Tag Archives: recovery

Almost perfect recovery run

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I really buckled down today to take my recovery runs seriously. While I was doing my whole warm up run I kept my HR under my recovery ceiling of 144 (or so I thought, actually I hit 145 in the first mile according to my Garmin). So since I thought I was “perfect” in my recovery run I worked hard to keep the HR low. Mostly I had it around 130 or lower, I really slowed down. I even made it up lower reed’s hill under 144. As I crossed the bridge over the canyon I heard what turned out to be an organized rugby game with a pretty large crowd and as it turned out two guys playing catch with lacrosse equipment who wouldn’t move over and let me by. So, my HR shot up to 151 and my perfection run was blown. Still I got it back down and on my way to trader jos. From there a mile home with my purchases of two bags; one of cooking greens and the other a bag of kettle corn (balancing “good for you” with bad…) It was an interesting juggling act getting them home.

Over all my HR averaged 135, so a very successful recovery run. My avg pace was 11:45, so super slow. I think I could do this pace for the full 26.2, the question is will I be happy with a five hour time? I think I need to pick up my pace a bit.

Recovery run, sixth running day in a row

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This morning I faced the chilly morning and went for a nice easy recovery run. For the first half mile or so my HR was pushing higher than my recovery ceiling, but soon it settled down into a nice relaxed sub 144 HR. From there everything went smoothly. I resisted the urge to add miles to the run several times. Big part of that could be I ran out of juice for my radio, so I was alone with the winds and slightly bored. Then my watch ran out of its charge as well. I am all for rechargeable items, but it does suck when they die on you! When I got home I went to add my run into my manual journal (since the Garmin record would be off). I had to add several days and I noticed that today was six days in a row. I have plans to run tomorrow evening, so that will make seven!

NE tour

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So my run in NE with my running partner started with a bus ride to her neighborhood, so here was my view.

The plan was to run six relatively slow miles and we stuck to plan. The run was just what I needed for the day. The one thing we noticed that is becoming an issue is the light left in the day. That is all starting to change rather quickly and we soon found ourselves running in the dark. The sidewalks are a little rough mostly because of tree roots pushing up. Got to get used to that high-stepping running pattern to avoid tripping. Not the best thing to do, but better than face planting on the sidewalk.

So I had been reading Matt Fitzgerald’s latest book (or one of them, he’s come out with two). The Runner’s Edge promised to be an interesting look at the science behind training and I had hopes that it would dovetail perfectly with what I have been doing with my own training. It covers choosing a smartwatch pretty well, I could have used that a year ago when I was researching mine, fortunately the conclusion they drew was the very one I did. Polar is really good, but Garmin is tops. The book then moved into how to use your running data to determine what is happening to your body. It started to get somewhat confusing and technical, but that is what I was looking for. Then the focus changed again, this time to the use of a specific training stats program. It got really specific and detailed about how to use it. Hmmm, is this the real agenda of the book? Yes, yes it it. The software, Training Peaks is available for $200. Ahhh, well I am not that interested in shelling out that kind of cash for a new piece of running software. So with the books focus being on that I have decided to pick up Fitzgerald’s other book RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel which is apparently sort of a follow-up to his Brain Training book that I really liked. Fitzgerald mentions in the forward that there are several books he wished he had never written and I suspect he may have been talking about the The Runner’s Edge, I wonder. I would love to ask him.

Fastest tempo run yet and then rain

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Yesterday I set out to do a tempo run. I wasn’t feeling to into it and the air quality was really poor from either a forest fire or more likely wood burning that has become so popular in the area. If its wood (or even looks like wood) burn it! No regard for pollution, just burn it! Anyway, I could rant for hours about this but I have a run to talk about. So my breathing was not great and I had to keep coughing to remove my neighbors enjoyable fires from my lungs (wait, I said I wouldn’t rant anymore.) So as I was going through a warm up and approaching my tempo route I was none to confident in my abilities. Still, I forged on, I really wanted to get this out of the way in my schedule of quality runs.

The first mile came really easily to me and I recorded a 7:33. I was feeling it in my lungs, but I still felt pretty strong. As I pulled through the second mile I realized I had to slow down. Seems I went out to fast for that first mile. So I paced it down a bit, but still kept pushing it. It was tough, but my second mile was not to bad at 8:13. At the start of the third mile I kept thinking about something my running partner heard at her boot camp. If you are doing a quality run and can’t keep up then its not a bad idea to bag it. The thinking with that being that you aren’t getting the benefit from the activity if you aren’t doing it properly. It was starting to sound like a really good idea. But, I remembered my philosophy of powering through difficulty to build yourself for the future. Sort of a variation of ‘no pain, no gain’. While I disagree with Nike’s motto I am all for powering pushing myself through the hard parts. So I kept at it albeit slower yet. In the end I finished my third mile at 8:40 which wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be and as it turns out the fastest I have done my three mile tempo run yet. So I was really happy with the run. I finished up with a run through the canyon and home.

This morning I got up early to go for a run with my running partner. She is not much for the rains and it is even harder for her to get through that first wet run. So was prepared for the text saying she was bagging it. So alone I headed out for eight miles of recovery. It was a good run, slow and easy and a nice change from the previous days tempo. I didn’t mind the rains too much even though it was too warm to wear my running jacket. So I stripped it off and got soaked. Still it was a nice run. I was actually surprised at the number of runners I ran into in teh rain. Good to see everyone keeping up with it. Now I just need to work on my running partner. She’ll come around!

Another recovery run, two in a row

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In an attempt to wipe out my feeling of being wiped out I did a second recovery run today both coming after my 15.5 mi long run on Sunday. I think I could use several more! Today I tried a different route that I have been thinking about. It actually had a good mile of uphill as I attacked Mt Tabor from the west side. I didn’t go all the way to the top though and kept the run to six miles, easy miles other than the hilly portion. The last third was pretty much downhill and relatively easy going, but I was feeling so worn out that it was actually somewhat excruciating. My feet hurt and my legs were tired but I really wanted to run in the rain today. It was so nice and cool. I brought my rain shell for the first time in a long while, but it wasn’t cool enough to keep it on so around the waste it went. It makes a good reflector there.

Labor Day recovery

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Well not a recovery from Labor Day, that sounds more like a hangover. This recovery was from yesterday’s 15.5 miles of hard road. I awoke feeling a bit worn out from yesterday. A bit might be an understatement, I was sore and felt pretty sluggish. So getting up I decided to have my usual two cups of coffee (as opposed to only one I would have right before a morning run) and a full compliment of toast and honey. I think the combination of breakfast and yesterday’s eating I recovered pretty solidly and was able to take off for a 5 mile recovery run by 10:30. Makes me think I am still up for a marathon training program. That said I am still pretty worn from the long run. My big toe (with the torn nail) is still hurting, but not bleeding nearly as much as it has been. Add on general foot weariness and I begin to paint a picture of my biggest obstacle to marathon training.

My feet seem to be the most effected part of my health from the ms. I do place the blame for a lot of that on running. Still I believe the benefits of running (and more to the point the high level at which I am doing it) far outweigh any discomfort I am feeling. I suppose I may have to change that assessment down the road, but for now all is good (well mostly all).

So back to the recovery run. I started out with a high HR often approaching 160 before I had even gone a half mile. As warmed up (and/or my heart monitor received a better signal due to sweating) the HR dropped down to a more normal place. I have noticed the high HR at the start of runs in the past. I don’t think it is a misread by the monitor as my heart rate does feel elevated even though I am not putting in the effort. Interestingly when I first started feeling the major ms symptoms, they would always seem to come on heavy at the start of my runs. At first one of my hopeful theories was that I was allergic to some sort of plant in the area as the episodes would occur on the same stretch of blocks. Could it have been the higher HR that brought the stumbling/mumbling episodes on? Nothing else made sense, so this could have been the trigger? Though hills and picking up the pace later in the runs didn’t seem to have anything to do with it.

Other than the initial spike, not much interesting happened on this run. I kept the HR at an acceptable level pretty much throughout. The last hill out of reed pushed me over, but I was busy keeping a decent pace to run past coeds… I think I may do another recovery run tomorrow and save any sort of speed work until Wednesday. It is sort of a necessity with band rehearsal Tues night, gotta keep the mind mostly alert for that.

Couple days of rest and running

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After running for eight days in a row, personal record for me I took two days off. At first I was just going to skip one day, but convenience turned into two. Monday morning I ran out with a vague plan of a tempo run. As I warmed up my pace felt good and I decided to go for it. I forgot to set my lap at the start of the tempo portion so the first quarter mile got factored in with my slower warm up. Miles one and two were almost identical at 8:16 and 8:17. The pace felt good and like I could step it up if needed, but the third mile is just grueling and slow as I slowed down and then did all the uphill at the end. Next time I think I’ll just do laps on the reed college strip until I hit three miles, should be about two laps, maybe a bit more.

Today I felt enthused to go out and run a recovery run. I did a good job of keeping the heart Rate under 70% of max. There is even a hill as I climb away from East Moreland Golf Course that I always get up into the 150’s. Today I did the entire hill under 144. I really focused on breathing from the belly, I think it makes a big difference.

Also I was listening to the moody electronic trance of William Orbit on the first part of the run. Then when I hit the canyon I switched to Talking Heads and there went the HR. But it is a harder run as well, but I still think music has a huge effect on a workout.

Short eighth run and breathing right on seven

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Today I bused up to NE to run in my running partner’s hood. It marked eight days in a row of running. I don’t think I’ll be able to continue as I have a gig tomorrow and I don’t like to run on days when I am playing in the band. Its too hard to play for two hours, my fingers get really tired and lazy.

The run today was nice with plenty of breaks. It was a great way to recover further (this is my second recover run in a row, though the nearly eight miles I did yesterday was faster than a true recovery run.) If I do manage to run in the evening after the show tomorrow, I think I will repeat the effort of today.

Yesterday and odd thing happened. I came to a corner with a older guy on a bike to my left with a stop sign. I crossed in front of him and nodded as I passed. He was staring at my as if studying me. I thought it odd, but continued on my way. A couple of blocks later he pulls up along side me and begs an interruption. I take off my headphones and he apologizes and assures me that it will be worth it. He tells me I could improve my running posture by bringing my nose down and looking ahead “like a cockroach.” I didn’t ask him to explain, I just listened to him. I didn’t even find out what the benefit was going to be from doing this. And then just as suddenly as we met, we parted ways; me wanting to run and he probably embarrassed for stopping me and giving me a lecture.

After the encounter I tried the old guy’s advice. For the entire run I aimed down slightly and then looked ahead with roach eyes. My breathing felt clearer! I was able to breath through my nose and exhale through my mouth, sometimes a combo of both. I am not sure if my sinuses were especially clear before the run or if it was just mental, but I felt better, felt like I ran faster and definitely pushed the pace a bit on what was supposed to be a recovery run.

I researched (and my running partner did as well) and we couldn’t find anything about it. Some advice to the contrary (in general breathing advice seems to go against itself with one sure fire method negating another) saying don’t look down, hold your head up, look straight ahead. I think it comes down to doing what feels natural.

Mile high intervals

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This morning I made it over to the high school track. It always brings back memories of those years even though I didn’t run track in HS. The extent of my time in the stadium was spent marching for half-time shows with the band. Still it is kind of neat to run there. I didn’t think I would be able to get in at first as all gates were locked. I had given up and headed to the Jr. High just to the north when I saw what looked to be an open gate used for maintenance purposes. So I sneaked in and was able to crank out some straights and curves, two miles worth. The run ended up being just under 5 miles in total.

I am still noticing the elevation here. My HR seems to stay 5-10 beats higher than normal and my speed on the straights was lessened. I noticed that my recovery seemed to be affected as well. As I would finish my “sprints” on the straights I would fall into a slow jog on the curves and my HR continued to rise for longer than I am used to. In fact it kept going up for nearly half the curved portion before it started falling. Of course it then didn’t get back to as low as I usually liked before it was time to run fast again. So 150+ was a bout as low as the distances would allow me. For the last two laps of my run I was feeling pretty pooped out, the humidity was killing me. I almost gave up but decided that I would continue on and force myself to complete the full circuit of eight laps.

My cool down was pretty slow and I plodded along past an old girlfriend’s house, the library and an astonishingly large corn field in someones lot that used to be a pet cemetery. This is my last run of this trip to Winslow and I find myself missing the chance to get out in the town to relive memories. But I have to say I will not miss the heat, the humidity or the elevation.

Tough recovery run

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This morning I really didn’t feel like running. I was still pretty burnt out form the hot run yesterday, but we have guests coming and I need to get my miles in when I can. I am hoping to get a long run in Saturday after they leave. Sunday is pretty much out as I have a concert to play in the morning. Both days will be hard to run on as I probably won’t get going until the afternoon and by then it may be too warm. I guess I need to get used to it, plus I should burn more calories in the heat.

I could still feel the effects of yesterday’s cramping in my calves. It wasn’t too bad, but it was definitely there. I have been trying extra hard to hydrate today. The run was actually pretty nice, it was getting warm but still pretty cool and a nice breeze helped out immensely. I didn’t push it even when I was passed by a good looking girl (she didn’t last for too long at her pace.) I pushed the run out for longer than I originally intended, it ended up 7.5 miles. Slow miles.