Training Update

Training continues to progress. A couple short runs, with a quality long run and cross-training continues to be the theme.

What is amazing to me is that I am already at my "rest week." I will only have a long run of 10 miles this week.

I had a fairly good week of workouts, though I took some days off because of work:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Plyometrics Sports Rehab (30 minutes) and 4 mile run

Wednesday: 2 mile jog with the dog and Plyometrics Sports Rehab (30 minutes)

Thursday: Worked LATE

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 16 miles

Sunday: 4 miles, some trail running

The 16 miler went okay. It was about 74 degrees and 84% humidity when we started at 5 AM and got worse from there as the son came up. Andrew dropped pretty early this time. He was going slower than usual from the start and dropped back around mile 5 to rest and head back.

Everything was going well for me until about mile 14 or so. If you look at my 14 mile run last week (top) which I felt pretty good about to this week's (bottom) first 14 miles, you see that blue line fading. The first big dip was hanging with Andrew before he dropped, then about back to usual, then it drops... now, going out further on this route (turned back at 6.5 miles then did 1 when I got back vs 8 this week) meant some more hills.I also meant to bring 2 gels with me -1 GU and 1 HoneyStinger. I accidentally left the honey stinger at home. At about mile 8 I was getting pretty hungry, so I took the GU and felt great. At about mile 12, I think my blood sugar spike from the GU dropped and I began to feel it and by 14 was getting sick to my stomach. I suddenly felt weak. My muscles felt fine and I was fine the rest of the day after I ate. I think once I take something like a GU in, I have to account for that spike and drop. It is almost better not to eat anything if you can't get another one in.

The shoe bracket is on hold. I loved the idea, but my brain is fried. Session will be over soon. Maybe something like that and more thought out blog updates will happen then. Maybe not. 

Plyometric Rehab

As my rehab progresses and so do my runs, I got to thinking - what I'm doing might be useful to others - or my future self. First I will recap why I'm doing it.

Why am I doing this???

Last June, I was running at The Ranch 30K. I started off doing well but a runner stopped in front of me right as I took a really steep, rocky decline. I thought I had sprained my ankle. I rested and tried coming back and kept dealing with it until a DNF at the New Years Double Marathon prompted an MRI, which showed a torn paroneus longus. I was subsequently in a boot for 3 months. Following that, I've been in physical therapy working on strengthening a severely weekends left leg. I'm doing well but still have weakness I'm working on. That's contributed to shin splints.

I've been doing the following routine 3 times a week for 2 weeks now and it's really helping. I feel like it built on the basic physical therapy. Each week my ankle is less noticeably weak and my shins are slightly less painful. I'm still not ready to "gun it," but I'm confident after the next four weeks I will be.

The Workout:

So here it is, my 3 times per week routine.

Dynamic Stretching

First, dynamic stretching:

I found this on the Internet, but these ate the exact exercises I do to start. I do each across about a 20 foot length, out and back, twice. So about 80 total feet. It's important to note I'm in no hurry with these. I take my time, and do them right.

The dynamic warm up is amazing and I may start to incorporate it into my pre-run routine. The dog and bush walk I particular really helps. Of course not all of these stretch the ankles, but just stretching the symptomatic body part is where a lot of people go wrong. Our bodies are intricate systems and your hips and back can't actually affect your ankle.

Plyometrics

Next is the plyometrics routine - note I am not going to get into exactly how to do each one. If you are interested, look up how to do these moves correctly. Remember to land soft, from toe to heel. I have the luxury of a physical therapist watching and coaching once a week. I recommend you do the same if you choose to try these out:

1. Standing Small Jumps - 20 seconds - I am actually not sure what the real name of these are... but basically face the wall with your hands straight up in the air and do real small  hops off of the toes for 20 seconds.

2. Tug jumps - 20 seconds:

2. Squat Jumps - 20 seconds:

I found this image at: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/five-ways-to-boost-your-running-economy/7065-6.html, which has  good description of how to complete the move.

3. Squat Jump Forward - 5 one way, 5 the other, holding the squat for five seconds in between.

4. 180 Jump - 20 seconds

5. Single Leg Bound - 20 seconds

So that is it. I plan on continuing these sorts of things once I am all the way better. 

Training Update: Analyzing my Speed

I think training is going pretty well. The less is more approach + a ton of cross training seems to be keeping my healthy while allowing me to improve my fitness again. I am down from 160 pounds to 151.9, though I came down to 151.5 and then bumped back up to 154, and am now back down again.

Last week I planned on getting in 22 miles, and got in 21. The most important thing I am measuring is that my weekly long run feels good and is at between 8:30-9:00 minutes per mile.

14 miles went well.

Time	Date		Speed	Pace	Name
2:02:09	05/11/2013		6.9 mi/h	8:42min/mi	David R.

I was curious to how this compared to my “peak” that I was on last year when I was ran:

Time	Date		Speed	Pace	Name

39:18

05/15/2012

X

6:17min/mi

David R.

This is what I consider my best run ever at any distance. It was not a race, but I was in peak shape. This was just prior to my injury over the summer that sent me on the downward spiral, I was at about 140 pounds, and really finding myself as a runner. I don’t want to push those speeds on my legs now, but I was curious as to how that compared to the nearest run to my 14 miler…

Time	Date		Speed	Pace	Name

2:06:19

04/21/2012

X

9:36 min/mi

David R.

What this tells me is I was actually running my long runs at a much slower pace this time last year with much higher speeds at low mileage distances. Granted, I was running over 50 miles a week at the time and I am less than 25 now. I don’t plan to get up to that kind of mileage until after the El Scorcho 50K when training for Cactus Rose 50, but I’m wondering how my top speed 10K performance will compare? As soon as my shins are 100%, I’ll find out.

Until then, on to 16 miles this week.

Also, we went camping this week. Soon the savage beast came out of in my four year old and things got interesting...

Luckily it just took some fishing to calm him down.

The South Llano river state park was a really good time. I hope to go back. And I really need to book a campsite for Father's Day!!! I think outside of running, camping may be my favorite hobby.

Getting into my Training Program

I am feeling pretty good about my training method. There is basically 8 months left to train for Rocky Raccoon and I think I will stick with my X-Training/Less running method the entire way (though most people probably would not consider the end number of mileage to be "less.") I am being a little flexible. My Physical Therapist suggested we go into a 6 week program of plyometric sports rehab. I come in once a week and he observes my jumps, takes me through the workout, and I work out on my own twice a week. He is teaching me to land softer even from things like tug jumps, which will help my running. Each visit he examines my functionality, flexibility, and strength and helps work on the types of muscles I need to be successful. In addition to that I am running 3-4 times a week (I added one this week because the dog was begging so it was 4, but went SUPER SLOW because a: she is slow and b: it was an off day), and doing Insanity 4-6 times a week. I will add the gym time in once the 6 week program is over.

I have noticed some advantages to cross training so far:
1. When my long run comes, my legs are fresh. I get a great workout.
2. When my long run comes, I want it so bad. It is not a chore. It is fun!
3. I feel stronger and more rested.
4. My legs are not ready to do "speed work" or push my aerobic threshold yet - but Insanity does.

Basically I am getting long runs, time on my feet, strength training, and aerobic work outs. All under the guidance of a physical therapist.

I am almost pain free. About 3 weeks ago, my shins stopped me 8 miles into a run. 2 weeks ago I was only feeling about 50% of that pain. Last week I was down to about 25% pain. The ankle is also getting stronger and the nerve pain is going away.

I also should mention... I really love my long run route:

It is beautiful, and it provides some good gains. It is mostly flat, with a slight incline and decline the entire way, but at the 4 mile from my house point there is a series of serious hills. On a 20 mile run, I hit them around 4 and 16 miles.

At 10 miles I was able to average 8:25, this week it was about 8:45 at 12 miles, but I was consistent both times, it is not that I started to peter out. The big difference was the amount of wind I was dealing with.

This week I am really getting into my training with a 14 mile run Saturday and 4 mile run Sunday on the trails. I hope to keep that 14 mile run under 9 minutes and as close to 8:30 as possible. Once my legs are 100%, I hope to even start pushing that pace a bit to 8 or so for my training runs.

Ultra Training: Getting Started and The Shoe Bracket

Ultra Training:

It's been about a month since I started slowly getting back into running after being out of a boot for a torn paroneol tendon. I got shin splints right away so I have taken it back a notch in the ramp up. The amended plan looks like this:

In addition to this, I am doing Insanity 5-6 days a week. One of my gym days a week will continue to be physical therapy. Starting this week, I am transitioning to a plyometric program in PT that is designed to get my supporting muscles developed to prevent injury in the future. 

Two weeks ago I was worrying about my running since the shin splints made me quite on a run at 8 miles. Last Saturday, I had a great 10 miler with an 8:25 pace and I am feeling better about things. The shins still slightly hurt, but as long as I use a soft, mid foot strike, things seem to be good. I have also fallen back in love with my Brooks Pure Connects. I am wearing some toe socks on long runs to prevent blisters, but I really like them. They are giving me just the protection I need to ease back into things. I am going to try to get 1 run per week barefoot, but these are definitely me go-to for longer runs.

To be honest, if not for the missing pod here and in one other place on the mid foot, I would say these are going to beat out every shoe in the shoe bracket.

I am also getting my weight back down. A year ago, I was pretty skinny when I ran the Ranch at about 139 pounds:

That is where I hurt my ankle, and since then I have gone up to 160. I want to run at 140 at El Scorcho, but with more muscle tone than I had. Right before The Ranch I had run a 39 minute 10K on the road (self-timed) and was running sub 20 10Ks easily. I really want to get back there.

After 1 month of training again, I am at 151.5. I know we are not supposed to talk about the following, but I am proud of what we are doing. I am proud of the risk I took, and I am really happy it paid off. One item that is helping is that we are trying to pay off our debt which I accumulated in grad school and in my first job, which paid less than I needed to make ends  meet. The VA messed some things up during that time and everything basically hit at once financially while we had a small child. Lots of debt. It was still a great decision. I am in a great place and actually have a great job now.As of next month, no more student loan payments for my wife, no more daycare payments, and 1 card will be paid off. In about 18 months, I will be debt free. And hopefully we will buy our second house. We have already found the perfect place deep in the hills near Austin. It is taking some sacrifice in the mean time, but one of the big ways we are saving money is EATING IN. And doing things like: my wife is buying whole chickens. Last week we got a whole chicken and a couple pork loins and made different things out of them all week. We are trying to only eat out once a week. This is our biggest money problem. WE LOVE TO EAT OUT! But it is also TERRIBLE FOR YOU most of the time. I really love that we are doing this and I kind of hope once the debt is gone, we keep it going. And my wife is becoming a really good cook!!! We are not doing any crazy diet, just eating out less, and eating more foods that we actually cook (cheaper and better for you). The crock pot has been a blessing for a busy working couple!!!

The Shoe Bracket:

I want to put some actual effort into this as I decide what will be the best shoe for El Scorcho 50K. It is on a "trail" in a park that is basically a road with some gravel (which makes it too much for me to run barefoot for 31 miles.

Here is how it will work

The Schedule:

Week 1 May 18th:

WEST:

Brooks Pure Flow vs. Altra Adams

Luna Leadvilles vs. Vibram SeeYas

EAST:

Merrell Ascend Gloves vs. Vibram KSOs

Merrell Road Gloves vs. Altra Instincts

Week 2 will be May 25th, Week 3 will be July 1st. Then, the winner faces my previous champion for a road racing shoe: The Brooks Pure Connect:

There will be a point system criteria. I am looking for a minimalist shoe with a little bit of protection to help me to my best 50K. I will grade the shoes on:
-Drop: 0 points for 5mm; 1 point for 4mm; 2 for 3; 3 for 2; 4 for 1; 5 for 0
-Width: 0-5 points for wide toe box
-Cushion: 0-5 points for slight cushioning
-Price: 5 points for $50 or below; 4 for $75; 3 for $100; 2 for $125, 1 for $150; 0 for $151+
-Other: Up 10 points for my subjective views

This should be fun!!!

Also: I just found RunningWarehouse.com. Man, I got a good deal on some running clothes! Where do you like to find great deals?

Things are Changing

I have been grappling with what I want to do with this for a while, and I have finally started the process of changing it. There are several reasons for the changes. But don't fret, the shoe bracket will go on. The first shoe bracket battles will be this weekend.

The blog will focus now on what I am doing to get to a 100 mile race in February 2014, including the stepping up from 50K to 50 miles to 100K to 100 miles over that time. The main two reasons for the change are these:

1. I identify myself more as an ultra-runner than a barefoot runner now. I still run some barefoot, but the majority of my running is in minimalist shoes. I need the barefoot runs to keep my form right, but I can perform better and further with some level of protection. It seems like there is a lot of exclusionary attitudes about this from the barefoot culture. Whatever may be the reason, I feel more comfortable as an ultra runner. Being a barefoot runner is part of who I am, but I just don't feel it is the main part of me.

2. I plan on trying to include awareness items of veterans issues. I hope to eventually figure a way to raise money for veterans. Hopefully this will help me.

I think this will be a more useful blog for those looking at how others train or have trained. I plan on my first post being this weekend.

El Scorcho Shoe Bracket

I think I'll be asking for new shoes for El Scorcho for Father's Day. The research starts now, but here is my bracket I will outline over my next posts for my new shoes to run the El Scorcho 50k in.