Weekly Training Wrap - 10/22 - 10/28

It is official, I am registered for the Old Pueblo 50 mile run in Arizona. A friend of mine is running his first ultra and offered me a place to crash; how could I pass that up?! I think this race is right in my wheelhouse: hard, but not insane (see San Juan 50). Registration for the OP50 opened way later than I am used to and it was delayed a few weeks even. However, that may have worked out great for me. For this first time in many weeks, I am optimistic about how my body is feeling.

I have blogged about this before, but my plan is to increase the intensity of my workouts and decrease my miles. This is particularly true for my first race back. There is a chance I will come into the race under trained a bit, but if it means I am healthy, then I will take that. I don't think I have run an ultra at 100% yet. (I guess I did run the 2011 Leadville Trail Marathon at full speed, and that remains one of my best performances.) Anyway, I come up with a plan that blends together marathon training concepts (speed work and other various workout types) with ultra concepts (mostly just the weekend distance and sparing usage of B2Bs). I don't want to just jog around all day while ultra training. We'll see how well it works, but I am excited.

This week was a good one. I stayed on top of x-training and PT all week and the running exceeded my expectations. I feel like I am walking a tight rope, but I am just happy to be running again.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	Rest	P90x Legs and Back
Tuesday	6	Progression Run
Wednesday	5	Easy with my wife
Thursday	7	TM Progression with Hills
Friday	Rest	Iron Stregnth Workout
Saturday	13	MLR with buddies
Sunday	4	TM - Recovery
Total	35	About 2400 vertical feet

Weekly Training Wrap - 10/15 - 10/21

My family and I spent Fall break this week in St George, UT visiting my sister. I love running in St George because it is flat and low. And added bonus, it is a good time to be there and enjoy some seasonal weather. It really showed as my heart rate was at least 10 bpm lower than it has been of late on similar runs.

On a somewhat significant front, I discovered a wonderful book this week that I read cover-to-cover. (I don't often do that anymore because I rarely find a book with enough substance to keep my attention). I will detail the "aha" of what I discovered in another post, but the tidbit that fits here is about my knee. The author of the book suggests that fixing a sore tendon takes 40-60 eccentric reps a day for 5-6 weeks. That is both good news and bad news. The good news is that I am starting to discover what it will take for me to get fully healthy. The bad news is that I am 10 weeks into this injury and only doing a fraction of that work (maybe 20-25 reps a day 3 times a week).

In addition to some tendon strengthening, I am going to begin working on my core with the following PT exercies (everyday):

• Suprapatella Pouch Stretch
• Foam Rolling my Quads, Hamstrings, and IT Band
• Clams (100 reps)
• Donkey Kicks (50 per leg)
• Bridge March (3 x 10 on each leg)
• Knee to Chest Bridge (3 x 12 on each leg)
• Balance and stability (standing on one leg, sitting on a Swiss ball, etc..)

Now that I am going to be doing more running, I am switching back to my old weekly summary format. But, I will continue my cross-training and PT efforts. I plan to stay on PT daily for at least another 8 weeks, then perhaps back it off to 3 times a week. Cross-training has always been a focus for me and I hope to continue doing it 3 times a week going forward.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	4	Easy with my wife
Tuesday	6	Easy with my wife
Wednesday	Rest	Cross training - Legs
Thursday	10	Moderately hard MLR
Friday	4	Easy with my wife
Saturday	Rest	PT exercises
Sunday	4	Easy with my wife
Total	28	About 730 vertical feet

Running Healthy

This week, on Fall break, I read a book that radically changed my outlook on running. It has been awhile since I found a running book that did that for me. (There are lots of books that I skim through sections for tidbits of new ideas, but this one is worth the read cover-to-cover.) The book is called Anatomy for Runners by Jay Dicharry. I believe that some of the advice in this book is a bit controversial, or at least out of the norm for typical/general advice on running and injuries. Perhaps I've just been blind to the truth for too long. Before going any further, I think it is important to point out that Jay Dicharry is one of the foremost experts on running and running injury right now. He is the Director of the SPEED Performance Clinic and the Motion Analysis Lab Coordinator at the University of Virginia. In short, he knows what he is talking about. Jay recently contributed to an article (and a video) for Running Times on determining if you are ready for minimal running. The thoughts and ideas behind that article are central to his work in the book and improving health and injury reduction.

I'll be honest in saying that book is somewhat textbook-like as he describes our bodies, the parts that make them up, and how they are impacted by the forces of running -- leading to injury. Jay does an incredible job of balancing the overwhelming mechanics of the human body by using analogies and giving examples. In addition, he breaks down the high injury rate (82% is the figure he uses) and how we can change it. He points out that running is not bad for us and that the vast majority of injuries are due to imbalances in the body that can be fixed, allowing many more people to run healthy. And he shows you how!

Toward the end of the book he walks the reader through a series of tests to determine where their structural/mechanical deficiencies are in order to create a plan for running healthy. All runners should take his series of tests and come up with a plan to fix any imbalances that exist. At one point he makes a somewhat sobering point -- most of us do more maintenance on our cars then we do our bodies! The very nature of training is that we never fully recover from a run before embarking on the next one. It is inevitable that scar tissue will build up and must be "flossed" away.

I learned quite a bit about the body and the misconceptions about health and injury. Here are a few:

1. Stretching must be done for 3 - 5 minutes per stretch every day for 10 - 12 weeks to be effective in actually lengthening a muscle. Fortunately few injuries are actually a result of a muscle that is too short necessitating this work.
2. Tendons can be strengthened and rewired with 40 - 60 eccentric reps per day for 4 - 6 weeks.
3. The big toe is critical for running: about 85 percent of your foot control comes from this one toe.  (Most of us wear those that are way too narrow and are actually deforming our feet and inhibiting the big toe.)
4. Strength training is most effective for runners when they train for explosiveness (think big weight, low reps).
5. Distance runners rely on energy return from tendons and stiff muscles, so we don't necessarily have to be the most supple athletes in the world.
6. The majority of running injuries stem from an imbalance in core control/strength and stiff hips.
7. There is very little research that supports any type of shoe for either increased performance or injury reduction. (The possible exception is that support shoes have been shown to increase sheer force on the knees.)  That said, as it pertains to health and running, we would all be better off working toward light weight, zero drop shoes, with wide toe boxes to improve proprioception and bio mechanics. (Notice I didn't say we should all jump into them for our long runs tomorrow.)
8. Light weight shoes have shown a better running economy than running bare foot (though running barefoot can be a good tool to improve running cadence.)
9. To reduce impact on our body's, increasing cadence and avoiding over-striding is much more important than where we strike on the foot. In fact, there is little research that supports one foot strike as superior to another. That said, the most efficient runners do typically strike with the forefoot or midfoot.
10. NSAIDs interrupt recovery, compromising tissues and their ability to ever return to 100%.
11. Running through an injury is often appropriate because the majority of injuries are not healed by rest. The symptoms may disappear with rest, but the cause still remains. In many cases, rest is a measure to control pain so that you don't alter gait and do more damage. (Note that this is not a universally true statement, it depends on the nature of one's injury.)

That is just a small list of the things that stood out when I read it. But you would have to read the book yourself to understand the importance of these topics. You cannot fully appreciate the abbreviated list above without the additional context the book provides.

I am inspired after reading this book; I want to run healthy again. It seems like it has been many months since I ran fully healthy. I have known of one imbalance that exists in me -- a leg length discrepancy that results from a rotated pelvis and weak core -- and really never taken the time to fix it. I am tired of seeing the chiropractor every month in an effort to work around this injury. Jay's series of tests confirmed that my core is weak and a little unstable.  This isn't too surprising considering that I sit in at a desk with poor posture all day. In fact, this is the single most common challenge that many runners must overcome to run healthy.

And one final thought, the key to all of this is to view it as on-going maintenance. Most of the exercises in the book will help in 6 - 10 weeks, depending on the nature the deficit being addressed. But, that doesn't mean that you stop doing these things after that period of time. High-level training demands that we continue to maintain a strong, healthy body. I believe the reward will not only be healthy running, but also some unlocked gains in fitness and athletic potential -- more PRs!

Weekly Training Wrap - 10/8 - 10/14

Finally, finally I started doing some running in a more consistent manner! I am optimistic that I will be back to a normal (but still somewhat limited training schedule) in another 2 or 3 weeks.

Monday 

PM - 1 Hour

Long walk with my wife and the dog. I planned to do a P90x workout after work, but I needed to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

Tuesday

AM - 1 Hour

A 5 mile and 48 minute run with my wife. I followed it up with lots of stretching and foam rolling.

Wednesday

AM - .75 Hours

38 mins (4.25 miles) of treadmill running and then stretching, icing, and foam rolling.

PM - 1.5 Hours

P90x Yoga workout. Last time I tried this workout, I had to stop halfway through because of pain in my knee. I made it all the way through this time!

Thursday

AM - 1 Hour

A 5 mile and 45 minute run with Jon. This was a great run for many reasons, including the fact that my knee felt good the whole way and that I got back into an early morning rhythm. I followed it up with lots of stretching and foam rolling.

Friday

AM - 1 Hours

P90x - Chest, Back, Ab Ripper X.

Saturday

AM - 1.25 Hours

First I ran 8 miles at an easy pace. Afterward, I spent time stretching, foam rolling, and icing.

Sunday

Planned day off as I visit my family in St George, UT.

Weekly Training Wrap - 10/1 - 10/7

Week 8 of my recovery and I am starting to feel optimistic about my progress. So optimistic that I am considering a March event.  The most important thing right now is not to push it too much and risk a setback. That said, my second concern is trying to make sure I don't lose any more fitness, so I am going to get creative and try to find ways to keep improving. In total, I ran more than 20 miles this week.

Monday 

PM - 1 Hour

Treadmill power-hiking workout at the gym. I did this sort of Maffetone-style where I tried to stay in a given HR range (150-155) after I warmed up. This workout serves two purposes for me: 1) getting my HR up to help keep my fitness and 2) helping with future ultras by practicing power-walking.

2.77 miles and 2400 vertical feet.

Tuesday

PM - 1 Hour

I am a little bored with P90x, so I took my talents to the gym this AM. This was sort of two different workouts:

Workout 1 - PT/Rehab on my knee
- 3 x 8 of single-leg extensions.  I worked primarily on the eccentric portion.
- 3 x 12 of leg press. Again, I worked primarily on the eccentric portion (counted to 4 on each down movement)
- Quad stretches and foam rolling

Workout 2 - Light Shoulders and Arms
- 3 x 12 Overhead Dumbbell Press working on a smooth movement with a focus on the eccentric portion
- 3 x 8 Seated Dumbbell Curl super-setted with the above
- 3 x 8 Overhead Tricep extension
- 3 x 12 Kettlebell Upright Row
- 3 x 8 Barbell Curl
- 3 x 12 Tricep kickback super-setted with the above

Wednesday

AM - 1 Hour

40 mins (4.25 miles) of outdoor running and then stretching, icing, and foam rolling.

PM - 1 Hour

Ab Ripper X and a 45 minute walk with my wife and dog.

Thursday

Scheduled off day.

Friday

AM - 1 Hours

P90x - Legs and Back. I really like this workout as a way to x-train my legs. I would recommend this workout to all runners.

It always feels good to start the day with a hard workout and then a recovery shake. I make my own recovery shakes with:
- Unswettened Coconut Milk (or Almond)
- Udo's Oil
- Chia Seeds
- Fruit (usually bananas and/or berries)
- Whey Protein
- Spinach and/or Kale

That is a meal packed with nutrients and good stuff (including lots of "healthy" fats!).

Saturday

AM - 1.25 Hours

First I ran 8 miles at an easy pace. Afterward, I spent time stretching, foam rolling, and icing.

Sunday

AM - 1.00 Hours

A four mile run with some Fartleks. I actually felt like my fitness may be coming back just a bit, or at least not continuing to slide.

Afterward, some stretching, foam rolling and Ab Ripper X.

Track Jon Live at St George

Welcome to my page tracking my good friend Jon Ahern to a sub-3 hour finish at the St George Marathon on October 6th, 2012. There first thing posted on this page is a pace chart I developed using TazRunning.com. Please note that this is not Jon's official pace band, but it is a good approximation because it takes into account the grade of the course. You can see he will run pretty fast early, then slow a bit during the hills in the middle section, and then let it fly to end. Below that is my live twitter feed where his splits will be posted as they come in.

Approximate Pacing for a 2:59:59

Tweets by @aj_wellman