Monday Off had some calf soreness and it had been 16 days since my last day off so I decided this was a good spot for an off day. In terms of the calf it was a perfect choice in terms of how the week went overall I would have liked to have taken a day later in the week.
Tuesday developed a wicked sore thoat over the course of the day.
PM 9.1 at Phillips with Uta in a cold rain- actually wore a hat and gloves. 1:00:14
Wednesday sore throat has expanded to a running nose and some head congestion.
PM 6miles on road solo, in a reverse from yesterday it was a bit hot to bring Uta, 37:32
Thursday sore throat better but congestion much worse, head feels like it is in a cloud, tons of crap coming out of nose and chest.
PM road 5 with Uta, 31:47
Friday about the same as Yesterday
PM road 8.2, 51:25, this was not the best run, I felt like crap, I had some coordination issues and just generally didn't enjoy myself.
Saturday AM road 7, first 3 with Uta, dropped her off then ran solo, 46:36, feeling improved to day, not great but I slept around 12 hours and the chest congestion is largely gone and my nose isn't producing nearly as much shit.
Sunday Noon 11 miles around Phillips, very hot, struggled, 1:11:51.
Summary 46 miles for the week. I got a head cold, which wasn't that great. I have a standing rule that I don't do speed when I have a head cold because it pretty much always causes it to turn into bronchitis which seems to never die. I'm starting to feel better this afternoon so hopefully back to moving forward this week.
I was able to improve the calf a lot which feels great now and I did increase the short day and the long run so not a lost week but obviously not what I had hoped for.
This week I have tomorrow planned as an off day. I don't feel I need it physically but my kids have a field trip that means my day will be out the door a bit before 7am and home around midnight. I could do an AM run but I don't think that would be a great set up for the rest of the week given that I obviously won't be getting that much sleep Monday night and I don't hold up that well over the week after a couple of nights of short sleep.
I'm also racing again this week to help round out the CMS team for the USATF-NE 5 mile champs. It is also a chance to take a dip stick on the fitness. We'll see what the weather looks like but the course is New England flat so if it isn't super hot I'd like to try and slip under 25:00 but given how little I have done that is probably a very tall order.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Training Blog May 29 to June 4
Monday AM 9.1 miles with Uta around Phillips in 54:19, sort of an unplanned fundamental tempo
Tuesday PM 5 miles at Phillips with Uta and Melissa, 41:37
Wednesday PM 3+ warm up 15 strides with jog back recoveries, 3+ cool down. Calf a bit tired/sore after this
Thursday PM 4 miles with Uta, 27:28
Friday PM 9 miles around Phillips, 1:06:34, first 5 with Melissa and Uta
Saturday AM 6 miles road with Uta, 40:33
Sunday PM road 10 solo, 1:04:50
Summary 52 miles for the week. Two moderate efforts. I did a bunch of feldenkrais stuff but didn't make any breakthroughs or anything. Some of it is very neat/weird. Tough to describe but you really have this moments when you feel like you are reprogramming your mind/body connection.
My calf is a bit tired but I haven't had a day off in 16 days so I'll take one tomorrow. Next couple of weeks are pretty busy but then summer comes and the living is easy.
Oh and least I forget if you want to try some Rabbit gear use this link and you get 10% off
Tuesday PM 5 miles at Phillips with Uta and Melissa, 41:37
Wednesday PM 3+ warm up 15 strides with jog back recoveries, 3+ cool down. Calf a bit tired/sore after this
Thursday PM 4 miles with Uta, 27:28
Friday PM 9 miles around Phillips, 1:06:34, first 5 with Melissa and Uta
Saturday AM 6 miles road with Uta, 40:33
Sunday PM road 10 solo, 1:04:50
This is a pic of me eating pickles, you know because they are delicious and we needed to go grocery shopping. That is why I'm eating the pickles I'm posting the pic because I feel like the blog needs more photos.
Summary 52 miles for the week. Two moderate efforts. I did a bunch of feldenkrais stuff but didn't make any breakthroughs or anything. Some of it is very neat/weird. Tough to describe but you really have this moments when you feel like you are reprogramming your mind/body connection.
My calf is a bit tired but I haven't had a day off in 16 days so I'll take one tomorrow. Next couple of weeks are pretty busy but then summer comes and the living is easy.
Oh and least I forget if you want to try some Rabbit gear use this link and you get 10% off
http://rabbit.refr.cc/nathanielj
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Monday, May 29, 2017
Training Blog May 22 to 28, 2017
Monday AM road 4 with Uta, 28:04
Tuesday PM 7.2 miles around Phillips Academy, first 5 miles with Uta and Melissa, this felt pretty good.
Wednesday PM 5.2 miles on roads with Uta in 34:29. Uta was more into this one than I was...
Thursday PM 8.2 on the roads in the rain with Uta, nice run, 52:03, planned strides for tonight but was getting pretty cold/tight by the time I finished up so I decided to skip them.
Friday PM road 5 mile solo, gave Uta the evening off, 32:41
Saturday AM at Chelmsford rail trail, 3.1 mile warm up, strides- this felt really excellent, all between 4:20 and 4:35 pace but felt easy and smooth, 2 mile tempo- this felt less excellent, aerobically ok but my quads were a bit burny by the end and my HR looks to have been through the roof, for what the watch hr is worth, 10:22 (5:13, 5:09), 3.4 miles cool down
Sunday PM I was in VT for a memorial for my Brother and slipped in a jog on the AT, I planned on 5 but this was pretty hilly single track and so after 25 mins, and according to the Garmin 1.88 miles, I turned around, I would guess it was longer than that given the dense tree cover and very windy nature of the trail but probably not all that much longer...
Summary 43 miles for the week, give or take. One light workout. I'm finally to the point where I was willing to write myself a bit of a schedule. In general I am addicted to having a plan and following a schedule. I'm pretty good about listening to my body and making adjustments to that schedule as needed. I would guess I only follow it to the letter in somewhere between 1 week out of 5 to 1 week out of 10 but I do feel that having a plan, knowing how the workouts need to progress and what workouts are going into the overall mix keeps me from training out of balance or from getting caught up in training for training sake. That said early in a comeback things are so touch and go I find that plans cause nothing but complications, disappointments and artificial barriers. Far better to just have a general sense of what you are trying to do, is today a recovery day or an increase day or a day I'm going to try to run a 'new' pace. Then listen to the body. Many runs I start in the early part of a comeback even as I start the run I don't know how far it is going to be. I will head out with the intention of trying to run farther then my last 'push day' but that might mean doing 1 minute more or 2 miles more depending on how the body reacts and feels on the day. I also always end up taking a day off that I don't want to take because I can feel the pressures building in the body and that I'm not as recovered on a given day as I should be before adding new stimulus.
Beyond that I have continued with one to two Feldenkrais sessions per day for cross training.
Tuesday PM 7.2 miles around Phillips Academy, first 5 miles with Uta and Melissa, this felt pretty good.
Wednesday PM 5.2 miles on roads with Uta in 34:29. Uta was more into this one than I was...
Thursday PM 8.2 on the roads in the rain with Uta, nice run, 52:03, planned strides for tonight but was getting pretty cold/tight by the time I finished up so I decided to skip them.
Friday PM road 5 mile solo, gave Uta the evening off, 32:41
Saturday AM at Chelmsford rail trail, 3.1 mile warm up, strides- this felt really excellent, all between 4:20 and 4:35 pace but felt easy and smooth, 2 mile tempo- this felt less excellent, aerobically ok but my quads were a bit burny by the end and my HR looks to have been through the roof, for what the watch hr is worth, 10:22 (5:13, 5:09), 3.4 miles cool down
Sunday PM I was in VT for a memorial for my Brother and slipped in a jog on the AT, I planned on 5 but this was pretty hilly single track and so after 25 mins, and according to the Garmin 1.88 miles, I turned around, I would guess it was longer than that given the dense tree cover and very windy nature of the trail but probably not all that much longer...
Summary 43 miles for the week, give or take. One light workout. I'm finally to the point where I was willing to write myself a bit of a schedule. In general I am addicted to having a plan and following a schedule. I'm pretty good about listening to my body and making adjustments to that schedule as needed. I would guess I only follow it to the letter in somewhere between 1 week out of 5 to 1 week out of 10 but I do feel that having a plan, knowing how the workouts need to progress and what workouts are going into the overall mix keeps me from training out of balance or from getting caught up in training for training sake. That said early in a comeback things are so touch and go I find that plans cause nothing but complications, disappointments and artificial barriers. Far better to just have a general sense of what you are trying to do, is today a recovery day or an increase day or a day I'm going to try to run a 'new' pace. Then listen to the body. Many runs I start in the early part of a comeback even as I start the run I don't know how far it is going to be. I will head out with the intention of trying to run farther then my last 'push day' but that might mean doing 1 minute more or 2 miles more depending on how the body reacts and feels on the day. I also always end up taking a day off that I don't want to take because I can feel the pressures building in the body and that I'm not as recovered on a given day as I should be before adding new stimulus.
Beyond that I have continued with one to two Feldenkrais sessions per day for cross training.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Training Blog May 15 to 21
Monday 3 miles in 19:19 with Uta
Tuesday 5 miles with Uta and Melissa, 39:42
Wednesday 4 miles in 26:10
Thursday 6.7 miles, 6 miles in 37:01 then four strides with Jog back recovery
Friday off
Saturday 4.1 miles with Uta and Melissa in 31:18
Sunday 2 mile warm up with Melissa, strides, 30 second fast effort, race Travs Trail 3 mile in 15:38, 1st place. 1.5 mile cool down with Melissa and Kara Haas.
Summary 30 miles for week. 1 race. I did a ton of the Feldenkrais work. Which is not hard, all sort of neurological. Ok why the race. Basically I love this race. This and the great bay 5k are my two favorite local races. Also I have won here for a few years in a row and I didn't want to give up the streak without a fight. Not an ideal point to race but hey sometimes you need to bend the rules.
Hope you are well.
Tuesday 5 miles with Uta and Melissa, 39:42
Wednesday 4 miles in 26:10
Thursday 6.7 miles, 6 miles in 37:01 then four strides with Jog back recovery
Friday off
Saturday 4.1 miles with Uta and Melissa in 31:18
Sunday 2 mile warm up with Melissa, strides, 30 second fast effort, race Travs Trail 3 mile in 15:38, 1st place. 1.5 mile cool down with Melissa and Kara Haas.
Summary 30 miles for week. 1 race. I did a ton of the Feldenkrais work. Which is not hard, all sort of neurological. Ok why the race. Basically I love this race. This and the great bay 5k are my two favorite local races. Also I have won here for a few years in a row and I didn't want to give up the streak without a fight. Not an ideal point to race but hey sometimes you need to bend the rules.
Hope you are well.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Rabbit Elite and Training for May 1 to 7
New 'sponsor'
I joined the Rabbit Elite team. I'm still running for CMS this is an equipment team like Hurricanes or Volee. I joined because I really like the company. They are small but they still sponsor some up and coming pros. They make all of their stuff in the USA and it is really nice kit. If you want to try it out click on the link below and get 10% off.
10% off on Rabbit Running Apparel
Training
May 1 to 7
Monday bikram yoga
Tuesday 4 miles in 28:50
Wednesday bikram yoga
Thursday 4 miles in 28:03
Friday bikram yoga
Saturday 4 miles with Melissa and Uta in 31:00
Sunday off
May 8 to 14
Monday 5 miles with Uta in 33:04
Tuesday bikram yoga
Wednesday 5 miles with Uta in 33:05- same loop as Monday I think we deserve some points for consistency.
Thursday 2 miles with Uta in 13:37
Friday 5 miles with Uta, first three with a very tired Melissa, 36:32
Saturday 3 miles with Uta and Melissa, 23:29.
I also did a ton of yard work, turning two large compost piles, spreading compost and mulch in my garden and other random stuff like that.
Before bed I did a half hour Feldenkrais 'lesson', more on that in the summary.
Sunday 6.7 miles around Phillips with Melissa and Uta, 52:47.
Summary I'm back running a little bit, so I'm obviously happy about that. The calf thing is still there but only very lightly. The key to fixing it was a Feldenkrais routine, which they call lessons for whatever reason, for pelvic mobility. After I did it the first time I was able to run without pain for the first time. I have been doing it before every run and at least once on most of the days I haven't been running.
I honestly have tried most every type of cross training or injury treatment that you can imagine but honestly up until a few months ago I had never heard of Feldenkrais. It is different. The idea is to improve your mechanical running and muscular balance through exercises that improve your running coordination and neurological firing patterns. The lessons are easy to do physically, if anything the risk is that you push to hard.
Melissa has been doing some Feldenkrais stuff that Anna set her up with through Terrence Mahon. She is the one who found the pelvic routine that helped me get back moving in the right direction. My plan now is to do a pretty involved program over the next 7 weeks as I slowly build up my running to see if it helps my coordination problem. Obviously I'll keep you updated on how it goes.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Training Blog April 24 to 30, 2017, a tiny step forward, hopefully.
So this was another week of very little but I did manage to do a couple of "runs". I went to yoga on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I ran two miles in 16mins on Thursday and 3 miles in 24mins on Saturday, both of those were with Melissa and Uta. I got massage and acupuncture on Saturday after the run.
The back is still a bit wonky and I'm not doing forward bends in Yoga but other than that and right when I get out of bed in the morning. The calf feels fine but I did get some soreness after both runs that doesn't feel quite 'right'.
The problem seems to source from my back/hip on the right side and I'm doing exercise for that area and hopefully with that I'll be able to build up real slow to some real running. I'm not super confident because the area just doesn't feel right but at the moment I don't have a better plan.
The back is still a bit wonky and I'm not doing forward bends in Yoga but other than that and right when I get out of bed in the morning. The calf feels fine but I did get some soreness after both runs that doesn't feel quite 'right'.
The problem seems to source from my back/hip on the right side and I'm doing exercise for that area and hopefully with that I'll be able to build up real slow to some real running. I'm not super confident because the area just doesn't feel right but at the moment I don't have a better plan.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Weekly training, or not, blog April 16 to 23, 2017
I went to yoga on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and twice on Sunday. I saw Anna on Monday and got a massage but she did have me jog for 20 feet or so to see if there was anything glaring wrong with my stride. The verdict, I'm not extending and I'm not fully pronating but compared to past sins I don't actually look that bad.
So I was planning on running Friday afternoon but instead I threw my back out doing some weeding in the garden. It actually wasn't that bad but I wanted to play it safe. I got up still feeling tight but not too crazy bad on Saturday morning and then when I was eating breakfast it totally spasmed. As someone who has had low back surgery I have had my fair share of 'throwing the old back out' but this one was a personal worst. I couldn't believe it. It was some real pain. I couldn't move I actually thought I might be stuck on the floor for a long while.
Now I can't take muscle relaxers because my spine wasn't fused so I needed a fix. I went to yoga and basically laid in the the hot room for 90% of it and I did a lot of heating and Mckenzie back relaxer exercises and as it slowly loosened up a bit a lot of lacrosse ball massage. Finally tonight after second yoga I sort of invented a new exercise/lacrosse ball massage movement that got it to let go and I find myself suddenly like 95% better. I'll probably hold off another day on running because at this point I've missed so much time one more day doesn't really matter but I hopefully good to go.
So I was planning on running Friday afternoon but instead I threw my back out doing some weeding in the garden. It actually wasn't that bad but I wanted to play it safe. I got up still feeling tight but not too crazy bad on Saturday morning and then when I was eating breakfast it totally spasmed. As someone who has had low back surgery I have had my fair share of 'throwing the old back out' but this one was a personal worst. I couldn't believe it. It was some real pain. I couldn't move I actually thought I might be stuck on the floor for a long while.
Now I can't take muscle relaxers because my spine wasn't fused so I needed a fix. I went to yoga and basically laid in the the hot room for 90% of it and I did a lot of heating and Mckenzie back relaxer exercises and as it slowly loosened up a bit a lot of lacrosse ball massage. Finally tonight after second yoga I sort of invented a new exercise/lacrosse ball massage movement that got it to let go and I find myself suddenly like 95% better. I'll probably hold off another day on running because at this point I've missed so much time one more day doesn't really matter but I hopefully good to go.
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