Training Log Archive: hkleaf

Event: US Short and Long Championships
 

Pig training group run.
~55F, overcast with slight wind.

Last long run with the group before the Big Day. We took a look at the starting and finishing area, just to get ourselves familiarized with the situation. The pace was pretty easy, except for 4:00 in the middle where I pushed it to my goal pace.
The outside of my left foot is still hurting. Will continue to ice and hopefully it'll get better by next week.

Not sure why I haven't been stretching as much. Have to remind myself to emphasize that all next week, so that I can stay loose for the race.

Out and back route from Running Spot to mirror lake in Eden Park and back. Very easy pace. Probably overdid it with the slow pace (should've run at ~9:00/mile), but it was good to run with Michelle on the way out and Joe on the way back, just to keep them company.
Legs felt better today, except for the unknown pain on the outside of left foot. Will ice it tonight.

Level 7, flat, ~80rpm
Just an easy ride to try working off those built-up lactic acids in the legs.

Worked the legs to follow up on my physical therapy exercises.

Hips, legs, hamstrings, and calves.

Pig training group run.
~45F and falling temperature. A storm just moved through and the cold front was settling in. At least it's not raining.

Started at Ault Park today and did a loop. I was a bit late getting there due to traffic, so had to play catch up with the front group. Probably wasn't the smartest idea as we're supposed to take it easy. Ended up running at a fast pace and my legs were killing me afterwards. I'll have to be careful and force myself to slow down next time.

The groups (both full and half marathon) got together today for a post-run cookout at the park. It's a fun time and nice to socialize with everybody. The cold temperature was the real bummer, as most people left pretty early. The rest of us leftovers had ourselves a great time huddling around the grills/fire for warmth and chatted away.

Skipped the 35:00 SRR today.

Scheduled rest day. Legs are a bit tired.

Pig training group run.
50-55F at the start, clear skies, calm conditions - a beautiful day - though it warmed up considerable by the end.

Ran part of the Pig route from O'Brienville (Running Spot) to Mariemont and back. It was a nice easy run. I stayed with the front group the entire time. Kind of wish I had run a little yesterday though as my legs felt dead at the beginning.
First time running through the Mariemont portion of the Pig course today. It was actually a nice section - mostly flat, with a couple of small rolling hills, and more importantly a scenic neighborhood with some tree covers. On race day, I think this will be the part I'd want to relax and get into a nice groove, forget about the distance and pain, and try to set up for a strong final stretch on Eastern.

Calves and shins are a bit sore after the run. I think I will go get a sports massage sometime next week to aid my muscles recovery in this final stretch.

Off day before the long run.

~75F, intermitten light rain.
Last speed work before the marathon. We had our largest group (15) to-date yet.
8-100m strides (~25s per, with rest in-between)
8-1600m (with ~180s rest in-between)
The plan was to run the first 4 around 6:15 and the last 4 at 6:10. Ideally, I would like to be running all 8 at 6:00 pace, but since we're supposed to be tapering, it made sense to not go too hard and risk an injury.
Splits: 6:16, 6:10, 6:14, 6:15, 6:09, 6:01, 6:10, 5:54.
Lap (per 200) for final 1600: 0:43, 1:28, 2:15, 2:59, 3:44, 4:28, 5:12, 5:54
Similar to last week, seemed to have caught my second wind towards the end, as I was able to finish strong. Legs were tired during the day (quads and calves) but they were fine after the warm up. Probably felt as good as I've ever felt after any recent track workouts.

1600m warm up
1600m cool down

Last session.
12:00 Bike, 5:00 Foam roll, 6x 0:30 Calves stretch, 7:00 Ultrasound, 20:00 Hip machine (3x15reps adduction, 3x15reps leg raise, 3x15reps leg kick), 5x 0:30 Balance, 3x 20reps TKE, 3x20reps Toe dips, 3x20reps Forward jumps, 3x20reps Sideways jumps, 3x20reps leg press (with band), back system (hamstring stretch), PT work, 15:00 ice and stim.

Talked to Dan about not wearing the knee brace when exercising. He said that I can start off by doing a few shorter runs without it to see how it feels. This tapering period is perfect timing to test that out.

Tried drawing the Flying Pig Marathon course on the Gmaps Pedometer this morning, just to see how accurate it calculates the total distance. It turns out to be almost dead on (+/-1.5%)!
What I also like about this is it gives you the mile/km marker while offering an approximate graph on elevation changes through your route. Besides several obvious glitches, and that it thinks I'm running under water when crossing bridges, the graph data looks accurate.
Though it may take some time to draw up the route (esp. if there are lots of turns), I find this to be a very useful tool to have for road running (but not orienteering due to map scale).

Pig training group run.
Warm, upper 60s, and a bit breezy at times.
Ran the trail around Lunken at a decent pace. It's kind of a boring run (flat loop around an airport with lots of long straightaways). Brian set the pace early. Then Keith, Dave, Laurie, and John took off around mile 3, leaving Brian, Jill, and I behind.

Legs were fine. I think my body is finally adapting to this higher mileage pounding.

2.0 Incline. Nice easy run (SRR), those quads and calves are still a tiny bit sore from tiredness, but are fine otherwise. I forgot to wear my knee brace, but the knee and IT Band are ok.

Scheduled rest day. Legs are still a bit sore from yesterday, but they're are ton better compared to two weeks ago after the Flying Pig O'.
Still aren't getting quality sleep though. Lots of tossin' and turnin'.

Avg. BP = 112/69

Pig training group run.
Very warm (~70F) and humid, clear sky.

Didn't get a good night sleep at all. Coupled that with the warmest day we've run in so far, and you can see this 20-mile disaster developing right in front of your eyes. Luckily, I was pretty well hydrated pre-run, so the warm humid air didn't bother me much, at least not until the last couple miles.
The group had staggered starts this morning in an effort to keep the pack as close at the finish as possible. I was in the fastest pace group, so we started last at 7:50am. We had a relatively easy pace to warm up (~30:00 at 3.5 miles), as our pack was able to stay together until the waterstop. After that though, was a much different story. Since everyone had different routines for taking water (i.e. how long to stop), our pack was quickly scattered. I was up front running with Brian, Vera, Annamaria, and John for a while through the next water stop at Sawyer Point (~59:00 at 7 miles).
Still feeling pretty good, I seperated and went ahead by myself as we made the trek up Gilbert and into Eden Park. From that point on, I was able to occasionally wheel in people who started in the earlier groups (they were scattered all over as well).
It was about 1:22:00 when I hit mile-11 just before stopping for water at the Running Spot. For running on such a warm day, I was a bit surprised I didn't sweat more. I was feeling real relaxed and comfortable, though not knowing what my exact pace was.
Coming through Hyde Park Square, I took in 3 big gulps of gatorade from Marla. I was very glad I did as it turned out to be my last water stop on the course.
When I hit the 14-mile marker at Erie and Delta (it may be a hair short of 14 there), my watch read 1:48:30. I was still feeling good, plus it's all downhill from here on out. Well, that turned out to mean both geographically and physically! I could begin to sense my calves tightening up while making that long descent on Delta around the 1:55:00 mark.
When I turned onto Eastern at 2:00:00 for the final long, flat, boring stretch of the course, it was a boost mentally knowing that the end was near.
It turned out to be quite a brutal stretch though. First, I missed the intended water stop at LeBlond because I was too fast for my own good, and that the pack was just way too spread out today. Marla and her truck of gatorade/water hadn't arrive yet when I passed through, so there weren't much I could do but kept running (I did chewed down the last of the Clif Bloks w/o water). Secondly, the scorching sun was beaming down directly the whole time as there's no shades or refuge anywhere on Eastern. This, along with the lack of water, probably took the most out of me. I noticed I was sweating much more now, and my calves had tightened up even more.
I'm almost certain my pace had dropped, which was the opposite of what I had planned. I wanted to be able to pick up the pace a little and finish strong. Today, it was not meant to be. By the time I neared International Friendship Park, I noticed the soles of my feet were burning up. There weren't any blisters, but the sensation was still not pleasant.
Even the last adrenaline rush from seeing the Purple People Bridge wasn't enough to push me through the incline. I was only able to pace instead of sprint to the finish. Despite the forgettable last 2 miles, I still managed to get in under my goal time of 2:40:00.
It's especially encouraging considering the warm condition we had today. Though my legs were pretty tired afterwards, I finished knowing that there's still some leftover in the tank. The pace I ran in today actually felt easy (mostly). It may be real close to (a touch faster than) my anaerobic pace now, which is a good sign if true. I'm beginning to think that those track workouts are paying dividends! :)

Route
Newport Levee --> L&N Br. --> Pete Rose --> Broadway --> 3rd St.(Cincy) --> Central --> Mehring --> Pete Rose --> Taylor Southgate Br. --> 3rd St.(Newport) --> Saratoga --> 4th St.(to Cvg) --> Clay Wade Bailey Br. --> 3rd St.(Cincy) --> Broadway --> Pete Rose --> Eggleston --> Broadway --> Reading --> Elsinore --> Gilbert --> Eden Park Dr. --> Victory --> McMillan --> Woodburn --> Madison --> Erie --> Delta --> Eastern --> Pete Rose --> L&N Br. --> Newport.

Come to think of it, I still haven't found any of the Pig mile markers that are supposedly lining up the course. Either I'm not paying enough attention on the run or they're lying!

Extensive stretch before and after long run.

Took a 15:00 ice bath after I got home from the run, then a hot shower. It felt great! My legs are in relatively good shape considering the mileage they just had today.
Took a little nap this afternoon and woke up with my legs a bit stiff and sore. Still better than anticipated though.

Level 10, 80+rpm. It's good to get in a short workout before the 20 miler tomorrow. The gym was warmer and more humid than usual today. If the weather wasn't so nasty outside, I would've rather gone outside with the bike or run.

123.6lbs!!! I must not be eating enough! Losing 4lbs in 4 days is probably not too alarming, that is until you factor in the percentage - nearly 3.3%! I have no idea what my ideal race weight would be, but I think I'd be more comfortable at or just above 130#. Guess I'll need to be much more dedicated to "grazing" all day everyday in the next three weeks, as I certainly don't want to starve my body and its reserves leading up to the marathon.

Went out and celebrated Shanna's birthday along with others. Went to a restaurant called Honey in Northside. Looked like a fairly new place with a nice atmosphere. Food was actually pretty good and within reasonable price range.

Warm ~75F, but windy (15+mph gust). At least we escaped the predicted t-storm.
8-100m strides (~26s per, with rest)
4-1200m/1600m (with rest)
Splits: 4:43 / 6:17 - 4:44 / 6:24 - 4:54 / 6:16 - 4:38 / 6:11
Running against the strong wind wasn't very fun, but it at least made the warm temperature more tolerable. Calves are still sore (1/5) at warm up and after completion of each repeat when I stopped running. Muscles around the shin (inside part) are tender also. The pain seemed to have subsided towards the end there as my legs got warmed up (see the faster splits posted). Though I'm no Doctor, all indications point to an overuse injury (or at least the beginning stages of it) a.k.a. shin splints!
Reminder to self: keep doing stretches and strengthening exercises for the various leg muscles.
The scheduled tapering in the training after this Saturday's 20-miler should be perfect time to rest and recover.

1mi warm up
.5mi cool down

12:00 Bike, 5:00 Foam roll, 6x 0:30 Calves stretch, 7:00 Ultrasound, 20:00 Hip machine (3x15reps adduction, 3x15reps leg raise, 3x15reps leg kick), 5x 0:30 Balance, 3x 20reps TKE, 3x20reps Toe dips, 3x20reps Forward jumps, 3x20reps Sideways jumps, 3x20reps leg press (with band), PT work, 15:00 ice and stim.

Not a great workout session as legs were sore and tired. Strength is lacking today.

Pig training group run.
Warm 68F. Took it easy tonight to leave some in the tank for speed work tomorrow. Just like yesterday, legs felt awkward/sore in the first mile, but progressed to be much better for the remainder of the run. There's still tenderness in the calves, but it's down to about a 1.

"Grandin Loops" - Running Spot --> Madison --> Grandin --> Breen --> Elmhurst (counter-clockwise) --> Grandin --> 2mi turnaround @Grandin Ter --> Rookwood (counter-clockwise) --> Grandin --> Madison --> Ridge turnaround --> Spot

Actually quite a hilly run. A scenic run as well, with intermitten views of the Ohio R. amidst some of Cincinnati's finest homes.

Light running to test out the legs. Calves were a little sore at the start, and running motion felt awkward at first, but after warming up everything went normal. Definitely still not 100% though.

The official scheduled rest day. Probably should've gone out and run a little to make up for the miss yesterday, but legs are still feeling a bit weird. I wonder if it's the after effects of the massage? My calves, quads, and upper thighs are all a bit tender. Will have to do something for sure tomorrow just to test out the legs, and if nothing else flush out the system.

Missed my usual morning long run with the group today. Didn't really get a good night sleep, plus my body is still dragging, so it's probably a good thing to skip the run.
Went over to Revolution Fitness to have a sports massage (1st time ever) done. Paige was the therapist. I thought she was too gentle on the massage, but what do I know, maybe that's the way she's supposed to do it. My legs do feel a little better though afterwards.

Lost 1:2 again in the last game of the session. Just a bad game overall by the team. My legs are still very tired and sore. I guess I really didn't have an extended break/rest after orienteering, but it's a bit alarming that they (the legs) are taking such a long time to recover.
*I won't be playing soccer in the next session so that I can focus my training on the marathon in a month.

8x100m Strides
800-1200-1600-1200-800-1200-1600-1200 Intervals
90s rest after 800m (3:00)
105s rest after 1200m (4:30)
120s rest after 1600m (6:00)
All laps were run at 3:45/km pace

Warm up 1.5-mile
Cool down 1.5-mile

Rained all day. Light drizzle during track work, with temperature around 50F. Legs are still tired/sore, especially my calves and around the lower shins.

Was winded at the tail ends of the 1200s and 1600s. Struggled a bit to keep up with the speed. Overall not a great day running wise.

Soaked legs in very cold water post run for 15:00, followed by hot shower. Seems to have relieved some of the pain/soreness.

Unintended rest day. Should've gone to the gym for some x-training but legs are still too sore.

Pig training group run.

Newport-On-The-Levee --> Tailor Southgate Bridge --> Pete Rose Way --> Mehring Way --> Elm St. --> Theodore Berry --> Roebling Bridge --> River Center Blvd. --> Johnson --> Cov 4th St. --> Clay Wade Bailey Bridge --> Cin 2nd St. --> Pete Rose Way --> Eggleston --> Broadway --> Reading --> Elsinore --> Gilbert --> Eden Park Dr. --> Mirror Lake (turnaround) --> Gilbert --> Elsinore --> Reading --> Broadway --> Eggleston --> Pete Rose Way --> L&N Bridge --> Newport Levee.

Very windy, cool temperature. Calves are still sore from Orienteering over the weekend. Ran without knee brace again, and reported no discomfort. However, clicking in left knee can be felt post run when bending it.

Since my left knee (meniscus) and IT Band have pretty much gone pain free after a gruelsome weekend of orienteering, plus the 15k Heart Mini-Marathon from a week ago, I am going to go ahead and declare myself 100% healthy again :)

12:00 Bike, 5:00 Foam roll, 6x 0:30 Calves stretch, 7:00 Ultrasound, 20:00 Hip machine, 5x 0:30 Balance, 3x 20reps TKE, 3x20reps Toe dips, 3x20reps Forward jumps, 3x20reps Sideways jumps, PT work, 15:00 ice and stim.

Left knee the IT Band appear to be fine after 3 straight days of orienteering. However, lower portion of shins (both inside and outside) are sore, probably as a result of excessive running in those O' spikes. Overall my legs are just sore from tiredness.

Warm up from Event Center to Start Area.

OCIN Flying Pig X - East Fork State Park, Batavia, Ohio.
Sunny, warm condition.
M21+ Blue - Legs are tired even before the start. Mentally also not very sharp, leading to a terrible run. Had a HUGE mistake going to #9. Lesson learned: never rely too much on wire fences as your linear feature! Overall just very tentative with my navigation, especially on several of the longer legs. When it became apparent I wouldn't be competitive for the day, I decided to get in some practice on my pace counting and direct bearing techniques. I'd say it was a pretty good course for that today as there weren't a whole lot of features on the high plateau that were useful to my navigation.

Even though I was exhausted, it's good to go out and get some more practice at my navigation skills. I do fine at a low speed of picking up controls, but the key is to do that efficiently at race pace.

Clasic-Blue - Splits

Warm up runs before sprints and relay.

OCIN Flying Pig X - East Fork State Park, Batavia, Ohio.
Dry but cool today. The ground is still saturated from all the rain the last 2 days.
Blue/Red US Sprint Champs - Had a decent run in the morning. Lost major time (4:30) at #3. Had my right contact lens poked out by a tree branch on the way to #3. Tried without success to put it back on, then proceeded to lose it in the mud. With only one eye being 20/20, I had a hard time adjusting to my new vision initially. As a result, got off track and overran the control. Otherwise, it was a very clean run.

OCIN Flying Pig X - East Fork State Park, Batavia, Ohio.
4pt Relay (3rd leg) Green - Second event of the day, but legs are feeling pretty okay after the Sprint in the morning. It was an alright run as I had 2 major and 2 minor mistakes. Getting in and out of the steep, muddy gullies are tiring and no fun!

Sprint-Blue - Splits

GreenB-4pt-BA - Splits