Long Run

Had the whole week off with intentions of working on longer runs and I have almost nothing to show for it except housework and watching some movies. Today was as good a day as any and so I figured anything over 2 hours would be good. The weather was a bit cold, but I still seemed to over dress. I never did hone the art of layering, so I was getting pretty wet about half way through the run. It worked out eventually as I made my way down Bells Mill Rd and onto Forbidden Dr. Not much sunlight gets through even the barren trees that make up the Wissahickon.

I felt OK for at least the first hour of the run. My pace was purposefully slow: I didn't need any PRs today. But after about 90 minutes is when the soreness settled into my quads. I had brought along some water with lemon, chia seeds, and honey (Born to Run) to test out and it seemed to work very well for both my mood and energy levels. I took the first half at 60 minutes and the second at 90 minutes in. Still, the quad soreness filled the majority of my thoughts during the last hour and I managed several walking breaks to ease the tension. There was a bit of soreness in my right ankle as well, but not where the pain has usually manifested over the past year. Good sign.

I made my way initially down the SRT towards Manayunk and was surprised to find it was almost entirely plowed, at least a runnable portion of it. Half way down this stretch I found a piece of paper attached to tree branch with the following Christmas Bible verses: Luke 2: 9-11. I didn't find it particularly profound as much as the act of pinning it to a tree. Someone found the time to make his or her way down here to do this, so I thought it might be deserving to read it through.

I finished in 2 hours 33 minutes (14.7 miles), which is a pretty slow pace, but with the several breaks I took, it seemed about right. As I made my way back into Conshohocken, I thought I could see the familiar stride of Brigid from about a quarter mile away. I lingered few a few minutes for her to get closer and was lucky that it was her, since I was waving like idiot. We jogged the last mile home and it was into the ice batch for me. If you haven't tried this after long workouts, it really works wonders. My legs felt fresh almost immediately.

Bench Press, Jump Skills, Biking

Early afternoon

Bench Press
555333
Load: 200, 210, 215, 225, 230 (fail), 215

Skills
Weighted Step Ups
6 X 10
Load: 40, 45, 45, 50, 50, 50

20 minutes easy biking

Workout comments: I should listen to my body when it tells be it is overly tired. I had no energy going into the workout this afternoon and it showed. I was expecting (on paper) to hit a 245 3RM but didn't even manage 230. Honestly, I could have fallen asleep today on the bike as well.

Spent some time working out my upper back muscles on the foam roller afterward. Maybe spend some more time working on my hamstrings tonight.

Strength, Run, Basketball

Early afternoon

Pullups 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
About 3 minutes rest between each set. Only broke the last set of 10.

Front Squat 5 X 3
185, 205, 205, 205, 205

Power Cleans 5 X 3
Load: 155

Skills:
Calf Raises 5 X 10

Run 2 miles on the treadmill in about 18 minutes.

Evening

Basketball for about 1 hour 40 minutes. This was continuous full court, probably about 5 games with no rest. Of course this happens to be the week before a closed gym so that fitness goes right out the door.

Workout comments: I spent some time after basketball rolling around the taped double lacrosse balls on my upper back muscles. It was amazing to feel the tension just release after about 10 minutes. If you can make it through the first 2-3 minutes of intense pain, it soon leads to nirvana. I would recommend something like this every night. A few more minutes working out the kinks in my calves using the foam roller and I was off to bed.

Short Run

Short run around Conshohocken in the frigid weather that we've been having lately. Took the Vibrams with me this time and despite the fatigue I could feel setting into my lower calves and in the arches of my feet, they felt pretty good. I have to wear a pair of Injiji socks with them when the weather is this cold and it makes the task of getting both socks and shoes on properly more arduous than the run itself.

About 5 miles in 47 minutes.

Spinervals 2.0

Late afternoon

Spinervals (v2.0) session on the trainer today. Workout consists of a combination of intervals, both in easy and hard gears ranging anywhere from 20 seconds to two minutes in length with varying recoveries. It would be a pain to record each and every interval here.

Max heart rate obtained was 170 BPM, which is much higher than my perceived effort. I thought I cold only hit 160 on the bike.

Early afternoon

Deadlift 4 X 5
Load: 265

Chinups 4 X 10
*Supersets

Shoulder Press (Barbell) 4 X 5
Load: 135, 145, 145, 145

One legged Squats (using a towel for balance)
4 X 7

Swimming Intervals

3 X 200
60 seconds rest not varying more than 5 seconds from original time

3:53, 3:58, 3:49

Workout comments: My leg kick is terrible. I made a conscious effort to increase both the force and frequency of this during the last set and it made a noticeable difference in the fatigue in my arms and shoulders. Keeping the legs straight also seems to be the key.

Strength, Vertical Jump

Squats 555333
Load: 215, 225, 235, 245, 250, 255

Weighted Incline Situps
Load: 25

DB Calf Raises
Load: 40
*Supersets

Bench Press 4 X 5
Load: 205

Depth Jumps
Load: 10
*Supersets

Workout comments: Trying some new workouts to increase vertical jump. Most websites say the majority of people who can dunk a basketball are a) over six feet tall, b) have less than 10% body fat, and c) can palm a basketball. I am 0/3 in this department, so I guess I'm going to have to work on leg strength.

Going back to the old strength gains program. Three weeks of 555333, and then the fourth week 333111 to continually assess 1RM. I forgot how much more taxing this is then continuously attempting the same load over several sets.

Bench Press, Wood Chop, Metcon

Late afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 5
Load: 205

Wood Chop 5 X 10
Load: 245

Attempted two rounds of an exercise to improve jumping ability. Resembled the SHDP but included an extra shrug and elevation up to toes. Did not feel comfortable or natural. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Pullups 2 X max
9, 7

Metcon

12 Deadlifts (260)
30 Double Unders
6 Deadlifts
20 Double Unders
3 Deadlifts
10 Double Unders

3:56

Workout comments: I full expect my lower back to be sore from the deadlifts tomorrow. I couldn't manage any pullups today so quit after 2 rounds. Figured I would give them a rest. Looking to get a long run in this weekend.

The tough mudder (toughmudder.com) is coming up in April and looks to be a pretty cool course. Even though they boast a "no results posted" attitude. The top 5% of all finishers are invited to the championships, which is a 48 hour endurance race. Seems pretty cool.

Early afternoon

Box Squats 5 X 5
Load: 195, 215, 215, 225, 235

Situps 5 X 20
*Supersets

HSPUs 4 X Max
12, 9, 7, 7

Weighted Step-Ups (30in box, #30 DBs) 4 X 10

1 mile easy jog followed by

Tabatta Hill Sprints 20s on: 10s off
Speed: 6:58 min/mile, grade=8%
Cooldown walk uphill

Workout comments: Right ring finger still pretty sore from last night so no pulling exercises today. Box squats were done using a Smith machine, which might have defeated the purpose of these. Still, they felt more difficult than normal squats having to unload and reload the legs at the bottom of each squat. HSPUs felt OK, but probably should try to dip further down on each rep. Maybe time to build a sturdier set of paralletes or even a dedicated HSPU station with pipes and 4X4 beams.



Pushups

Double Metcon, Basketball

Early afternoon

5 Rounds for Time:

10 Jump Squats
10 Suitcase Deadlifts (50 DBs)
10 KB Swings (50)
10 Burpees
10 Situps

13:31

Short rest

AMRAP in 7 minutes:

7 Pushups (hands off the ground in between)
7 Push Presses (50 DBs)

8 full rounds completed

Evening

About 1.5 hours of basketball. Jammed my right ring finger about 2 minutes into the first game. It's pretty swollen and hurts today so no pulling exercises.

Yet another day of running...

Early afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 3
Load: 195, 215, 225, 235, 245 (failed third rep)

Incline Situps 5 X 15
*Supersets

Cleans 4 X 3
120, 160, 160, 160

True Pushups 4 X 20
*Supersets

3 mile run in about 27 minutes

Workout comments: Strength portion of the workout felt difficult, which got me thinking about the concept of a successful strength workout. I've been spending my time hovering in the weight ranges that allow me to complete all sets without doubt (aka no spotter). I guess I allowed myself to fall into a routine of "completing all sets" even if it means the weight never increases or does so at a tortoise-like pace. Maybe mixing in a few "unsuccessful" days will produce the sort of muscle recovery needed for much faster improvement.

The run was a little boring. Only 3 miles but it was on the treadmill. This makes the fourth day in a row that I've run and I've had no ankle pain to report. It usually feels a bit stiff at the start, but that soon vanishes and I don't think I've had much soreness afterwards either. Good sign.

Strength/Short Run

Late afternoon

Squats 4 X 3
Load: 195, 215, 225, 225,

Strict Chinups (Neutral grip) 4 X 10
*Supersets

3 mile run, stopping each mile to perform max HSPUs.
29 minute run
HSPU: 12, 8, 11, 9

Workout comments: New PR on max HSPUs. Squats felt decent, not like the first time I tried them again a few weeks ago. No soreness afterwards. Almost all of the pain and stiffness in my ankle has vanished, leaving me with what I think is a fresh start to start training for something. Now the only soreness I have to look forward to is after a long weekend run.

Trail run

Early afternoon

Fighting the cold temperatures, Brigid and I headed out onto a 4-5 mile trail loop in the Wissahickon. I was definitely underdressed and could not shake the chills at several points during the run. We talked about signing up for a marathon in the Spring and the though of running something like the Philly marathon a few years ago pushed all aspirations of signing up for another marathon right out of my mind. It was 20 degrees at the start that year, and only barely above freezing at the finish. The ground surrounding all the water stops became a sheet of ice as the masses made their way through, throwing half empty cups on the ground. I think I read about one girl who slipped around mile 3 and had to stop running after that. It was cold.

At least running in the Spring carries the hope that temperatures will be milder. It's been two years now since I ran my last one. Probably should start thinking about it.

Today's run was about 6 miles in 54 minutes

Running intervals

Some short running intervals today on the treadmill. After about 2.5 miles easy running:

4 X 0.25 miles @ 6:00 min/mile pace

Form and composure felt especially decent during the first interval and the first half of the remaining intervals. I kept the workout fairly short. I wanted to see how my ankle would react during the following 24 hours.

Total of 4.1 miles in 32 minutes.

Strength

Early afternoon

Front Squat 5 X 5
Load: 155, 175, 185, 185, 185

Strict Chinups 5 X 10
*Supersets

Bench Press 4 X 5
Load: 195

Situps 4 X 20
*Supersets

Deadlift 4 X 3
Load: 265

Shoulder Press
Load: 130, 135, 135, 135

Hang Snatch Practice 3 X 5
Load: 85

Workout comments: Some soreness this morning in my hamstrings and ankles, but nothing too bad. Pretty good snatch practice session. All I need now is some guidance.