Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: Ran-it Granite
 

The QOC A-meet sprint 1 (which was not an A event). Overall, I finished 33/144, but discouragingly five minutes back of the winner - Jon Torrance, 13:24. Other notable benchmarks include Ross Smith at 14:06, Nate Lyons at 15:14, Emily Kemp at 16:03, Sam Saeger at 16:30, and Gerald Yip at 17:49.

Achilles was a little tight at the end, but nothing debilitating.

QOC A-meet sprint 2 (not an A event). I was pleased with my performance compared to sprint 1; the course was navigationally simpler and had less climb. I passed a number of people in the course of my run, which always feels good. I spotted Tom Overbaugh ahead of me (I think) as I approached control 5, and managed to chase him down by the end. We sometimes diverged on our route choices, but he managed to stay just ahead of me until I mustered my last bit of stamina for the go control leg and the finish chute.

Notable benchmarks include Erik Nystrom at 12:11, Ross Smith at 12:20, Gerald Yip at 14:02, and Emily Kemp at 15:10 (for what I believe is my only victory against her thus far).

Sprint 1 - Splits

Sprint 2 - Splits

Resting so my poor left achilles can recover a bit. Some stretching, ice, massage.

CSU street-O with Lori, Brendan, and (at the beginning) Dean. A fun run, but my left achilles was increasingly bothersome throughout the run; at the end, I decided to abort the Harvard-O to rest it. I'm hopeful that the problem is my (somewhat old) running shoes, because the discomfort in my achilles tendon has increased since it first appeared on Saturday night. I have discarded NB Absorb Beta, and I have a relatively new pair that I will employ. Also, I will take a rest day with RICE on Wednesday to allow my left to recover as much as possible. I really want to avoid physical therapy; I was able to run competently today, but I assume the probability of severe injury is escalating with time. At the moment, sprinting is virtually out of the question.

One comforting thought is that on Thursday, when I first put on my O shoes (trail runners) again, I noticed no discomfort. It is my hope that the O shoes did not prompt this problem.

Gentle run at exactly the pace I planned. Breathing was 4/4 throughout, route was Elm St - Cambridge st loop. I raced a street cleaner running down Beacon St. Temperature was -5 C with clear skies and 16 kph winds. I wore two shirts, long shorts, a sweatshirt, gloves and a hat. For interested parties, I ran at 12:30 AM.

Discomfort in my left achilles was moderately noticeable, increasing at the end. I would never describe what I felt today as pain, but I am displeased with my state. Also, my right hamstring was tight and bothersome during my run. I'm hopeful that these are correlated, and that the root cause is as simple as nutrition.

In any case, I attempted some brief strides midway through my run without significantly adverse effect. I will be ginger in my running this week, but barring some significant change in my condition, I will run the Ran-it Granite (with a gentler approach to the sprints than is my usual fare).

A long run, with a river loop from Western Ave to the Weeks footbridge. It seems overzealous to refer to a 7.7 mile run as "long," but I am satisfied with my performance and the ambition of my training regimen. I ran at 2 AM after a BSO concert with Lori; I was initially reluctant to go out. I played a few games of Starcraft with Ed (in the last of which I had all but crushed my opponents, yet managed to lose) and was angry enough to require a break through exertion. It's worth pointing out that before this run, while playing Starcraft, I somewhat unconsciously ate about 20 oreos. This bodes poorly for my weight loss ambitions.

I ran at an easy pace, running at the pace I would if I had to travel an arbitrarily long distance. I listened to JFK's inaugural speech and the oral arguments for the Supreme Court deliberations for Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood.

I had never ventured further west by foot along the river than the Gerrys Landing bridge, so this was something of an adventure. Conditions were clear, 1' C. I ran in my tights, a wind breaker, a hat, and gloves, and I was comfortable. My breathing was 4/4 throughout the run.

I noticed an uncomfortable tightness in my left calf about 30 minutes into the run; I don't believe this run was strenuous enough to cause such tightness alone. I may have stressed my calf - which has never previously shown any sign of injury - at the Hammond Pond orienteering on Thursday or going down stairs at the Porter Square T stop. There is pain about six inches above my ankle that is excited when I squeeze the back of my calf from the sides. I was able to finish running without trouble, and I have no trouble moving my foot and leg through their full range of motion. I cooled down for about five minutes and stretched for 20.

I will take tomorrow off, apply some RICE (maybe Uncle Ben's?), and keep a very gentle running schedule this week. Six days before my first A-meet of the year is an inconvenient time to get injured.

C • leg pain worse in the cold 6