Pandemic Running Thoughts (Comments Welcome)

[DopeyBadger]

Rough stretch of days. Hang in there.

 

[mankle30]

Rough stretch of days. Hang in there.

Thanks. For some reason, the leg started feeling fine around Saturday afternoon. I did a lot of walking in the last couple of days and didn't want to tempt fate by running on it, but I'm going to test it out with a few treadmill miles tomorrow (Monday) before the doctor's appointment.

 

[mankle30]

5 Weeks Until WDW Marathon
Uh oh . . .
​

Wednesday, November 28: Rest day!

Thursday, November 29: 7mile tempo run, plus 1 mile warm up, .6 miles cool down. Splits were all over the place (10:21, 10:46, 10:54, 10:10, 10:19, 11:11, 10:52) although some of them I think were due to bad GPS data from my phone.

Friday, November 30: 4 miles treadmill - 13:20/mile.

Saturday, December 1: 2.4 miles - 12:18/mile - Or so says Strava. I did this on a treadmill but I'm not entirely sure why I stopped at 2.4 miles.

Sunday, December 2: 10 miles - 12:31 min/mile average. I think that the "slower" pace here is probably right for where I am. First run outside using the Garmin means that this 10 miles is likely further than the 10 miles that my phone GPS was indicating.

Monday, December 3: 4 miles - 13:07 min/mile pace on the treadmill. Woohoo.

Tuesday, December 4: 8.0 miles - Strength workout - 3x2m intervals, 1 mile warm up, 470m recovery. .5m cool down. I maintained a strong pace for the duration of this workout. My first mile of the first interval was 11:03 and the second was 10:48. First mile of the second interval was 10:53 and the next mile was 11:05 and the first mile of the third interval was 10:53 and the second mile was 10:53 D)

Wednesday, December 5 - Rest

Thusday, December 6 - Tempo - I ran 7 miles at tempo pace (11:11, 11:31, 11:09, 10:59, 11:18, 11:07, 11:10) but noticed the pain in my lower calf on the inside of my leg fairly early on.

The pain didn't go away after the run and lasted all day Thursday and Friday. At this point I was getting really worried about the marathon. I made a doctor's appointment for Monday (tomorrow). I was having pain when I put weight on my leg and especially when walking uphill or downhill or up or down stairs.

But a funny thing happened. On Saturday afternoon, I stopped feeling the pain. I did a lot of walking Saturday afternoon and night, walking 5 minutes to the bus to go downtown, 5-10 minutes from the subway to where I was going downtown, 5-10 minutes back to the subway station and 20+ minutes back home from the subway station. No pain. Nothing.

Then on Sunday (today), I walked 20 minutes to my parents' place to pick up their car, stood all afternoon (and part of the morning) for my gig (including carrying heavy speakers around), and still no pain.

I'm testing it out running slowly tomorrow to do up to 4 miles, and then I'll avoid speed work and tempo running this week as I build back up to a long run next Sunday.

Wish me luck.

 

[Princess KP]

Maybe see a physiotherapist? Whenever I have pain, my physiotherapist uses a combination of manual therapy and acupuncture to fix me up. Even if I’m not in pain, I will see him every few months just to correct any imbalances. You should ask your doctor about it tomorrow.

 

[mankle30]

Maybe see a physiotherapist? Whenever I have pain, my physiotherapist uses a combination of manual therapy and acupuncture to fix me up. Even if I’m not in pain, I will see him every few months just to correct any imbalances. You should ask your doctor about it tomorrow.

If only I could afford a physiotherapist. I'm self-employed and I don't have any insurance that would cover physio and I'm not in a financial place right now where I could afford to pay out of pocket.

But the test run went well. No pain in 4 miles on the treadmill. Tomorrow, I'll head outside and try to get 6 miles in.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

But a funny thing happened. On Saturday afternoon, I stopped feeling the pain. I did a lot of walking Saturday afternoon and night, walking 5 minutes to the bus to go downtown, 5-10 minutes from the subway to where I was going downtown, 5-10 minutes back to the subway station and 20+ minutes back home from the subway station. No pain. Nothing.

I think you're smart to continue to monitor the pain. I have found that sometimes, my pain goes away after walking and moving around in general. Hopefully it's as simple as something was tight, but moving around took care of the problem.

 

[mankle30]

I think you're smart to continue to monitor the pain. I have found that sometimes, my pain goes away after walking and moving around in general. Hopefully it's as simple as something was tight, but moving around took care of the problem.

I'd like to think that I'm getting better at monitoring pain and responding to it earlier as I get older. But I was definitely feeling down on Friday as there was quite a bit of pain as well as the other crap with my car. But things are looking up!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Glad to hear things are looking up. I had a rough patch in the middle of last month where I felt all sorts of discouragement.

I think the challenge comes in learning how to respond to pain. The competitive side takes over and may try to respond with something along the lines of suck it up and keep going. Or pain is weakness leaving the body. No pain, no gain or know pain, know gain.

The problem is that pain can also be your body telling you something isn't right and needs to be addressed. Meaning you need to either stop doing what you're doing or at least change how you're doing what you're doing.

There are certainly times when you can actually run through pain. But it's important to pay attention to make sure you're not running through pain and heading towards injury.

 

[mankle30]

Glad to hear things are looking up. I had a rough patch in the middle of last month where I felt all sorts of discouragement.

I think the challenge comes in learning how to respond to pain. The competitive side takes over and may try to respond with something along the lines of suck it up and keep going. Or pain is weakness leaving the body. No pain, no gain or know pain, know gain.

The problem is that pain can also be your body telling you something isn't right and needs to be addressed. Meaning you need to either stop doing what you're doing or at least change how you're doing what you're doing.

There are certainly times when you can actually run through pain. But it's important to pay attention to make sure you're not running through pain and heading towards injury.

I have little problem running through pain for the marathon itself. I had horrible blisters in the 2017 WDW Marathon (bad choice of shoes and mistake I won't make again) and I ran half the race thinking I had a stress fracture in one foot.

That said, the pain during training is rough because getting to start line healthy is the most important thing. Heading into now with less than 5 weeks before the race, a major injury is catastrophic (hence my fears from the leg injury last week). That's my biggest worry, but, running the last two days, I'm feeling more confident that whatever it was is gone now.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I have little problem running through pain for the marathon itself. I had horrible blisters in the 2017 WDW Marathon (bad choice of shoes and mistake I won't make again) and I ran half the race thinking I had a stress fracture in one foot.

I think that's the biggest challenge of determining when to run through pain. I think the rule I've more or less settled into is listen to my body. If it's soreness, my body will usually stop protesting and accept it. If it's a problem, I will feel such severe pain that I need to stop. If I experience that in a race, I try slowing down first to see if that will solve the problem. If it happens in training, I usually cut the run short and monitor carefully since I don't want to wreck race day.

Heading into now with less than 5 weeks before the race, a major injury is catastrophic (hence my fears from the leg injury last week). That's my biggest worry, but, running the last two days, I'm feeling more confident that whatever it was is gone now.

Glad that it appears to be getting better. I also get almost hypercautious leading up to a race to the point where my nieces and nephews wonder why I'm not goofing off with them like I normally do. Mind you it's never injury risk goofing off even months away from a race, but rather making sure I don't accidentally tweak something that will heal up in a few days that I don't actually have when the race is days or weeks away.

 

[mankle30]

I'll post an update when I've got some time, but so far, so good. I've gotten five runs in since I started back up on Monday and will do a long run this evening after I finish work. I think I've been getting accustomed to running in the cold as the temperatures in the high 30s are now starting to feel somewhat comfortable. It's just another week before my wife and I head south to visit her parents in southern Virginia (with a likely side-trip to Charleston SC to visit her aunt) and the running there is hopefully going to prep me for warmer weather than here.

 

[Princess KP]

Glad to hear things are going well!

 

[mankle30]

Glad to hear things are going well!

"Going well" and "not being injured" are two different things!

 

[Princess KP]

"Going well" and "not being injured" are two different things!

You ran 5 - 6 times this past week so I would say things are going well!

 

[mankle30]

4 Weeks to WDW Marathon
Holy crap it's coming fast!
​

This week was the beginning of the ramp back up after a few days off due to a suddenly appearing, then disappearing injury to my lower right leg.

After taking it easy and testing it by walking over Saturday and Sunday, I did a test run on Monday, December 10

Monday, December 10: 4 miles on treadmill. Felt good

Tuesday, December 11: 6 miles in the real world, averaging 12:28 min/mile. Felt good

Wednesday, December 12: rest day. And a good thing too since my day was incredibly busy involving a job interview (didn't get the job but they're having me come in today to talk about a different position), a rehearsal, teaching, and meeting up with someone to transfer some files.

Thursday, December 13: I was going to really test out the leg today with 8 miles but I have having some GI issues and the run was in a layer of snow and some iciness on the roads. Decided to cut it short after 3.1 miles, averaging 13:51/mile, so obviously I was going slowly to maximize traction.

Friday, December 14: 6 miles in a cold rain. Averaged 13:22/mile and there was still some residual snow and slickness on the ground.

Saturday, December 15: 6 miles averaging 12:29/mile. I felt good and the weather was a little nicer, with mid-30s temps and all the snow had melted. I definitely felt stronger. The six miles two days in a row were to help build up some cumulative fatigue for my long run Sunday.

Sunday, December 16: 14 miles. The first 2.5 miles were discarded by Garmin when I stopped in at my gym to use the washroom. Following that, I ran another 11.5 miles and I could see my pace really start to flag around mile 10.5 as I started to run uphill after a long downhill. The pace dropped back to the mid 13:00s per mile for the last few miles as I crossed the 2 1/2 hour mark of the run.

I'm definitely feeling sore today after the long run so I'll wait until this evening to run and then take it easy. I'm going to try to do another long run on Saturday, due to the fact that I'll be driving south all day on Sunday and I'll try to do another 14+ mile run before the taper begins.

 

[mankle30]

Really starting to get excited with the bib #s and corrals coming out! I'll be in Corral E with a 33xx bib number for the Marathon. Not sure about the 5k with my wife.

We leave for Virginia and the in-laws' house in just 3 days! Three more days of running in Toronto although tomorrow (Thursday) should be a nicer day for my tempo run!

 

[mankle30]

3 Weeks to WDW Marathon!
Peak Week/Last Week in Canada
​

Monday, December 17 - I was really feeling it after my long run on Sunday. I waited until evening to do a short, 2-mile treadmill run (13:25/mile) that started after 10pm.

Tuesday, December 18 - I did an 8-mile strength workout on the track. 1m WU, 3x2mi intervals with about 465m recover and a 0.5mi CD. My intervals were pretty consistent running a 22:06 (11:03/mile avg), 22:08 (11:04/mile avg) and 21:56 (10:58/mile avg), although the last interval was tough to hold despite being a faster time. It felt like the effort was really up there. I was also really nervous about this run because of the short turnaround (about 10 hours) between Monday night's recovery run on the treadmill and Tuesday's strength workout.

Wednesday, December 19: Rest day (boy did I need it)

Thursday, December 20: 9.3 miles tempo run. 1mi WU, 8 miles tempo, 0.3miles CD. I cut the cool down on this run short due to time constraints (had to go to work). I'm going for a marathon pace of 11:27/mile which will give me about 5:00 marathon and I hit my targets pretty well: 11:22, 11:02 (uphill?!? how did that happen); 11:25, 11:16, 11:31, 12:02 (with some uphill), 11:28, 11:19. Again, holding pace got tougher as the run went along.

Friday, December 21: 4 miles treadmill 13:21/mile. Strictly a slow recovery run. The weather has not been favourable and I went to the gym with my wife who ran about 1.5 miles on the treadmill beside me. She's running the 5k at WDW and, while her training hasn't exactly been consistent, judging from what she's done before, I have no fears that she'll be able to complete the distance. She's in decent shape as a dancer and, while she hasn't run much in her life, she's been able to do 2+ miles of running/walking on the rare occasions that she does get out and run. Now that we're in Southern Virginia where the weather is a bit warmer (she's also extremely averse to cold weather), I think it'll be easier for her to get out and do some running, likely with me on my easier days.

Saturday, December 22: 15 miles long run, 12:41/mile average. Speaking of cold weather. This was a tough run and, combined with the 14 miles I did on Sunday, less than a week ago, was probably not the wisest choice. BUT my logic was thus: due to the injury that cost me three days (including a long run) a few weeks back and difficulties with the overall volume of the training plan, I hadn't been able to complete a run longer than about 13 miles. Since the weekend marked 3 weeks until the race, I'd be on taper following it (although this upcoming week won't feel like a taper), meaning I couldn't get a longer run in. Since I'd be driving south all day Sunday, I wouldn't have time to squeeze a 3-hour run in. So, Saturday it is. I was going for 15 miles and I knew it would take longer than 3 hours (longest recommended run by Hansons), but I also knew that I needed a run longer than 3 hours in order to boost my confidence of running 26.2 miles. My total moving time was 3:10:25 but I also stopped for a washroom, a banana and a cookie at a Starbucks about 6 or 7 miles in. At that point, my legs were feeling tired and I was VERY hungry and had already had one of my gels. I realized that the solid food in my stomach was much more revitalizing that the gels had been (a lesson I'm definitely going to take into the marathon with me). Once I had some food in me, the run was pretty good. My paces were right around where I wanted them for a long run and I was doing a 30-second walk every half mile (also depending on traffic lights). My downhill miles were faster and my uphill ones were slower as I tried to run on effort.

All in all for the long run, I was pretty happy. I felt a few niggles like muscle tightness in my hamstring and hip, but I've felt these before and knew that with a day of rest and an easy run on Monday (today), they'd be fine. I also have yet to have a recurrence of the lower leg injury that cost me a few days a couple of weeks ago, even through two faster workouts and such a heavy week of running.

So this was peak week. If we track mileage from Sunday through to Saturday, we get 14+2+8+9.3+4+15= 52.3 miles. That's easily a weekly high. I'm also at 110.5 miles for the month of December, on track for another high, despite a few missed workouts from that injury.

Coming up this week:
Monday: 5 miles easy
Tuesday: strength - 4x1.5 mile intervals around 11:05/mile
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 10 mile tempo (8m at tempo, 1 WU, 1 CD)
Friday: 5 miles easy
Saturday: 8 miles easy
Sunday: 10 miles

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Safe travels.

At that point, my legs were feeling tired and I was VERY hungry and had already had one of my gels. I realized that the solid food in my stomach was much more revitalizing that the gels had been (a lesson I'm definitely going to take into the marathon with me).

I've definitely noticed on my last two long runs that I feel sluggish until that first gel kicks in. Then I feel pretty good. One of my only at Disney goals for the marathon is to have some sort of real food during the race, hopefully in World Showcase.

 

[mankle30]

Safe travels.

I've definitely noticed on my last two long runs that I feel sluggish until that first gel kicks in. Then I feel pretty good. One of my only at Disney goals for the marathon is to have some sort of real food during the race, hopefully in World Showcase.

Thank you! Safely traveled! Looking out on a beautiful sunny and crisp day (from inside currently) in southern Virginia. Will do my strength run in a few hours when it warms up sufficiently.

After my experience on my long run, I think I'm going to bring some solid food with me on the marathon rather than wait for World Showcase. I think I'll need something, particularly in that long stretch after MK and before AK.

Theme park notes: We're planning to visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg and check out their Christmas event on Friday. It's (obviously) much more affordable than Disney but much smaller scale, although my DMIL is looking forward to seeing the lights. There are a few shows and a few rides open as well, but the regular park operations are suspended after November and don't pick up again until March.

 

[mankle30]

Wow, the running trail/area near my in-laws' place is really kicking my butt with ups and downs and watching out for bumps in the path due to tree roots. But I got the workout done today! One run closer to the marathon!