Longer Run – Tuesday – July 13, 2021

How am I feeling today?

The legs and right shoulder are a bit sore after standing on a ladder painting the back of the garage. I am not used to the movements, balance, and strength requirements of stabilizing myself on a ladder and reaching out to paint 20 feet off the ground for a couple of hours. So, I am not sure how this planned long run will go. 

If the Achilles starts to grumble too much, I will cut it short and smile, knowing that it is the correct thing to do. I was a bit bummed because my running buddies asked me to run with them today, but I couldn’t because the van has an appointment at the dealership. I would have preferred running with the guys versus sitting in the waiting room to pay for necessary maintenance and any repairs they find that I need to have done.

Planned Workout Description:  

Type: 

• Long Run – 70:00 minutes

Per Stryd:

“The long-run is the main staple in training and is your longest continuous effort in the training week. The goal for this run is to practice extending duration and increasing your time spent running. Over the course of the training plan, this run will build in duration and slightly vary in intensity.”

Today’s Running Focus

• Listen to the body

Why am I doing this run?

I need to start stretching out my longer runs both for physical development and a mental break from the day-to-day stuff that goes on. At the same time, I have to listen to the left Achilles tendon to ensure that I am not screwing up the slow progress that I have made.

What I Actually Did Today: 

Goodhue O/B – 70:00-minute run

Did the workout go as planned?

I managed to stay in Zone 2 and 1 most of the run by forcing myself to focus on how I was landing, which seemed to help me slow down a little more and not have my feet bother me as much. My stride was a little shorter, and cadence was down a bit, but not as much as I thought it was going to be. I am learning that as I run fast, both my stride length AND cadence pick up, so I am either one of those oddities or, more likely just like most runners, but have taken the time to see what I am actually doing versus what I think I am doing.

The run itself wasn’t anything special. I just focused on listening to the body and attempted to run in ways that didn’t make it grumble as much. I made it to over 5.0 miles before the Achilles started to let me know it wasn’t too keen about this running stuff. I really think it is the hills that bother it more than anything else.

What did I learn today?

That I can run slower if I put my mind to it, and my stride can be tweaked a little to make it so that the Achilles and right foot don’t complain nearly as much. So, I have to keep working on those things to help make my running more enjoyable, with less discomfort.

Injuries/Niggles:

The left Achilles did bother a little towards the end of the run, which made me stay with the slower pace. 

Weather: Clear sky, 68°F, Feels like 67°F, Humidity 64%, Wind 3mph from NE

Shoes: Hoka Carbon X1 – Did well today, although I noticed when I started that the right toe was up against the fabric pretty hard. I think that was the reason for it bothering me on the run the other day. They did fine going slower, and as long as I focused on how my feet were landing (more of a heel strike), the Tailor’s Bunionette wasn’t a bother. I have a feeling that is why I became a heel striker, the body compensated for it, and when I do run faster, at a certain point, it becomes an issue because it can’t take the pounding that landing on the outside of the right forefoot for too long. At least, that is my theory, and it seems to be reasonably close.

Other Stuff:

I hate sitting in the waiting room at the car dealership while getting a vehicle fixed, but at the same time, there really isn’t a lot of choice in the matter. We weren’t sure what was wrong, so I needed to stick around to approve or listen to what they tell me. It ended up that they couldn’t do the work, but it is more that we don’t drive the vehicle that much, and they believe that rust has built upon the rear brake drums. Nothing serious and can wait a bit to be fixed. Which was good news. Yes, I got my usual headache from sitting in the waiting room and it went away after I got home.