Training Log Archive: Traut

Event: ROC - Rochester Map Adventure 2014
 

tried running a few times but could only walk back. Didn't turn off my watch so here it is. Don't usually put my walking in, but here it is. Will try to get on Nordic Track tonight.

I felt OK for maybe a half mile, but it all came crashing down. My knee was feeling it and I was forcing any form I had. I couldn't get uphill at all. I have been struggling with my tight calves and I had no foot-strike at all.

stretching and rolling. Crabs and straight leg lifts. Took all of my energy to get through that. I had wanted to get on Nordic Track to keep my knee "moving", but I was just exhausted. I am just exhausted- that is not normal. My calves are tight, but I think I am also sick or something else is telling my body to really shut down... I listened to it tonight and did not get on Nordic Track. I had been planning to do FallsQuest tomorrow, but I realized that this is not the time to try to be competitive. I will try a ride tomorrow, but this is just not time to compete. My body is forcing me down. I just have to wait it out.

I am still tight and pretty much a mess, but I am getting slightly better so I wanted to try to do something to try to get my flow... flowing... at least little bit. My ride was based on the safe loop at North Park, but I did extend it out to a few hills. I had trouble finding my form, but at least I felt like I was doing something.

My pace wasn't far off where I have been the last few weeks, but I was clearly not finding a flowing form. My quads were tightening from early on and I had real trouble out of the saddle. I just couldn't fire with my calves. I actually came close to a strain pushing too hard a gear over out of the saddle and then was cramping after going up Babcock. I barely got through the last few miles avoiding the "big one" calf cramp.

strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/147460206

garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/510357415

I just saw that the heart-rate data is all screwed up. It is almost inverted. It actually goes down toward normal when I go uphill. This is the third heart-rate monitor that I have had and the third one that has gone totally goofy. They all have that supper high start and all start to get wacky. Hopefully this is just an isolated bad heart-rate monitor day.

I don't know what my heart-rate was but i know that while I felt like I was working my muscles fro an hour (for the first time since Monday), I was not creating the demand on my CV system. I could feel it, soI know my HR wasn't high and I really wasn't sweating either. I am not strong enough in general to create demand and then the added extreme tightness in my calves right now is a big factor as well.

stretch and roll. Heel raises and step-downs.

I am a mess right now, so little sleep with work and the basement and I am tight. Just went for a walk on trails at North Park for an hour and a half. Even then, after an hour my plantar fascia tightened and I wasn't having a proper footstrike...

stretching and rolling, heel raises, step downs, crabs, straight leg lifts.

tight and feel awful, took 20+ minutes to feel like I could stay slightly above 200 watts. Stopped at 32 minutes. I was a mess. Trying to do enough to keep moving, but get rest. I spent all evening moving everything out of the basement anyway.

really tight today and had to wait for the carpet guy to come measure and finish up work for school. I have come to rely on the Nordic Track as a way to "keep moving" for my knee, but give it rest. That was the plan today. I was a mess today but got it done. There does appear to be some additional swelling in my knee, we will see where that goes.

It was not a day planned to be a run, I had a good and somewhat aggressive run yesterday. Gail had been to exhausted to get out to do anything out away from home the last two days so I expected to be biking in town today, but she felt good and wanted to go. I had been wanting to take her and Claire up to Freedom Falls and a run on the Allegheny River trail out of Rockland Station in the Oil Region. I also wanted to show her some of the beautiful roads I had biked a few weeks ago (http://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp?userid=1164...). I couldn't take the bike and the baby jogger, so I was going to go for a run. I planned to take it very easy and go short. Of course that didn't happen when I am eager to explore.

We started the day taking Claire out for a short hike at Freedom Falls and then went out for runs out of Rockland Station. Firstly I wanted to explore the old rail line around the bend before they built the tunnel. I thought there might be some trails up to to top which connect to Wood Hill rd. (which I still can't manage to even find from the top?!) I went out to where Rockland rd. and the private property started. Being Memorial Day weekend that private community was crawling with people and I was obviously trespassing. I will wait until a different time to explore further, so I headed back toward my start. Here the GPS was goofy... my pace was probably close to 7:00-7:30 on the double track and I was right along the river flood plane. Not sure why it was so off. It actually took to the top of Dotterer for it to settle in and math the road. Right after the tunnel I saw another possible uphill cutoff but it was far too overgrown to try now. Another opportunity for another time of year.

I then started to feel like I was struggling a bit more, why then did I decide to go around an up Dotterer? I am me and I just can't make good decisions when a chance to do something cool is on the line. I cut into Dotterer right at the best part. Explored the short fishing access rd. at the bottom of the climb. I kept my form together up the climb but was struggling. I took a breather at the top of the steep part and then at the absolute top in order to try to keep myself from total breakdown, but I was done. I had kept my pace and intensity in reason and had my form, but I was done. The heat, yesterday's run, and my arthritis were making the rest of this run, which of course was much longer then I had anticipated, a run/walk.

In a way it was a very good situation for me as I needed to make my body go further to break out of my 5-mile rut and I went 8 miles or so today. Pace is irrelevant. I was totally exhausted at the end, had not damaged my knee as I walked before issue arose and had decent form. I was totally spent and craving a fruit smoothy like you would not believe afterword...


Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/146037884

8:27 moving pace, lots of walking and first half GPS is off...

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/507926386

I thought for sure this would be a rough run. I have been sick and just didn't feel good about today's run. Ended up being the best run I have had since trying to come back from the arthritis diagnosis. I felt like I was running free and in flow. My first mile was on Irwin rd, which is a rough abandoned road and my pace was about 7:23. this was fine. Things started really coming together once I headed up the ridge on the steep trail. My form, flow, and relaxation where phenomenal. You can see the lack of a real spike in heart-rate and my pace for the single track mile including the hill was still under 9:00. The rest of the run I was holding my form and handling the predominantly downhill last 2 miles well, in fact that was where I noticed that I was really 'running' for the first time in forever. Yesterday I was forcing my form and could feel myself trying to overcome my foot rotating outward. I felt that was in the first mile today, but that was it... the flow came in... I am not fast yet, but I am very happy with this run.


Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/145646636

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/507193992