Training Log Archive: fpb

Not as bad as yesterday, but still a struggle. So strange.

Day 2 of the urban hiking trial. Visited Albany High's new astroturf field. It's becoming a real trend. Listened to season 2, episode 3 of Startup plus the Arcs on Song Exploder.

I've faithfully logged over 14,000 miles running over the last 10+ years, but I feel like it's time for something different. First of all, there is the huge irony that for the past 7 years, and especially for the past 4, all of this running has been directed at "training" for the next rogaine, even though it may have limited benefit. My best results have been with teammates who run infrequently or not at all. My solo results have been worse than my team results, in part because I run to the point of bonking, which negates the running advantage (also because my teammates have been equal or better navigators).

Second, my running has been very poor since the nearly back-to-back rogaine/regaine combo in July and August. Since then, I have not managed more than 4 miles without stopping. I believe with the regaine I pushed myself into endocrine-disruption territory, not to the level of some of the famous ultrarunners, but in that direction. I have not had any colds, injuries, sleeplessness, or other maladies. My weight hasn't changed. My HR is still 45. (And during this time, I had my best rogaine result ever, plus some decent EMPO results, so the loss of running didn't mean much).

Since I still am very interested in rogaines, and not really in any other athletic endeavors at this point, I need to figure out how to do this sustainably. The first thing I've tried is running less. That hasn't really been satisfying. Another would be to run much more slowly, but I seem incapable of this. I've gotten a few endorsements for weightlifting, and swimming would certainly be a good idea, and I did Pilates all through 2014. A different activity every day might be the best bet, but some of them require driving, which is not always possible in my one-car household, plus a bunch of them are indoors, and I would much rather be outdoors. When I'm traveling, sometimes I will check out the hotel gym, and after about 8 minutes I change my mind and head outside, even if it's one of those horrible landscapes near an airport.

So I'm going to try dedicated hiking, one hour a day. After 50 minutes or so, if I feel like running a mile, I will. Since I live in the city, I can't do much about the lack of terrain variation, but I can get most of the way to or from work (then hop on a bus - free for UAlbany faculty). Plus I can listen to podcasts! I can do that while running also, but once I'm working hard my mind wanders.

I'm going to give it a two-week trial and see if I feel any differently.

C • Urban Hiking? Meh. 2

Day 1 of two-week trial in urban hiking. Stopped at a gym along the way offering $15 a month rates, but it all looked so boring. Listened to season 2, episode 2 of "Startup".

The walking felt great, but even a mile of running today felt awful. No pain, just like I am running in water.