So there hasn’t been anything running-workout related on here lately simply because there haven’t been many runs 😦 First it was crazy F32 writing time, then it was persister metabolism review writing time and then it was getting sick in royal fashion over the holidays time. (note: time = insanity)
Since the start of the new year I have had a small handful of good runs:
1. 6 mi – nothing special about them, other than it being nice to get them in
2. 6 mi just after it snowed – a great total body workout, dare I say even better than trail running
3. 5 mi – partially on nice salted streets, partially baahaa-ing along the uncleared tow-path, a good work out beyond it just being good to be out
4. 4 mi – nothing special aside from the fact that I think I really am on the road to recovery now 🙂 knock on wood…
Soooo…with these under our belt and me (maybe prematurely) feeling like I’m ready to get back in the swing of things. I (uncharacteristically) made good use of my downtime and have drafted a training plan for the next few months that cuts back on the long run but includes a couple of speed days during the week, a run in my evil Vibrams and core strength training! Finally!
The initial plan is going to be roughly as follows:
M: rest
T: track
W: up to 3 mi Vibrams run
Th: ~4-5 mi tempo run
F: rest
Sa: long run (easy 8-12 mi)
Su: recovery run (easy 4-5 mi)
Track: I’m planing to rotate 4 interval workouts (short, mid, long and mixed), 1/wk, in the schedule. They will start off as:
Short = 6 x 400m
Middle = 4 x 800m
Long = 3 x 2000m
Mixed = 1 x 1600, 1000, 600, 200
Given that I don’t drop dead right there on the track from any of the above, I’ll continue and up the repeats as possible (max 1/distance) the next month. Each track workout will begin with a warm up jog to the track and a cool down jog back home to work (lets be honest)
The current state of affairs under my desk.
Keeping the workout short but productive is the main goal. Working/strengthening different muscle groups will be great for getting a jump start on training in the spring. After a month we’ll evaluate how things have gone and adjust as necessary.
Vibrams: so I got these crazy probably great, barefoot running shoes like 4 yrs ago and haven’t quite mastered using them yet. (Dr. Trot really is a genius you know.) So far I have managed to over-run my calves to the point of not being able to walk properly for a week or run for a month, broken one toe and given myself generally too-sore-to-make-sense calves when I use them on any sort of a regular basis. I don’t know if it’s because I’m too heavy or I run funny (I run on grass or on trails in these things, definitely NOT on the sidewalk or the road) but I’m going to get to the bottom of it, slowly. Starting with as little as 1 or 1.5 miles and working my way slowly up to 3. At that point, however long that may take, I’ll reevaluate.
Tempo: Given that I’m not going to be putting in soooo many miles, I may as well get used running some of those miles faster, on tired legs. That’s what this tempo run (and its placement in the week) is hopefully going to do for me. Again, after a month or so I’ll reevaluate.
ALSO, I will be FINALLY incorporating much overdue strength training into each work outs! I want to focus on the “core muscles” (abs, back, obliques) and stretching out my old lady hip that is always tightening up on me. Hopefully, these guys will do the trick for me:
1. Kneeling hip-flexor stretch
2. Superman
3. Metronome
4. Crunches
5. Plank (+lift)
6. Side plank (+lift)
7. Supine plank
8. Pushups
In short I’ll be going through these 8 pains in my core little treasures (x2) after the Vibrams run, the long run and the recovery run (3x per week) and doing abs and pushups only on the other 4 days of the week (rest days included). More details on each of the 8 treasures will be posted soon.
Alrighty, I think/hope (for my sake and yours) that’s everything that I wanted to share for now. I’ll keep you posted on how we’re doing so wish the good doctor some luck! Again, this is with both of our best interests in mind…
DrTrot 