Monster week of intensity flowing straight from my race last Friday. Nearly every hill I climbed was uptempo and aggressive. This is usually a key indicator for me- climbing hard and the shins allowing it. A few pretty hot long runs, including a Rapid River run that must have been 75F. Things are happening that I have waited all winter for. It all seems to be driven by power. Once the power is up, the legs seem to be more resilient. Resiliency encourages 2 a days which mean volume is good and around and around we go. 20 days until Leona 50K.
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| 8 years old, runnin' with a dime in my hand To the bus stop to pick up a paper for my Old Man Sat on his lap, big old Buick, Id steer as we rolled through town Tassle my hair, say son take a good look around This is your Hometown. Your Hometown. |
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| West Fork Rapid River above the McCrea Cabin. Just missed a PR from last fall to the cabin...and I was not trying to run hard at all...very good sign. |
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| SCOTT Trainer 2. Why have I not ran in these yet? Easily SCOTT's most comfortable shoe for my foot. Lots of beef and plush upper encourages long runs. Love the colorway. 9.5 oz. |
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| Dreary hill repeats. This quasi-private property hill has all the amenities I need- dirt, a quarter mile and 200' elevation change- for building power and nastiness. Nothing hurts like running 2 minutes as hard as you can! That is why I still remember my last 800m race in 7th grade as the hardest thing I've ever done. |
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| Brundage...still packin'. |
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| New Meadows from Last Chance Ridge (Forest Road 273). |
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| New AK pack. Like it a lot- and I don't care for packs. |
Yup. The 800 meters. In many ways I still see it as the hardest race to run ... over the 100, over the marathon, over the 5k.
ReplyDeleteI might have used up something in myself that day that I may never get back. Running has never been as solid as it was that day. My last day ever on the track: 7th grade- 4:56 mile, 2:13 half. In the 800, I raced a guy a solid foot taller than me with a beard and biceps. I was 4'11" and 90 lbs. I was in third and gassing out with 200 to go. I felt this craziness inside of me that told me to give your life if that what it takes to win this race. Pretty heavy stuff for a 7th grader- no wonder I quit running for the next 20 years. I was in first as we rounded the final curve. He passed back and I gave it one more push and got him at the tape. Never forget that race.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome. I can taste the pennies on the back of my mouth just thinking of it.
ReplyDelete2:13 half for 7th grade, doubling back off a sub five mile! Seesh. Could you do that today? (I could not!)
Dunno...prolly.
ReplyDeleteI have to keep it pretty tame on the track- more like MAF down to marathon tempo effort. I only run the track in spring when it melts out- when the shins are dodgy at best. My MAF (around 150 BPM) at 5000' on the track is about 6 minute miles and doesn't seem to change. I figure that is fast enough for my needs and any faster just increases my risk of injury. I am unable to even run much at MAF pace without lower leg injury during the winter/spring. I have to spend substantial time pool running, stepmill climbing, skinning and weight circuiting to maintain. I am lucky to get one actual run a week that is at MAF, the rest is barely jogging, 8-10 min miles on easy rolling ground. If I came back to the track after I get my resilient mountain legs in July, I could probably run faster.
Also, I have spent many hours this winter treadmill walking. I do 15% grade at 4.5 mph. That equals MAF for me- the same as running a flat 6 min mile- with nearly zero risk of damage. These are the extreme (boring) measures I have adopted out of discipline and desire. Sure, I have missed lots of training days this winter, but nothing compared to the months of suffering the past 3 years. Last winter, I had not one single run without pain from December to June. FACT!
DeleteOkay, that is pretty damn fast for an aerobic run. So fast it has me wondering if the calculations for aerobic function for you are not wholly applicable.
ReplyDeleteI am also wondering why you have such issues with the shins. While your dedication to alternative approaches is admirable, (shit, this is a lousy question), is there something else going on there that have that corrected?
I have a few last gasp efforts to find the answer:
ReplyDelete1. Biomechanics. A real gait assessment from a good PT like Joe Uhan would probably be enlightening. In the meantime, I do all the research and try my best to focus on form during every run.
2. Throw in the towel and get some orthotics. I am really close to doing this. Not sure it will help. I am guessing I would need a device that encourages pronation- because of the wear on the outside of my shoes, I am a supinator.
3. Move somewhere warm and sunny.
I know I have huge upside if I can figure this out. In the meantime I live within my limits and wait for the sun to shine. Won't be long now...my yard is starting to melt out.