Tue: XT - 30mins elliptical + 30mins bike (several 30secs surges)
Wed: Run - 1k at 3:50, 2mins rec, 5k tempo 20:50 (av 4:04), 2mins rec, 1k at 3:50, 4x200m in 40secs, total 14k;
XT - 35mins bike easy
Thu: Run - 6k slow, very painful; XT: 1 hour elliptical, easy
Fri: XT - 45mins elliptical, easy
Sat: Run - 4.5k trail race in 18:36 (av 4:04), XT : 40mins bike easy
Sun: Run - 18k easy in 92mins (av 5:05);
Total 43km of running + 5 hours XT
Did about 3.5 hours or running this week and almost 5 hours in cross training. I find XT to be a bit of chore, not utterly enjoyable. Perhaps it will take time to be comfortable with thse kind of activities, but when you are injured, do I have any choice? Still experiencing sore arse from biking and to kill boredom, I normally bring a novel or two to read. Currently doing all the cross training at easy pace (maybe equivalent slow jog effort?), but for ellipticals - I tried to average about 160-180 strides per minute. At this juncture, I cam capping most of my XT at 40 minutes, felt like going crazy if I go longer than this. Not sure how much fitness benefits these XT sessions will bring (~40 mins XT = 20mins running ??), but at least they do burn some calories and minimize weight gain.
Since I can only run a few times a week, I decided to make my running days short but with some quality included. On Wednesday, did 1k, 5k, 1k, at threshold effort and it felt hard. I think I am of those guys who lose fitness rapidly if I don't run much for an extended period of time (1 month now and counting). Also, due to inability for my left ankle to push-off, I simply had to work significantly harder to run at the same pre-injury effort.
On Saturday, along with 3 other work colleagues, I participated in Frost The Trail corporate challenge. Ran the race cautiously since the trail surface was uneven and finished the 4.5k cross country course in 18:36 (4.08 pace). Shitty time, but given this is an inter-corporate event and not a competitive race, I managed to finish 3rd fastest runner even with a bad leg. Our team ended up finsihing 2nd and we won $250 shoe voucher for each person.
After a reduced workload for the last month or so, I feel the AT tendon and lateral shins have been improving but I am probably still several weeks from full recovery. The problem is that due to over-compensation and muscle imbalance, I've been experiencing hip issues and sore lower back. Running through injury is definitely a vicious cycle.
Will arrive in Melbourne on Thursday and stay there for holiday until the following Sunday. My goal for the HM is simply to finish the race in one piece. Best of luck to Rob for his 2.50-2.55 goal and also Jon's PB attempt. See you guys next Sunday. Also, good luck to my legs :p
Photo from yesterday's Fros the Trail. If you notice, I was racing with an ankle brace (left leg)
4 comments:
Nice prizes again, you're making a fortune over there with your running :).
Good luck for next Sunday, hope your legs hold up and you have a good run.
Let us know if you want to catch up beforehand, I'll prob go to the Expo Sat am. We're staying about 5 mins from the G.
I think 2.50 is a bit ambitious, will be very happy if I can do a pb.
Catch up with you Sunday.
Enjoy Melbourne as much as you can. Make sure you get right up the front (jump the barriers) - it's a terribly crowded first few k if you don't.
I coach I know used to rate cycling and running as 3:1 for aerobic conditioning (3 hours cycling = 1 hour running), so maybe XT on the elliptical is similar. I'd be going off heart-rate readings.
Good luck for next week.
I know we joke about your prizes in running events, but it's a good reminder about how high you set your standards - you're a better runner than 99% of the people out there and the rewards are desrved, even if you feel it was an average race
Well done on the trails race! You sure do clean up those prizes way to go!
Well done on persisting with the boring X-training...Hope you enjoy an excellent Melbourne holiday, have a good Half, and reload to fight another day, when the injuries are more under control...Hopefully you can put to use some of the good ideas you had in recent months again for maximum reward next year...Well done, and stay strong mentally...
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