After my strain last week, I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off completely. Wednesday, I was back in the pool for my regular workout. Wednesday was my birthday and the original plan was to ride with the same group I did last week on Wednesday but storms were going through the area and I opted to do a Spin Class inside instead. The spin class was also taxing on the calves and so I rode with almost no resistance on the bike. Any time my calves began to feel like they were heating up, I would take off more resistance.
Thursday, I went to see Cody and instead of doing weights, Cody did some Muscle Activation Therapy on my calves. It was very aggressive and pretty brutal. I came home very sore.
Although I had hoped to catch up on a workout or two on Friday after missing Monday and Tuesday, I was simply too busy at work to be able to work in a workout. So it was beginning to feel like a lost week.
Saturday, I rode the Horsey Hundred (although I did the Horsey Sixty.) After all of my issues this week and attempting a longer distance, I was a little nervous about this. The ride started and ended at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY. It rode through the horse farms around the area and around Lexington with a stop at Keeneland race course along the way. It was really beautiful and the weather ended up being perfect. Although there was not a lot of socialization, it was nice to being riding with a group for a change. It turned out to be a terrific ride. I had very few issues with my calves during the ride other than some fatigue.
Sunday morning, I went to the pool before church to swim 2100 meters. It seemed like it took forever but in reality I was done in less than an hour. I have settled into alternating 100 m of breast stroke with a 100 m of free style. Besides the fact that it is just a little easier, one of the things I like about it is that I don't lose count of my laps so easily.
Sunday afternoon was the real test. I was back to run for the first time. I went to the park to run 11 miles. Overall things felt much better. I was taking it easy going very slow and stopping regularly for water about every 2 miles. Things were going along very well but at 7.5 miles, it felt like things were trying to act up again. I stopped and walked a mile. At 8.5 miles, after some food and fluid, I decided to try to give it another go, and started a slow jog. After a very short distance, maybe 0.1 mile or so, my calves began to really hurt so I shut everything down again. I still felt like I could walk and I really didn' think that I had injured anything, so I walked out the rest of the 11.5 miles.
I would have liked to have been able to finish the entire 11.5 miles but I feel like I made progress over the previous week.
Finishing out Memorial Day weekend, I got up early this morning and swam 1500 m (with 16 - 50 m sprints). Then this afternoon I rode about 14.5 miles on the bike. The swim interestingly was easier than expected while the bike was harder than expected. I guess I am still a little fatigued from Saturday's ride.
I thought about going to the gym to do some weights (which I really need to do) but I guess I just hit a wall. After 2 pretty good workouts and I think 3 showers for the day, I really didn't want to get sweaty or dirty again. So, I promised myself to get in a weight day tomorrow.
One more week down and I think I am now 13 weeks out from Ironman. However, now there is another milestone to reach. I signed up for the Half Ironman in Muncie for July 13. I am also looking into possibly doing an Olympic Triathlon this coming weekend but I am still not quite committed on that. (Worrying about water temperatures and wet suits, in addition to concerns about my ability to finish)
Anyway, that about wraps up last week. Wish me luck for the next week!
I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend.
David
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
A Good Week but a Hard Day
After the cramping in my calf last week, Cody gave me a Muscle Activation Therapy session on my calves and feet last Monday. I was really sore and although I had planned to go to spin class that afternoon, my calves were cramping at the slightest stress. So I decided it would be best to skip that session.
Tuesday, my calves were cramping all day long on their own with little or no stress being applied, so I skipped the scheduled run for the day and took Tuesday off.
Wednesday, I was back in the pool for my regular workout, which went great. Wednesday evening, I went on a group bike with about a dozen bikers for 23 miles. Although those guys were taking it easy that evening, it was quite a stretch for me. But I managed to keep with them over all and felt great afterwards.
Thursday, I was nervous about starting to run again but I got my 45 minute run in and felt great. Cody did weights with me and check out my calves and they seemed to be doing very well.
Friday, I kept my day off. I considered using Friday to try to catch up for missing Tuesday but in the end, I decided it best to keep that time off in preparation for the weekend activities.
Saturday, I did a 46 mile bike through St Matthews, the Highlands and Seneca and Cherokee Parks. At the end of that ride, I felt great. I knew that I was having some fatigue because my thighs would burn when I was riding up hill but I felt good overall and felt like I could have kept going if I wanted to.
After the bike on Saturday, I decided to wait until Sunday to do my run. Actually, this is how it has been scheduled all along. I have been doing both on Saturday primarily because I just have more time available on Saturdays than Sundays. Part of the reasoning here was that I have been wondering if some of my calf problems are due to too much demand too soon on one day. With a 46 mile bike, I am pushing a little more than 3 hours on a bike. A ten mile run is another hour and a half to two hours.
This morning I got up and did my swim before church (1800 m / with a 800 m time trial (18 minutes 20 seconds)). Again I felt great.
This afternoon, I went out to do my run. I had 10 miles scheduled for today and my calves felt better than they have in weeks. It was about 84 degrees and my main concern once I got running was dealing with the heat. With the heat considerations and the calf considerations, I was going at a very nice albeit fairly slow and steady pace. I felt really good too. Parking in the Park was kind of goofy today which led me to choose a spot where I could do 3 three mile loops. Then I could finish out with a 1 mile run around the soccer fields.
A couple of miles into the run, I could feel something in my left calf heat up a little but it did not feel like a major deal. I slowed a little to see if I could comfortably run through it and I did. Although there was a warm sensation in the calf, it was not really painful and I thought that as long as I was not overtaxing it, that would be good for it.
At about 2.5 miles I stopped for water and walked for about 5 minutes again to deal with the heat and to allow that calf to stretch out a little before resuming the run. I started the run again and felt very comfortable in the run. About 3 miles later following a hill, my calf was feeling hot again and I again slowed down. About that time, I was crossing a street and a car stopped to let me cross and I tried to speed up to cross and when I did, my calf cramped up big time and I had to stop.
Again I tried to walk through it. I walked about about a half mile and drank some gatorade and had some food. When I tried to start up again, I was having pain even with a walk. I still had 4 miles to complete my run. I started off to walk that last 4 miles but the cramping was severe enough with just a walk that I was concerned that I would really injure myself. So at 6 miles, I aborted the rest of the run.
I think that was the right decision. My concern now is that I am 14 weeks out and I have been having this recur for about 4 or 5 weeks now. If I don't get things under control, I am concerned that 14 weeks will not be enough time to build up to marathon distances for the run.
There is so much to learn. Right now, I am thinking that I need to add an Olympic distance triathlon and a Half Iron Man to my program to prepare. I am also trying to decide if the best thing I can do to get back on track is to skip the next 2 or 3 days of training. And at this point, I have no idea how to do all of this at the same time.
Guess I'll have to let you know what I decide. Wish me luck.
David
Tuesday, my calves were cramping all day long on their own with little or no stress being applied, so I skipped the scheduled run for the day and took Tuesday off.
Wednesday, I was back in the pool for my regular workout, which went great. Wednesday evening, I went on a group bike with about a dozen bikers for 23 miles. Although those guys were taking it easy that evening, it was quite a stretch for me. But I managed to keep with them over all and felt great afterwards.
Thursday, I was nervous about starting to run again but I got my 45 minute run in and felt great. Cody did weights with me and check out my calves and they seemed to be doing very well.
Friday, I kept my day off. I considered using Friday to try to catch up for missing Tuesday but in the end, I decided it best to keep that time off in preparation for the weekend activities.
Saturday, I did a 46 mile bike through St Matthews, the Highlands and Seneca and Cherokee Parks. At the end of that ride, I felt great. I knew that I was having some fatigue because my thighs would burn when I was riding up hill but I felt good overall and felt like I could have kept going if I wanted to.
After the bike on Saturday, I decided to wait until Sunday to do my run. Actually, this is how it has been scheduled all along. I have been doing both on Saturday primarily because I just have more time available on Saturdays than Sundays. Part of the reasoning here was that I have been wondering if some of my calf problems are due to too much demand too soon on one day. With a 46 mile bike, I am pushing a little more than 3 hours on a bike. A ten mile run is another hour and a half to two hours.
This morning I got up and did my swim before church (1800 m / with a 800 m time trial (18 minutes 20 seconds)). Again I felt great.
This afternoon, I went out to do my run. I had 10 miles scheduled for today and my calves felt better than they have in weeks. It was about 84 degrees and my main concern once I got running was dealing with the heat. With the heat considerations and the calf considerations, I was going at a very nice albeit fairly slow and steady pace. I felt really good too. Parking in the Park was kind of goofy today which led me to choose a spot where I could do 3 three mile loops. Then I could finish out with a 1 mile run around the soccer fields.
A couple of miles into the run, I could feel something in my left calf heat up a little but it did not feel like a major deal. I slowed a little to see if I could comfortably run through it and I did. Although there was a warm sensation in the calf, it was not really painful and I thought that as long as I was not overtaxing it, that would be good for it.
At about 2.5 miles I stopped for water and walked for about 5 minutes again to deal with the heat and to allow that calf to stretch out a little before resuming the run. I started the run again and felt very comfortable in the run. About 3 miles later following a hill, my calf was feeling hot again and I again slowed down. About that time, I was crossing a street and a car stopped to let me cross and I tried to speed up to cross and when I did, my calf cramped up big time and I had to stop.
Again I tried to walk through it. I walked about about a half mile and drank some gatorade and had some food. When I tried to start up again, I was having pain even with a walk. I still had 4 miles to complete my run. I started off to walk that last 4 miles but the cramping was severe enough with just a walk that I was concerned that I would really injure myself. So at 6 miles, I aborted the rest of the run.
I think that was the right decision. My concern now is that I am 14 weeks out and I have been having this recur for about 4 or 5 weeks now. If I don't get things under control, I am concerned that 14 weeks will not be enough time to build up to marathon distances for the run.
There is so much to learn. Right now, I am thinking that I need to add an Olympic distance triathlon and a Half Iron Man to my program to prepare. I am also trying to decide if the best thing I can do to get back on track is to skip the next 2 or 3 days of training. And at this point, I have no idea how to do all of this at the same time.
Guess I'll have to let you know what I decide. Wish me luck.
David
Monday, May 13, 2013
Run Walk or Crawl
15 weeks and counting to IM Louisville.
Weekends are becoming difficult to organize. My schedule this weekend included a 40 mile bike ride, a 9 mile run and a 1700m swim. I usually do 2 of the 3 on Saturdays because I have more time. Sunday, I usually do the swim early in the morning to get it out of the way.
As I go along, I am more and more impressed with the people who have already done this. I knew that this wasn't going to be easy but I am already struggling to juggle everything and I'm still 15 weeks out. I can't even imagine how I will manage this things when I am doing double and triple the distances that I am currently.
I misjudged the weather and my schedule on Saturday. We had a cool front coming through and I expected the temps to be near their highs in the morning and dropping all day. Because of this I rearranged my schedule to do a 3 and a half hour spin class at the gym in the morning. (When I am doing a spin class, I usually assume it is the approximate equivalent of 15 miles for every hour) I really need to ride outside if possible but with possibility of cold and rain, I decided it was better to make sure I got the workout in.
In the afternoon, it turned out to be fairly warm and sunny after all. In fact it would have been better to have done the run in the morning and the bike in the afternoon. But I dutifully went to Seneca Park to get my 9 mile run in.
Two miles into the run, my left calf started cramping. As I have mentioned before, one of the dilemmas I am always facing is when to quit to prevent an injury. I scaled back a little and tried to run through it. Things seemed better for a while but it started cramping again, so I slowed to a walk for about a half mile. Things calmed down and I started a slow jog which felt pretty good for about a half mile, then - more cramping. I slowed again and thought things would be okay but then my right knee started to cramp up as well.
I was about 1 mile from the car and about 5 or 6 miles short of the workout I needed to do. With both legs now acting up, I decided not to risk injury, so I stopped the run. BUT I also knew that I couldn't skip the workouts and expect to be able to do this race in August. So I went with middle ground. My calf was tight but I didn't think it was injured, so I walked the rest of the way to complete my 9 miles.
I don't know what the experts would tell me, but the way I see it, the training isn't just a matter of increasing the endurance and the distances. It is also a learning experience. Let's face it, these are intense races and things can go wrong. While it would be nice to have everything go perfectly, I think these challenges help me learn what options I may have on race day and how I might proceed.
In August, I hope I don't find myself cramping up or having knee issues, but if I do, I have dealt with that before and I have some ideas about how to cope. It may not be pretty but the final goal is to cross that finish line and if doesn't matter if I run, walk or crawl across it.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!
Side note: I am a newby at this and can in no way be considered an expert. Still, I have done a couple of marathons and I am learning all the time. If you have any tips, stories, or info to share, I would love it. Also, while I am not any kind of an authority, I would be happy to answer any questions. Just leave me a note.
David
Weekends are becoming difficult to organize. My schedule this weekend included a 40 mile bike ride, a 9 mile run and a 1700m swim. I usually do 2 of the 3 on Saturdays because I have more time. Sunday, I usually do the swim early in the morning to get it out of the way.
As I go along, I am more and more impressed with the people who have already done this. I knew that this wasn't going to be easy but I am already struggling to juggle everything and I'm still 15 weeks out. I can't even imagine how I will manage this things when I am doing double and triple the distances that I am currently.
I misjudged the weather and my schedule on Saturday. We had a cool front coming through and I expected the temps to be near their highs in the morning and dropping all day. Because of this I rearranged my schedule to do a 3 and a half hour spin class at the gym in the morning. (When I am doing a spin class, I usually assume it is the approximate equivalent of 15 miles for every hour) I really need to ride outside if possible but with possibility of cold and rain, I decided it was better to make sure I got the workout in.
In the afternoon, it turned out to be fairly warm and sunny after all. In fact it would have been better to have done the run in the morning and the bike in the afternoon. But I dutifully went to Seneca Park to get my 9 mile run in.
Two miles into the run, my left calf started cramping. As I have mentioned before, one of the dilemmas I am always facing is when to quit to prevent an injury. I scaled back a little and tried to run through it. Things seemed better for a while but it started cramping again, so I slowed to a walk for about a half mile. Things calmed down and I started a slow jog which felt pretty good for about a half mile, then - more cramping. I slowed again and thought things would be okay but then my right knee started to cramp up as well.
I was about 1 mile from the car and about 5 or 6 miles short of the workout I needed to do. With both legs now acting up, I decided not to risk injury, so I stopped the run. BUT I also knew that I couldn't skip the workouts and expect to be able to do this race in August. So I went with middle ground. My calf was tight but I didn't think it was injured, so I walked the rest of the way to complete my 9 miles.
I don't know what the experts would tell me, but the way I see it, the training isn't just a matter of increasing the endurance and the distances. It is also a learning experience. Let's face it, these are intense races and things can go wrong. While it would be nice to have everything go perfectly, I think these challenges help me learn what options I may have on race day and how I might proceed.
In August, I hope I don't find myself cramping up or having knee issues, but if I do, I have dealt with that before and I have some ideas about how to cope. It may not be pretty but the final goal is to cross that finish line and if doesn't matter if I run, walk or crawl across it.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!
Side note: I am a newby at this and can in no way be considered an expert. Still, I have done a couple of marathons and I am learning all the time. If you have any tips, stories, or info to share, I would love it. Also, while I am not any kind of an authority, I would be happy to answer any questions. Just leave me a note.
David
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