Planned Workout Description:
I am continuing to work on rehabbing the left Achilles tendon and when I do run, focusing on tightening up my form at slower speeds. I was a bit sore when walking Bennie earlier, so I decided to run for a mile then see how things felt. If the Achilles was going to be grumpy at that point, I would shut it down.
Warm-up: I did leg swings, 40 air squats, and 100-ups before running. This will be my minimum warm-up going forward, and then the first few minutes of the run will either be a walk or easy running, depending on the distance I have planned.
· Course: Philbrick/Howard Laps
Weather: Scattered clouds, 58°F, Feels like 50°F, Humidity 44%, Wind 9mph from NNW
· Distance: 1.01 & 1.31
· Duration: 9:04 & 16:15
· Power: 218 & 148
· Running Streak Day #: 3
What actually happened:
I did the planned mile in just over 9:00 minutes and didn’t feel too bad. However, I decided to shut it down and started walking because the Achilles was feeling in the 3-4 range on the pain scale. I felt fine as soon as I stopped running and after walking for 5:00 minutes, decided to do a short one minute run to see how the leg felt. I ended up doing a total of 6 run/walk repeats for another 1.31 miles. Nothing was all that fast, although I have to admit to picking up the pace a just a tiny bit between the two telephone poles heading up towards the mailbox at the top of Philbrick. That part of the run felt good.
It seems that run/walking doesn’t bother the Achilles nearly as much as sustained runs. Which is a good thing to keep in mind when I am setting up my daily training schedule. For the time being, it will be very flexible and dependent upon how the Achilles feels that day.
I just have to find the correct balance between the two to not over-tax the Achilles, but at the same time continue to challenge it and myself as long as it continues to progress. I have to admit that I like to see how the different metrics from the Stryd pod look when I am running versus the run/walk – there is a vast difference.
Right now I am not really paying attention to the Power readings from Stryd, they are more an interesting thing to look at, not really to pay much attention to, until I can start running without restriction.
Then later in the afternoon, we took Bennie for an adventure on the trails at UMA. The Achilles did fine until about the last 100 yards when it started to get a bit tired and grumpy. The uphills didn’t help me too much I have a feeling. They have really cleaned up the trails and they looked great. I wonder if they are having that annual benefit trail race this weekend, I will have to look and see, not that I will run it, there is no way I am ready to run any kind of race yet.
Reading
I started reading Make the Leap by Ryan Green the other night, and I am getting a lot of concrete ideas about things that I can do to improve my running going forward. Little things that I didn’t realize I was or was not doing and were having a significant effect on how I run. More on this when I get my head wrapped around what I will be doing going forward. I liked the book enough that that I got the workbook too and it should be here tomorrow.
Make the Leap seems to tie together many of the loose ends that keep biting me in the arse and negatively effects my running. It really is making me think and it is one of those books that I will have to read at least a couple of times to really get a handle on how I will use the information that it contains.
I did read a couple of online articles:
THE ZERO TO 60 PROGRAM: HOW TO START RUNNING OR RETURN AFTER AN INJURY
One of the reasons I read these two articles is that I wanted to see if I am heading in the correct direction with how I am attempting to plan/do my return to running. I still gotta think some more about what I read and probably re-read these two articles again tomorrow to apply some of their suggestions with my thoughts about how I need to begin my comeback.
Variables that impacted the run:
Injuries/Niggles: I am still nursing that left Achilles tendon issue but making slow progress.
Shoes: ASICS Evoride 2 — Mileage (12.34)
After run – Strength Work:
Sledgehammering tire – 50 on each side
Step hip lunges 2×20
Eccentric Calf Drops – 7×15
Calf Raises – 3×15
Bar Curls – 2×10
Overhead Press – 2×10
Lat Pulldown – 1×20
Hamstring Curl – 1×10
Band leg raises – 1×10 hold for 5 count
Mobility work with the pill bottle
Iced Achilles 2×20 minutes
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