Training Log Archive: silkychrome

L'Eroica Aux Arcs, a gravel non-race organized by the Rolla Green Giant. intended to be a 90mi loop, but ice on the gravel made things non-fun about mile 26. Jeff and David had turned around, found me, then we all went back and got Carrie and made our own loop back to the car. turns out, the roads we picked were even worse than before. solid sheets of ice for miles. did a lot of riding in the ditch. but thankful for team solidarity - we got ourselves through w only minor injuries and still smiling.

first 50 miles of OT100MTB w Dwayne, Goober, and HH.

i feel like i should have more than one sentence about an 11.5hr day. but it was just one of those rides where so much happened, it's impossible to recap one thing without leaving out a hundred more. trail condition reports were dire, so i put Kenda Nevegals on the SegSlayer and they were awesome!

the karkaghne section of the OT is pretty tough. it took us 4hrs to ride the 18mi to Sutton Bluff, then another 3hrs for the 11mi to Hwy J. sure, some of that time was taken up by our careful creek crossings (scouting, building stepping stones, etc), a flat, 2 crashes, some trail clearing, chat/eat stops, and the ridiculously slow velcro snow on the north-facing hillsides, but still...7hrs to cover 29mi!!! and there's no one thing that really stood out to me as "hard"...plenty of hike-a-bikes, some tech stuff, but no stand-out time suck. just unrelenting Ozark ruggedness. and i loved it.

once we got onto middlefork, we were into more familiar territory, but trail conditions got worse, now we had velcro snow AND ice on the north-facing hillsides. i was super careful and walked a lot. gradually got braver as the sun went down. rode the last 45min w lights that i'm really thankful Dwayne brought bc i didn't have any (i fully expected us to ride the 50mi in 7-8hrs).

i knew the OT was hard, but i didn't think it was this hard. a hundred times more respect for those individuals who have finished the OT100 run, and for those who will attempt the inaugural OT100MTB this fall. you've got to have the complete package just to finish - fitness, tech, pacing, nutrition, and an unwavering mental toughness. GO GETCHASUM.

swimmyswimmy. lots of stroke.

WU:
5min row, 2x10 push up, 2x10 push press 2x10#, 2x10 SDs.
THEN:
4 rounds of: 10x BOR, 10x URR, 10x curl, rest. all 2x10#.
THEN:
5 rounds of: 10x bridge press on BOSU ball (45#-50#-55#-60#-65#), 20sec whip smash, 40m sitting sled pull 75#.
THEN:
Crackpipe: 2p relay, row 150m then OH hold 2x10#, 5 rounds.

arms were a little toast after all the fly this morning and then this. but got through it pretty good, whip smash was hard but so fun!

toe is quite happy walking around in superiors + insoles. just gotta figure out the run bit now.

same as yesterday except no CD. felt better and better HR numbers.

hokas w no insoles at all. felt the best so far. so i think that means i need mega cushion and more interior volume, at least until this stuff gets under control.

a spin.

a jog.

L big toe got sore towards the end.

C • big toe 3

3x15min @ 100W, 110W, 120W
2x10min @ 130W, 140W
CD

no rest, rolled straight thru set, feeling ready to get back at it.

this had all the signs of an awesome first run. but no.

stopped by Alpine today to pick up some stuff, and Angie the pedorthist was there so we chatted. i have some issues. she set me up with a pair of insoles to try (superfeet orange E). then i picked up new shoes, salomon mission M8 and altra superior M8.5. the salomons fit just a hair off, and the altras fit like a dream, even better when i put the insoles in (yes, i realize the irony there).

walking around in the superiors, waiting for satellites to pick up, was great. foot felt awesome, no pain, i was stoked. and then running, merrrrhhhh, hurty! not bad, and something that maybe could be mitigated/fixed w more cushioning, but still disappointing.

did a short loop, came home, put the altra stability wedge in to see what would happen, and that was even worse! but all big toe pain, no little toe. weird. had to stop and walk even.

so my hopes are pinned on the lone peaks, or maybe even olympus? or...gasp...different model of hoka? search continues.

also wore a new illuminite jacket for Alpine, Lisa wants some comments.

more documentation. all day yesterday my foot felt...NORMAL! no pain! excite! then the novocaine wore off about 11p and the pain hadn't really been reduced at all. scary! but then this morning things were a little better. just trying to be patient.

WU:
10min row, foam roll, 3x5 wall squat, 2x10 air squat, 3x5 goblet squat 25#.
THEN:
learning power cleans w just the bar. also some previews of the triplet complex.
20x triplet complex (1 round every 30sec): power clean, front squat, hang clean, rest. i think i was using 75#.
THEN:
work up to heavy DL. PR'd this at 180#.
THEN:
6x2 DL @ 145#.
THEN: (!!)
descending KB swing ladder, 10-1, 35#, w 30sec FLR in between each.

killer sesh tonight. probably the hardest i've worked since starting at PD. i struggled most w the FLR, and forearms/grip pretty melted. did everything w no shoes and toe was fine.

follow-up visit to the pod. basically, the methylprednisolone helped while i was taking it, but the benefits pretty much stopped after the last dose. since then, the foot has been stagnant - not getting better, not getting worse. so he recommended a cortisone/novocaine injection and i agreed. so we'll see what happens, im cleared to run in 48 hours!!

also, asked for some shoe recs, he didn't seem to think that orthotics would really help, just something with a neutral last and roomier toe box.

C • Altras 1

C • Altras 5