Training Log Archive: Sjkirwin

Ice Bath

Preactive

30 min outside run
This was pretty slight training compared to what you guys did today. But I didn't want to overdo my running in case it aggravates my strained hip flexor.

Stretching and Ice bath

In terms of today, firstly, I want to say good work to all my teammates who ran great races. It really made me want to join in when I saw you guys. The reason I didn't run today was last week in the track workout I strained my hip flexor and it has been lingering this week. Running today would have made the injury worse. I can only blame myself for this injury. If I had kept up my training over the holidays I'm sure it would not have happened.

As athletes our actions have a direct impact on our bodies. It is up to me to take care of my body, and I need to start doing a better job of it. It wasn't smart for me to hop back on the track last week for a Saturday workout because I knew I had only minimal training. When it comes to what I physically commit to, I need to be more reasonable in what I can expect my body to do. In the future I will build up my training more slowly so that my progress is sustainable. Right now the main goal in my mind is to prepare for the fall Cross Country season.

Starting now I will train smarter, and more reasonably. Taking better care of my body. My progression might be slow, but over time the results will be significant.

Thanks for the inspiration today. It was motivating and humbling to watch you athletes run. You might not realize it but your training really shows when you perform. Keep taking care of your bodies, and hopefully improvement continues to come your way.

C • Well said. 1

Preactive

40 minute outside run

Brrrr it was cold out today! But at least we had lots of sunlight!
It was good to stretch out the legs. I ran along the lakefront area again. I was pushing for short quick strides as per the goal for this week. I didn't go for longer because I am having lingering pains in my left hip flexor. It seems to be getting better, but I'm holding back a bit until then. I have also been holding off on my sit and push for this reason.

Stretching and rolling my foot on a ball

Preactive

60 minute Lane Swim (lane swim was only half the pool length)

Front crawl laps for 40 minutes. I found a pace that I could maintain and held it. I let the pattern of 3 arm strokes then breath, 3 arm stroke then breath sink in. I worked on incorporating flip turns to accelerate into each new lap. It is going to take some work.

For the last 20 minutes I upped the intensity and included breaks. I would do one lap as fast as I could then take a short break before doing the next lap as fast as I could. I did two laps on each of the last three reps at max effort. I had a tendency to want to turn over with my arms more quickly, but I made an effort to focus more on increasing the power and speed of my leg kicks. The lap times were relatively consistent. I think the difference in times depended on how well my flip turn went.

Stretching and rolled my foot on a ball (for some reason I got a foot cramp while swimming)

Preactive + glute bridges

40 min run

I am finding my legs are recovering slightly more quickly from each run. Today the focus was again on quick and short strides. I found I was loosing traction on the slush in places, might be time to do some of these runs on the track or treadmills.

Stretching and rolling a ball on the bottom of my foot.

Preactive

50 min run
- The sidewalks were fairly clear today. I had some snow to contend with but it was only a couple inches thick. I found my strides would kick out beneath me in some places, but I compensated by keeping the strides short and quick. Short quick strides are what I am doing this week anyway. The goal is to install a quicker shorter stride into my muscle memory.

Stretching and rolling a ball on the bottoms of my feet.

Preactive with leg swings

40 minutes on the sidewalks and harborfront in downtown Port Arthur. My pace was fairly easy throughout. I don't intend to push too hard this week since I did very little running over the holidays.

Today the first focus was on getting blood flow to the sore muscles in my legs and stretching them out. The second focus was making my stride quicker and shorter. This second goal I will be working on all week, in hopes of starting a new muscle pattern.

Today I ran the course that I twisted my ankle on. This was the first time running it since my injury so I felt really good when I conquered it ! My legs were less sore and tight when I completed the workout.

Stretching and rolling (I used a ball on the bottoms of my feet)

Preactive + Lunges + Duck, Duck, Goose

75 mins of running starting from Cascades.
We had a few inches of powder snow to go through. It made the footing a little more difficult. But it was a good way of working out the stabilizer muscles. I also did about 1/3rd of my run along the road shoulder.

Near the end of my run, when I was off on my own I got lost on the trails. I went left when I should have gone right. This took me to Centennial when I was trying to get back to Cascades. From there I didn't know how to get back to Cascades so I went into a nearby subdivision and waited for a bus to pick me up. I waited for a while, but when no bus came I asked a man shovelling his laneway if I could use his phone to call a cab. When I got in the cab it took me to Cascades where Kip was waiting for me. Glad to see the end of that adventure!

Stretching and Ice bath