All the faster running I did over the last week, without proper stretching, has caused me some ankle distress. Its enough to 'feel' discomfort in normal activity and enough to appreciate my 15 mile run is in jeopardy this week. This is disappointing.
I had 3,300 yards to hit my monthly swim distance quota last night and I came up 900 yards short. My body was slowing down and my form started to deteriotate. In lieu of zero benefit from continuing, I felt that it was better to come up short than to continue degrading myself in the pool. I actually felt real bad because I had received such a nice 'almost there, hit it' comment from Bolder about making my number.
Its no excuse but I felt that had I not travelled on a swim day and if I was able to make up that time on an off day, I wouldn't have missed my swim goal by 4%. Also I am in jeopardy of not hitting my bike goal as I need to use a stationary bike to do that today, which I almost never use. If I had applied myself a bit better on the weekend or added one or two weekday rides during the month, I would not have missed this.
On top of all this searching I realize that the most motivating blogger to me, Oldman, practically doubles my training volume each month. I am going to try to figure out a better plan to work around this by either changing my training patterns, getting some indoor aid or something. Its Christmas so I have only half a month to get all my work done effectively, which limits work week training.
Through all this I remain postive that I will get in good productive training and that my injuries will remain minimal as I move into my biggest running month leading up to Rock n Roll mid January.
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11 comments:
Easy there...better to listen to your body than cram all the mileage for the sake of doing the mileage. Don't beat yourself up. I've heard many a good athlete say: Quality over quantity.
Oh the balance between healthy training and helpful training. My favorite training paradigm comes from Triathlete Training Bible-to keep from overtraining, you should leave every training session with a little in the bank. That's working for me so far, and it allows me to push a little harder within the workout. At the same time, I hate missing workouts aaaggghhh
Oh the balance between healthy training and helpful training. My favorite training paradigm comes from Triathlete Training Bible-to keep from overtraining, you should leave every training session with a little in the bank. That's working for me so far, and it allows me to push a little harder within the workout. At the same time, I hate missing workouts aaaggghhh
Hey com,
Don't forget to incorporate enough recovery into your training. The key to this endurance stuff seems to be to push yourself and then know when to back off and recover. That's where the gains are made.
We're a long, long way from IMFl so you'll have plenty of chances to hit much more ambitious goals.
Don't worry. You will get there.
Better to swim with good form than bad. Good call on opting for the shorter distance.
Com,
I'm sure Bold will understandwhy you had to ease up a little. Trust me dude, you are much better off with some rest than pounding an injury. Before you know it, you have a nagging injury that will haunt you all the way to IMFL. Three days now is three weeks saved later. Trust me, this hp flexor has been a huge pain in the ass. No pun intended. If you had pushed through the injury, all that mileage would be junk mileage. You need quality base mileage right now, besides, there is alot of time until IMFL. Could be worse, you could be doing IMAZ in April. Don't worry Com, things will be fine. Volume isn't everything. Take care and train smart!
Besides all the other good advice, you should probably make it a goal to complete your stretching routine before every run. I always stretch my shins by sitting on my heels with the tops of my feet flat on the floor. I finish by leaning forward, extending one leg at a time and rotating my foot in a circular manner, clockwise and then counterclockwise. The first time you do it you will see how much flexibility you have there. I don't think I could even do a full circle at first. It makes a difference being able to survive those little twists and turns our ankles endure while running, especially on trails.
Good idea to re-evaluate your overall routine. There's always a better way.
It is wiser to listen to your body than to keep going for the sake of the numbers. You made the right decision.
Everyone has an off week. Rest up and hit it again when your body is ready for it.
A wise general knows when to retreat.
Isn't it funny how a triathlete's personality type does not lend us to doing less than planned? We either go longer or do what's planned...it's like it will kill us if we stop early. Good thing you listened to your body though.
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