Strides – Thursday – July 22, 2021

How am I feeling today?

Okay, I would rather that circumstance had let me go on the trip/vacation that I have been looking forward to for several months. However, with the rising number of COVID hospitalizations, I chose to cancel my trip and am good with that decision. It doesn’t mean that I am not a bit frustrated or down about not seeing loved ones, but that will happen, just not right now.

Otherwise, the sun is out, I had to wear a long-sleeved tech shirt to walk Bennie first thing this morning, which was nice, and I am looking forward to my workout today. Although it would have been nice to be driving to the airport right now instead of writing this.

Keep smiling, thinking positive thoughts, take care of yourself, and things will get better. 

Planned Workout Description:  

Type: 

• Easy Run
• Strides

Per Stryd: “Strides are defined as short bursts of faster running to get your body used to running at a higher intensity. Your goal for strides should be to start a bit above your Stryd Auto-Calculated Critical Power and practice running at a fast speed without straining. After a brief warm up, you will run :30s repeats with an easy 1:00 recovery. After you have completed the number of repetitions, cool down with an easy segment of running.”

Today’s Running Focus

• Run Faster

What I Did Today: 

Warm-up

• Split Avg Power Target Range
• S:1 – 19:00 210W 163 – 186 W

Run/Recover

• Split Avg Power Target Range
• 8 x 0:30 Strides 284W 249 – 258 W                           
• 1:00 Recoveries 204W 116 – 163 W

Cooldown

• Split Avg Power Target Range
• S:18 – 19:00 210W 151 – 175 W

Unplanned

• Split Avg Power
• S:19 – 0:49 288W

Did the workout go as planned?

Other than being a bit high on my average Power readings throughout the workout, I felt good. I wasn’t sure about how the Achilles was going to feel, so I did take it easy to start to see how it was to feel. The weather cooperated, and the humidity and temps were down to reasonable levels, which helped make the run a lot better.

I did listen to music, and it does help me with my cadence. I just roll with the music even when I am doing a recovery section. The other part was that I felt more in control of my running by focusing on the T-Rex arms swing. I did work on driving my arms back on the faster repeats, which in turn seemed to open my stride and a little more of a forward lean than my usual arm flapping, elbows out arm swing.

What did I learn today?

That I like cooler weather, but that isn’t anything new. 

Lower humidity gives me a chance to see where I am physically, and I can feel that I am getting stronger. I know that my average Power for the strides is going up, and I am not as fatigued during the recoveries.

That Garmin’s and Stryd’s training philosophies are not aligned. I completed the Stryd work out pretty much as assigned…well, the Power was a bit higher, but it was the same workout, and I felt great about the work I had done. When I looked at my Garmin 245 to see what it thinks of my training status, it said Unproductive and showed my Fitness arrow going down and the Load arrow going up, which isn’t what I expected. Oh well, I am not training by heart rate for a reason.

This is one of the reasons that I do like the Stryd training plans. For someone who has never done a training plan to its completion, I am finding the Stryd plans varied enough to keep me interested and challenged yet have the same basic structure to not wonder what I am supposed to do next. I like a routine when it comes to running with enough challenging workouts that I am not bored, but not so hard that I end up burnt-out or injured.

Plus, I am finding that while I don’t really pay attention to the Power numbers when I am running, I am not that far off from the recommendations on the faster ones. I am letting my fitness catch up to the correct Power numbers. Since I can run almost with my normal stride without the Achilles bothering as much as it was, especially when toeing-off.

Injuries/Niggles: I initially thought I might have some issues with the Achilles, I tried some Voltaren (generic version) on the leg last night, and it felt strange. After reading all the info on it, I think I won’t use it again. Too many possible side effects, and I didn’t like what I was feeling. Once I got going this morning, the leg seemed to wake up, and it stopped feeling weird and has felt better since the run. Sometimes using a prescription-level drug that is now OTC to treat a tendon issue is not the answer.

Weather: Scattered clouds, 67°F, Feels like 67°F, Humidity 74%, Wind 9mph from N

Shoes: Reebok RunFast v1 – Did everything I asked of them. I ran strong and fast in them.