Saturday, March 8, 2008

Knee is Okay Today

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. : no pace

ACHIEVED
6.2 mi.@8:07 (50:19)

6:55 AM 34° 79% 0 mph

This morning was uneventful ... which was nice for a change. My knee wasn't 100% but it was okay. My overall fitness seems lacking which isn't a surprise at this point. The temperature was unseasonably cool but actually felt refreshing.

Looking forward to the next run and hopeful that this is the start of a good, strong run of training.

PRE RUN
Clif bar & water


POST RUN
Kashi GoLean cereal with skim milk

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Stretching Out ... My Leg; Not the Distance!

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. : no pace

ACHIEVED
3.01 mi. @ 8:10 min./mi. (24:37)

4:53 AM 51° 91% 0 mph

Frustratingly, my left knee is still having a problem. My training schedule called for a track workout of mile repeats yesterday but given the way my knee was feeling I knew that wouldn't be prudent. So I didn't run in the morning and planned on an evening run. I figured I'd just go out and get an easy 3 - 5 miles but, like the past few days, the knee seems to get worse throughout the day while I'm sitting at my desk. I've tried getting up frequently and walking but that hasn't seemed to help. By the time I got home from work I scrapped the idea of a run. And, I've essentially scrapped my training program ... for the time being. I've got to figure out a way to get my knee feeling better. I believe the problem stems from inconsistent training during the weeks I was extremely busy at work. I think I lost the benefit of what little base I had built up. I'm not quite back to "square one" but it feels like it! This isn't a nice place to be with 72 days remaining before the Ogden marathon and my attempt at 3:30.

So I've concocted a training plan that I hope gets me back on track. Since I broke down around 7-8 miles during my last two long runs of 10 and 16 miles, I not going to go long this weekend and probably next. Instead I'm going to get my miles by attempting doubles. I'm going to start real easy ... 3 miles in the morning and 3 at night with no set pace. I'll see how my body responds. I'll take Friday and Sunday off for recovery. I'm not sure about Saturday but I'm toying with 6 miles in the AM and 6 in the PM. If my body (and mind) can hold up, I'll be getting around 40 miles per week. After a couple weeks, I'm hopefully back on track. Hopefully this isn't one of those approaches that end up being much better in theory than practice!

Today's 3 miles were uneventful. The knee has not happy at the start but started loosening up after about 1/2 mile. I started pretty slow and never really pushed the pace. Over the last mile, I tried something I read yesterday about leaning forward. The suggestion was made to lean "from the ankles". This seemed like a good idea and it felt pretty good too. I just can't sustain it for very long. I think this approach is better than mine of trying to keep my shoulders over the balls of my feet. This seemed to have me bending at the waist.

As usual, I stretched before and after hoping that will somehow help. It's now been 3 hours since running and my knee actually feels okay. My car is in the shop (about 4 miles away) so at the end of the day, if everything works out, I'll just run over for the office to pick it up.

PRE RUN
Nothing

POST RUN
SlimFast

Monday, March 3, 2008

... How Does it Feel Today ... ?

OBJECTIVE
Easy Run 2 mi. @ 8:25

ACHIEVED
2.03 mi. @ 8:07 min./mi. (16:30)

5:13 AM 72° 78% 12 mph

Thankfully my schedule was only for 2 miles today. After Saturday's debacle, I probably should have taken another day off but I'm fearful of falling further behind schedule. So this morning turned out to be a test for my left knee. In summary, it bothered me from the beginning and made it seem is if I wasn't going to be able to continue. But I kept the pace slow until the soreness/pain dissipated around 3/4 mile in. From that point, everything was good but I was still cautious. I've got a good 48 hours now until Wednesday's track workout. Hopefully the knee recovers fully in time for that effort!

PRE RUN
Nothing

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, GrapeNuts w/skim milk