Monday:
AM: 5 miles, easy
PM: 8 miles, easy/moderate
I felt decent the day after my 10 miler. The end of that second run was a bit tiring. My left ankle was a little tender at the start of the 5 miler and throughout most of the day. It was fine during the afternoon run.
Tuesday:
AM: 7.5 easy
I was supposed to go for a ladder workout this afternoon but canned it and napped instead. My ankle felt decent throughout the whole day so I decided to take my single run day today. I still felt in "recovery mode" from the race.
Wednesday:
AM: 6 miles easy
My ankle felt better than it had in about 2 weeks but my left hamstring was excessively tight for about 2 miles, gotta stretch more!
PM: 9.6 miles with 8xhill, 5 up and 3 down
No real ankle problems to report. Hillwork tends to be continuous running with varied paces, not likely to cause aggravation. I got out a little late for this one after eating a whole lot of sushi. However, it sat well and I hit this workout strong despite stiff winds. My hamstring was still tight at the beginning but loosened up very quickly.
Thursday:
AM: 5 miles, easy
PM: 6 miles, easy/moderate
No real ankle issues or hamstring issues to report. I nailed the afternoon run and felt refreshed finally from that race.
Friday:
AM: 4 miles, easy
PM: 9 miles total, Ladder workout: 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400...2 minutes rest between reps.
My ankle started flaring up a bit again in the morning and the pain seems to have settled in the bottom of my heel and arch area as well. I really felt it during that speedwork. The constant starting and stopping probably put extra strain on it. It also didn't help that I started that run at 10:30 at night, but such is the life of an 80-90 mile a week runner with a full time job and long hours.
Despite the tender ankle, late start and slight fatigue, I was only maybe 1-3 seconds slower than what I was shooting for. However, the paces felt right.
400: 75s
800: 2:39
1200: 3:57
1600: 5:20
1200: 4:01
800: 2:40
400: 77s
Overall, I held decently steady on the second half which is usually a goal of these workouts, come back in what you started out with. The consistent 2 minutes rest between each was new, I would usually rest more between the longer reps, but figured that little tweak would make it more difficult. It certainly forced me to actually run 5K pace on one of these workouts for a change!
I could really feel that ankle and foot running the cool down, enough to start to have concern.
Saturday:
21 miles, easy/moderate pace
This was just a 21 miler to get the miles in while still staying as fresh as possible for tomorrow's half marathon. I didn't bother timing it and my pace varied depending on who I was running with. I would feel the ankle for a few steps every time I started up from a stop, then it would fade away. The pain in my foot migrated from my heel to my arch. It was the worst in the early/middle part of the run and largely faded by the end. It really just felt tight.
I think my problem is that I'm slightly compensating for my ankle especially for a few seconds when I start up from rest. With all the starting and stopping from Friday, and the occasional stopping due to city traffic today, my arch just got really tight. After stretching it a bit, it feels a lot better.
I need to do my best to stop compensating for that ankle especially since the pain just goes away after a few steps anyway. Either that, or don't stop running once I start! Having pain and stiffness when I first start up a run is nothing new, I'm just used to it being in my knees, quads, hamstrings, or calf muscles. The ankle is a new experience.
Overall, it hurts less than it did last week, and that was on fewer miles. With a higher load, it hurts less overall which means it is slowly getting better. I'll keep an eye on it, but I see no reason currently to cut back.
Miles going into Sunday: 81. This week will be a mileage PR after the B&A Half tomorrow. With all this mileage, if I don't feel it in tomorrow's race, I won't run it all out. I'll take whatever my body will allow. However, if it happens to have 5:50 pace in it, I'll take it!
No comments:
Post a Comment