, motivation for next time.  

Overall, a good session.  I got to experience some faster paces again in something longer than a 200m for the first time in a long time.  I also got back into the spikes which is always nice.  Lastly, I walked off the track no worse off physically than I walked on.  I think I've got about a week for the rest of this soreness to subside and then I should be back to 100%.  

Good luck to Rick in London tomorrow!!

Training:

Wed, 4/22:  Appointment w/ CMT - no running

Thurs, 4/23:  5-miles @ 7:02 (sore)

AM  Lifting (upper-B, abs) stretching, rolling

Fri, 4/24:  5-miles @ 6:53 (feeling a little better)

AM Lifting (upper-A, abs) stretching, rolling

Sat, 4/25:  3 x 400m 62-23, after standard w/u plus 5:15 mile to pre-fatigue the legs.

2x200m - untimed, Mile-5:14, 400s (62.3, 61.1, 63.1)

A Bit Out of Reach

JT had a very tough workout slated for early this week and she wanted me to take an extra easy day beforehand which would have pushed the w/o to Wednesday.  Unfortunately, I have my CMT appt scheduled for Wednesday morning, and I was unable to change it.  With the quad perhaps still a mild concern, and the left hip flaring up I really didn't want to cancel, so that meant I'd have to do the session today.  

With that being the case, we switched up the session giving me one that would be less demanding:

2 x 200m:  31-32

5 x 400m:  68 (90-second rests)

4-minutes break

3 x 400m:  66 (90-second rests)

3-minutes break

2 x 200m: 31-32

Yeah, that's the 'easy' one - the other one was a real beast!  I knew looking at this, that I was probably in trouble.  Two weeks ago I did 8 x 400m at about 70 w/ 2-min rests.  Today I was cutting 2+ seconds/lap, cutting 30-seconds off the rest, AND it was 25+ degrees warmer today.  (not a great combination)  I decided to give it my best shot and see how it went.

The highlight of the session was the opening 200s.  Being careful to baby the quad, I ramped the pace up very slowly for the first 30 yards or so, got up to a halfway decent pace by the 100m mark, picked it up a little for the next 70 meters and then eased up towards the finish.  Nice and smooth, never pushed it - 28.6  Did the same on #2 - 28.6  I was fully expecting to see 30-31s w/ that effort, so to see 28s was a pleasant surprise.

However, the rest of the w/o didn't go quite so smoothly!  The good news was that the hip and quad gave me ZERO issues (probably all that digging into the hips w/ the tennis ball yesterday to alleviate the stiffness) But damn - my glutes were SORE!

The first couple quarters were fine, but the short rest started catching up to me after #3.  Times were:

69-67-68-68-69  (the last one was tough)

By now I was feeling pretty dead.  How the hell was I going to do a second set at 66 w/ the same 90-second rests??  Answer - I wasn't.  I took an extra minute between sets, but I was still feeling pretty awful.  I gave it a go, but after an opening 32-second 200 the wheels started to come off and I finished w/ a 68.  Now in fairness, I was not gunning these things - if I was going to do that, there'd have been no point in going away from the original workout.  This was supposed to be a more 'relaxed' session.  But no matter how you sliced it, I was pretty dead at this point.  I imagine I could have toughed it out and thew a 69 up there, gone right to the 3-minute rest (dropping the last rep) and done a couple of token 200s to close the session, but I got everything I wanted out of this one . . . . I was healthy!  Exhausted, sore, hot (it was about 85 degrees), but healthy.

Later I headed over to the gym to get in my primary leg lifting session for the week.  I'll have to talk to coach to see what she thinks about this session.  Clearly I wasn't able to do what she thought I could do.  Was it the soreness, the temperature, or just a slight overreach for my current capabilities?  Perhaps a combination of all of them.  For some reason, I'm not overly disappointed w/ the session - although I didn't hit the goal, I'm pretty sure I gave what I had out there today.  

The most important thing now is to have that appt w/ the CMT, make sure I'm healthy, get some rest, (a few VERY easy runs over the next couple of days) and get ready to really start hitting it.  I've got to start the serious speed work ASAP - the season is little more than 2-months away!!

Training:

Mon, 4/20:  Off  (stretching, rolling)

Tues, 4/21:  2x200 (28.6, 28.6), 5x400 (69,67,68,68,69), 5-minutes, 1x400 (68)  90-seconds between reps

PM - lifting on legs, stretching, rolling