The Unforgiving Minute [Middle Distance Log]

[shesprints]

@dailob, yes you do! Us runners get tight like ALL OVER, it's brutal--well, more so if you are pushing speedwork or distance. I am in suuuuch pain right now because I'm kind of upping both (given that I have my highest mileage ever and my highest volume of speed this week). I kind of lost my appetite the past few days and sleep quality isn't great--danger signs, when added to joint pain and stiffness.

8/29

So given that I'm overreaching a little bit right now (which is proper given I drop back the week after next to freshen up for my race), today's lifting session was just about form and blood flow. Very light weights or band. Just getting the movements down.

Deadlifts up to 125 for speed <--pretty much fail, so adjusted the rest of the workout accordingly
Drop back to 75 for pause just below the knee x 8 singles

lying leg raises x 12-15 x 3
stiff-legged kettlebell deadlift 15lb x 15 x 3
unweighted box squat x 15 x 3
kettlebell side bend 15lb x 15 x 3 each side
band pullaparts med. band x 8 x 3


Feel a bit better after this workout vs. worse, so THAT's good.
I need to eat more carbs. Which means I need to let my appetite grow back. Running, especially longer intervals in the heat, mess me up for days sometimes.
I also think I recover WAY WAY better when I put in time in the pool. I'll be back in on Saturday and Sunday, first to pool run, then SWIM! YAY SWIMMING.

[shesprints]

8/30

Up in the Berkshires. About to go blueberry picking. (Will welcome any blueberry recipe ideas). I feel a LOT better after a restful rest day, an after dinner walk, and a good amount of sleep. Knocked out some higher volume, lower intensity today with a run + pool run (which always makes me feel so rejuvenated).

Run--35:00. 4.23 miles, 8:17 average pace
usual warmup, leg swings, front/back lunges
ran just straight through, easy jog up and down some hilly terrain, so that pace varied from almost 9:00 on the hillier part to below 8:00 on the downhills (though I was careful not to strike the ground too hard, stayed light on my feet)

For once, I actually felt better as the run went on, like I was loosening up. It's a good feeling. I hit my stride around mile 3, when, sadly, the run was almost over. Still--that's good. I miss that. Used to be 3 miles was a WARMUP; I want that back!

Pool Run--45:00

5' warmup
1' @ 250 cadence, 1' easy
2' @ 235, 1' easy
3' @ 225, 1' easy
4' @ 225, 1' easy
5' @ 220, 1' easy
5' @ 220, 1' easy
4' @ 228, 1' easy
3' @ 233, 1' easy
2' @ 250, 1' easy
1' @ 265, 1' easy

Felt great to be back at it and I love cadence drills. My leg speed is always something I've been proud of.

And now, off to meander around in nature. Enjoy your long weekend, guys!

[shesprints]

8/31

I got to swim again today, after my run. Felt good to be back in the pool, even though I did lose a contact lens in the pool (I brought extras, so I replaced it afterwards). I'm so blind without them. Was hard to see the split times for my intervals after that, lol.

Run--30:00, 3.64 miles, 8:14 average pace
(usual warmup, leg swings, man I am tiiiight all over)
3 x 10:00 with 5 x 15-30 second accelerations up to mile pace thrown in the middle 10:00
very brief walk breaks between the 10:00 segments

Swim--2200 yards

300 warmup
300 fist drill (swimming with hands made into fists instead of flat) alternating lengths with regular swim
300 moderate in 5:03
:30 rest
6 x 50 on the 1:00 (that is, going out every minute, so rest time depends on swim time) in
:41
:42
:42
:42
:43
:42
:30 rest
300 faster in 4:52
--break because I lost a contact lens--
6 x 50 on the 1:00 in
:43
:43
:43
:44
:44
:43
:30 rest
300 moderate in 5:02
100 cooldown


Meh, I feel just... stiff and achy, still, but we'll see. I got plenty of sleep last night and quality fuel in the form of whole wheat pasta and blueberry cobbler.

[thehobbes]

^^^I have contacts too, I always wear goggles (they're prob intended for kids but I don't care lol) for fear of that happening. If I could find Spongebob goggles I would so wear those.

Nice job in here girl!

[shesprints]

^^^I have contacts too, I always wear goggles (they're prob intended for kids but I don't care lol) for fear of that happening. If I could find Spongebob goggles I would so wear those.

Nice job in here girl!

Haha thanks. I DO wear goggles! Most swimmers do, not just kids. But I had pushed them up for a minute to rub my eyes at the end of a lap... I rubbed the contact lens out. Whoops.

[shesprints]

9/1

Just an easy day today. Slow easy run... and then I climbed a tree!

Run--4 miles, 32:47, 8:12 pace
nice and easy, usual warmup, let swings, skips to get my feet fast again
ran straight through


Cooled down by climbing this tree, which was planted the year I was born!











That was fun. It was cool how much easier it was to swing myself up now that I'm a lot stronger than I used to be. Practical uses for lifting ftw.

[determined4000]

Oh hi

9/1


That was fun. It was cool how much easier it was to swing myself up now that I'm a lot stronger than I used to be. Practical uses for lifting ftw.

funtional strength

[shesprints]

@determined, truedat!

Actually a bit insecure about how I look in the pics (like I know I'm not striated-ripped) but I feel healthy and strong. So there you go. I also felt better about my body image after keeping really busy--did standup after work today again to shop some new material before I do a REAL show opener on the 13th.

Speaking of which, see this article for proof that laughter is good for training: http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-w...uts-1409602283 and that not all workouts will be great. I need to hear that a lot! Lately it's been SO humid my runs leave me wiped the rest of the day. Working on hydration strategies like drinking diluted kefir postworkout or coconut milk between doubles or etc.

Also taking easy days easier.

9/2

Speaking of easy days, just a pool run today without even super-high cadence. Plus a decent amount of stretching and lying around with legs up the wall. (Which I am doing now, as I type... legs are up along my wall and my computer's on my stomach.)

10' warmup
6' no belt, 4' easy
6' cadence 225, 4' easy
6' no belt, 4' easy
6' cadence 220-226, 4' easy
6' no belt, 4' easy

Need to keep stretching calves.

[meimonsta]

tell me about it.



in all seriousness, pretty pictures!! I really like them. You should not feel self conscious, don't be so hard on yourself! And I'm just a person on the internet telling you that so it might not help but just so you know.

Haha that legs up stretch on the wall. My gym buddies do that all the time. They look so funny most of the time because they're hyooge though!

[determined4000]

Insecure?
1. You have a perfect athletic body type IMO. Also you seem like the girl-next door type that is naturally attractive without lbs of makeup (who are generally shallow/unathletic)
2. If others value you based on that anyways, you shouldnt care about them. Other things are far more important.
Who we are as a person will last much longer than our mid 20s body composition.
3. I think striated looking women are gross

I like the article as well. Laughter has been shown to help things like stress and adrenal fatigue.

Don't have time to read throough all of the pages, so hopefully you don;t mind me just asking...are you actively training for anything or is this just how you generally enjoy working out?
What do you do for a living?

[thehobbes]

Oooo I LOVE climbing trees!!! Did this daily as a kid. Be one with the tree, pick fruit off of it, and throw it at the passerbys below.

[shesprints]

@mei, oh please, you're not just some person on the internet. You're smart and you have an awesome build yourself, so I do respect your opinion. Made me feel better. And yeah... my hair responds that way in the heat for suuure, as does, like, my entire body.

@determined--I am training for various races. Right now, the Fifth Avenue Mile on September 13th. In the winter, indoor track races. Random 5ks from time to time. I run for a semi-competitive postcollegiate team. The reason I do a lot of swimming is that I got badly injured a year and a bit ago and had to find an alternative to keep in shape, and I still do it for crosstraining. And I do just like to work out. Takes the edge of my depression.

For work, I'm a private tutor (mostly SAT/ACT, some general academic, some college prep and college essay/app counseling), so summer has been kind of my off season, with relatively little work; it's about to ramp up. Been taking the time to do more comedy and vacation etc.

Thanks for the compliments on my appearance. I think you realize, though, that my concerns aren't exactly about *attractiveness*. (Also, fyi, most women who wear makeup just do it because of skin problems--I happen to have good skin, so I don't wear makeup, but it doesn't make me morally superior or something). But yeah, my body image issues are... more about not feeling like a 'real runner' because I don't have a distance runner's physique--which given the fact that I am not a real distance runner (I do only shorter races and sprints)... makes sense. And also not being used to having a real female body since I spent a bunch of years as an anorexic so my expectation of what I should look like sometimes goes back to that. I do think I look good to men, but my comfort in my own skin isn't really about that, if it makes sense. But thank you. It IS always nice to get compliments. And it is good to have priorities other than body fat % and looks anyhow.


@hobbes, lol, I USED TO DO THAT TOO. I would take apples and throw them--not AT cars, felt too guilty for that--but into the middle of the road so that the cars would squash them spectacularly. So fun. More people should climb trees, yes/no? Would cure the depression epidemic.

[determined4000]

yeah becuz female distance runners have such amazing bodies...



more like gross

[shesprints]

yeah becuz female distance runners have such amazing bodies...

more like gross

Hey, no body bashing in my thread. I admire them as athletes and let's leave it at that. I admire shotputters, too. That's their sport, that's how their body adapts to it in order to perform well. Though, granted--there are many female distance runners who push too hard to be super-lean and might perform better at a higher body fat level. That's decreasing in the sport, though; lighter isn't always better.

Now for me to apply this logic to myself.

[determined4000]

like you said in your post yesterday, functional strength
same goes for training. This is why I like things like GPP work instead of something like LISS cardio. I don't need to be good at walking on an incline for 30minutes, What is really the point of that?
However, being able to push a sled, farmer's walks, etc, etc. translates into the real world.

[shesprints]

like you said in your post yesterday, functional strength
same goes for training. This is why I like things like GPP work instead of something like LISS cardio. I don't need to be good at walking on an incline for 30minutes, What is really the point of that?
However, being able to push a sled, farmer's walks, etc, etc. translates into the real world.

I don't know, my dad (a heart patient) gets a lot out of incline walking since he has bad knees and can't take the pounding of running and doesn't have reliable pool access. It's great for cardio health and he does do separate strength work, but the lower impact of incline walking really helps him out.

And there is a purpose to LISS cardio for runners. It trains your system to hold and burn more glycogen, which can boost performance. It aids in the development of capillaries and mitochondria--which also boost performance and make your body more efficient. It allows you to get your central nervous system used to the movement of running, even if it's slower. It provides a 'base' to support faster running. Most runners who specialize even in the mile do A LOT of longer, low-intensity runs or jogs or pool runs (which is a lot of what I do in order to minimize impact).

I'm not a fan of bashing one training modality and overvaluing another. GPP is great, but it's also, by definition, not specific. In MY real world... I want to run a mile really fast. Is that practical for anything but running mile races? Not really. So I train for that. I also definitely value overall strength, movement quality, and the ability to perform a variety of types of movement like swimming. GPP is awesome! But so is LISS and so is anything that fits your lifestyle and health and performance goals. All I'm sayin'. Tolerance is the word around here.

[determined4000]

I do go for runs/jogs for cardio
jogging is one thing but walking serves no purpose IMO for me
I am not a middle aged man just
90% of the American population would benefit from adding some incline walking. I am not part of that %

[dailob]

i dont have a runner's body either and i often wonder if that hinders me from getting faster lol

that and i wonder if my lower body resembles a runner but my upper body resembles more of a lifter haha

[Pinskers]

'Dem legs, girl! No wonder you can run! I miss climbing trees. I have a video of my last rock climbing adventure, but I'm strictly forbidden from climbing walls until my shoulder is 110% healed. It's too easy to jerk it out of its socket. (Also, giggling at the idea of you throwing apples to watch them go squish. I used to pelt candy at people in Girl Scouts when we did parades. Hahaha!)

I certainly hope everyone wears goggles when they swim! Not good for your eyes, the chlorine. I never understood my students who refused to wear them. I have a pair that I made the mistake of getting that are red tinted and look infrared, so they make me SOOO dizzy. Have you thought about getting prescription goggles to avoid the contact delimma?

[shesprints]

@determined, yep. Different things work for different people.

@dailob, well, at least you're closer to the *male* beauty ideal, lol. Hey, since you have all that muscle you should try sprinting.

@Pinskers, hey there! Yeah--I guess I just feel like I've only had an issue with contacts ONCE since I started swimming, and it's hard to find goggles that fit tightly and well, so why bother getting special ones, you know? I actually also did not know those existed. That is so cool. Prescription GOGGLES... 'tis a wonderful world.

Ha, my legs are the part of me I feel are least 'runner' and most 'sprinter'. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's interesting and noticeable how fast twitch muscle is, well, BIGGER--more growth potential.


9/3

Speaking of speed, I finally got back up to speed today. I felt really well-rested after yesterday's easy pool run and quite chipper. So I hit my workout splits pretty perfectly. I also feel that not having lifted since Friday last week really, really helped. I just had a lot more spring in my step and less soreness. I think lifting may not happen (except upper body) between now and the race.

Anyway. The workout today was 4 x 800m with the first 600m of each one at 5k pace, and the last 200m at mile pace. The idea: to get used to mile pace while already on tired legs. I may have picked paces that were a bit conservative because this felt quite easy (the 3:00 rests between reps surely contributed). STILL, it is SO good to have a workout feel easy; the last several have been such a strain.

Run--4.5 miles total, 35:00ish, intervals on treadmill due to heat

warmup, leg swings, skips, grapevine skips, lunges, backwards lunges

10:00 warmup @ 8:30 pace with a few accelerations down to 7:00 pace

800m--600 @ 6:40, 200 @ 5:56
3:00 rest
800m--600 @ 6:35, 200 @ 5:49
3:00 rest
800m--600 @ 6:40, 200 @ 5:52
3:00 rest
800m--600 @ 6:35, 200 @ 5:49

cooldown to make up the remainder of 4.5 miles, pace around 8:45


Like I said, this felt really easy; the 5k pace felt like it was a bit conservative for true 5k race pace, but mile pace around 5:50 seems like perhaps a stretch. Still... whenever I have raced the mile in the past, doing 400s at that speed has felt IMPOSSIBLE, and this didn't feel like that. I think my body just isn't used to it yet. We shall see.

[shesprints]

9/4

Easy recovery run, ran outside on a soft path.

Run--4.5 miles, 38:35, 8:34 average pace
Usual warmup (plus the mile or so walk to and from the reservoir path): leg swings, lunges
Ran straight through at an easy pace

Stretched afterwards: downward dog, two kinds of leaning calf stretches, calf stretch off a step, rolling out legs (hamstrings and calves) on a lacrosse ball... and lay down with my legs up against a wall. Recovering from running is hard for me.

I feel good not lifting this week. I feel like I had been in the habit of pushing through way too much fatigue and lingering soreness. I finally have a bit more energy for the rest of my day now.

[determined4000]

do you foam roll?

[meimonsta]

do you foam roll?

Willing to bet a lot of money she knows the foam roller very well

You're a tank! I can't imagine the fatigue you must put up with. Glad you have a bit more energy this week!

And aww really nice of you with your comment up there, I honestly think the same of you!

[dailob]

downward dog! why didnt i think of that for stretching haha when i did "yoga" for a little bit, it was always interesting to be in certain positions...

i think i may be in the same boat with recovering from running, though i'm sure i dont run as much/as hard as you do? your easy pace is my regular pace LOL

[shesprints]

Meimonsta wins the aforementioned "lots of money." Of course I foam roll! For calves I prefer the lacrosse ball because it's harder than the foam roller I keep at home.

Yeah, definitely enjoying the energy and the rest. My body finally feels not sore and tight. I'm sure I'll start to miss lifting eventually (and I'll return to it after my race, of course), but for now it feels pretty nice just to run; I feel like a *runner*. My appetite is a lot calmer, too, and my digestion is better (since my overall workout volume is lower).

@dailob, haha, I do "yoga" in quotation marks, too--I do about three poses, down dog being one of them. That, boat pose, and bridge feel great for me. Recovery from running is pretty individual, I think. So is easy pace. Your easy pace is your easy pace--just because someone else's is faster or slower doesn't mean it is harder or easier for them, necessarily. I think for me the reason recovery is difficult is that I took so long off running and have been increasing mileage, that's all. Hopefully it'll improve! Soft tissue adaptations take time.


9/6

Yesterday was a rest day, which I used to really REST. And eat some cake. I was so wiped out, it was just weird. But I woke up feeling a lot better and actually had the energy to want to run, versus dragging myself out there. Felt good. This was actually my first straight easy 5-miler since I came back. No walk breaks!

Run--5 miles, 41:53, 8:22 average pace
usual warmup
hilly terrain so pace varied from 7:51 to 8:59

REALLY hot and humid. I was dripping sweat afterwards and had some coconut water (from a real coconut) and two pickle halves right after. Seemed to help. Now I have a slight heat headache but feel fine.

I also rolled my calves on a cold bottle of water. Very little soreness, which is good.

[determined4000]

I love rolling but dont actually use a foam roller either.
I use baseballs.

What kind of cake.
Hopefully something with chocolate or a type of cheesecake.

[shesprints]

@determined, it was chocolate cake with a layer of cookie dough on the bottom. Pretty awesome.

9/7

Feel like I'm coming down with something--or maybe allergies? Either way, I'm logy, coughing a bit, and very tired. I paid careful attention to hydrating today, drank lots of tea, still feel a bit run down and hot around the ears.

Just a short run today with a few strides. These are supposed to be short accelerations up to mile pace. I always mess up and sprint them.

Run--3.33 miles, 27:49, 8:21 average pace
usual warmup, leg swings, lunges, backwards lunges, skips
(It has come to my attention that most distance runners do not always warm up with all the drills like I do? IDK, I must be used to sprinting. I always do high kicks, lunges, skips, high fast knees, and sometimes more... not sure if good or bad, I think good for blood flow, at least)
6 x strides between 15 and 30 seconds long (pace ranged from 5:10 to 6:05... I'll figure it out.)

Didn't feel good at all. Coughing, tight chest, ickyness. Ah well, at least it wasn't a taxing workout. I thought of doing upper body lifting but felt too weak and blah.

Like I said above, I did really well on the dietary front today. Drank some kefir diluted with salt after the run... drank some carrot ginger soup... drank some tea... basically a lot of liquid foods (it was hot out, even though the run wasn't hard). I did NOT drink coffee. Running messes with my digestion and I'm doing a few tweaks to see if I can make it less uncomfortable. One is cutting back on fat and fiber before runs even more than I do already (I had gotten lax about that since it doesn't much matter before swimming). Another is switching from coffee to tea, which is in the nature of an experiment. I know coffee is tough on my stomach... but caffeine is a proven performance enhancer. I'm going to see if the coffee proper or the caffeine messes with my gut. If it's all caffeine, even that in tea... IDK.

[kennknee]

In for your log! I just got done training for a 5-man 100 mile ultramarathon. An all new kind of crazy.

[meimonsta]

The heat came out of nowhere! Hope you feel better. Crush it with fluids and rest while it's still nascent.

How do you like the kefir? I've had it once and am wondering if i should pick up more of it. I hear it's good for digestion?

[shesprints]

@kennknee, nice punny username. That's amazing! I want to hear more about that ultra--did you do it yet? What was the time limit? Assuming you had to run 20 miles of it, that would be pretty tough all in one day.

@meimonsta, kefir tastes like buttermilk, basically. I like it, but I like the tart taste of buttermilk; I find it satisfying, more so than milk (which is sickly sweet/bland to me). Kind of like very thin yogurt, actually. And it does seem to make my stomach feel good. Worth a try. Great postworkout.

9/8

Just a pool run today, nice and easy.

Pool Run--45:00
5' warmup
6' @ cadence 220-222, 2' easy
6' no belt, 2' easy
6' @ cadence 220-222, 2' easy
6' no belt, 2' easy
6' @ cadence 220-225, 2' easy


I'm starting to get REALLY nervous for my race on Saturday. Obsessing over my warmup strategy, wakeup time, breakfast... everything. I'm going to talk it over with my RD tomorrow and strategize. I'm also kind of sad because, well, I know I'm not near PR shape. So I have to focus on things other than time goals, like running a well-paced race, enjoying watching those who run in the other heats and the elites, and practicing how to fuel and sharpen for a race since it's been so long.