big sur marathon training: week 2 workouts + top 5 Pro Compression designs
My IT band had a lot to complain about early in the week. Rather than resort to butthurtedness about the ordeal, I decided to take particularly aggressive action against the discomfort. I read that stagnancy tends to be ineffective for many soft tissue injuries – a fact I knew, but didn’t exactly figure out how to translate into real life – and, with care regarding pain threshold, strengthening exercises are the best manner of nipping these issues before they become debilitating. I’d assume I boast some insufficiency in a muscle or two somewhere, thus my recurring hip and IT maladies. I whipped out the resistance band many a time this past week and found the PT exercises enormously helpful! Things are looking up as I move forward in this marathon cycle.
This week’s bonus is a January sale discount code from Pro Compression and my top picks to fit the bill to honor the code!
Monday, 1/6: 9.04 miles, 8:55 pace
Mixed bag Monday with another enjoyable set! Ran 2 x 10 min around 15K effort (~ 8:30 for both reps), 3 x 4 min at 10K effort (8:14, 8:15, 8:11), and 4 x 1 min at 3K-5K effort (7:42, 7:42, 7:32, 7:33) wedged between a 2 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown. I doubt I’ll maintain these consecutive workout-type days for much longer – hills, like yesterday’s workout, will likely incorporate themselves into other sessions rather than remain separate. I want to be extra careful and realistic about how much speed load my body can handle. As I’m still prioritizing a mileage build, and quite far out from the marathon, I don’t want to pile on pace miles or prolonged intervals and risk peaking far too early.
Tuesday, 1/7: 5.39 miles, 9:28 pace
Probably one of the final afternoon runs in Florida wintry temps. Might mean I’ll take most of my post-work miles to the treadmill. Viewed the bay for the duration and after a rough work day, these miles served my need for moving meditation and resulting stress relief.
Wednesday, 1/8: 20 min elliptical + 40 min strength + 10 min elliptical
Broke up an elliptical set pre- and post-lift, and worked mostly upper body with some compound movements mixed in.
- 12/10/10 dumbbell squat clean + press (increased weight on the two sets of 10)
- 3 x 12 chest press
- 3 x 15 dumbbell chops
- 3 x 12 single-leg bridge
- 3 x 10 single-leg deadlift
- I feel like I added something else but I legitimately forget what
- 50 banded clamshells/side
- 10 jump lunges
- 40 lateral lying leg lifts/side
- 10 jump lunges
- 2 x 20 band archer rows
- 10 jump lunges
- 40 hydrants/side
- 5 min recovery stretch
Pre-lift elliptical was just easy spinning. During the post-lift session, I performed 5 x :30 hard/:30 easy, followed by 5 minutes very easy cooldown.
Thursday, 1/9: 12.51 miles, 9:37 pace – long run
This run wasn’t bad, until around the final 5K when I got exceedingly bored of my route and just wanted coffee. It seems 12 is my sanity limit as far as my city goes: next week might bring a change in scenery for my planned 14 mile adventure. Regardless, I mostly enjoyed the workout, though my splits were everywhere. This is the furthest I’ve run since Big Sur last year! Once finished, I recovered with the AM shot of Rightful, a big protein shake, and eggs + avocado on English muffin whipped up by my lovely man, who did 3 miles that morning as well!
Friday, 1/10: 5.24 miles, 9:51 pace + 20 min strength
My right IT band REALLY locked up on this run. Upon returning home I immediately took Ibuprofen and got to rolling the area. Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day so I’ll spend much of that evaluating the pain, massaging, and doing light strength and core work specific to the region. Sunday involves a 6-miler but I am willing to cut it short or swipe out the hill intervals if needed, or resort to cross training entirely.
In the gym, I performed 3 x 20 seated band abductions, 3 x 12 goblet squat with lateral lift, 3 x 15 plank hip flares, 3 x 5 (per leg) weighted 3-way lunges, and 3 x 20 band kickbacks.
Saturday, 1/11: 35 min treadmill walk + 15 min band work
Mellow post-work stroll and some ITBS-specific strengthening exercises with the resistance band. I performed 3 x 20 seated abductions, 3 x 30 clamshells, 3 x 15 hip drops (over my staircase, no band), and 3 x 1 min chair holds, followed with a 5 min cooldown stretch. At work earlier I may or may not have snuck in the back to do some lateral raises…No discomfort throughout the workday and only mild twinging when performing the hip drops, so I’d consider that a victory!
Sunday, 1/12: 6.63 miles, 9:15 pace + short band work
Absolutely not a fan of 80+ degrees in January. I worked around the heat by granting myself drink breaks when I needed them, which were quite frequent (I stopped my watch in these instances). Played with an informal hill workout to gauge my leg’s healing progress: 2 sets of 2 x uphill and 2 x downhill, with jog recovery until I felt ready to start again. Pretty strong overall, though my leg didn’t enjoy the final downhills. After a cooldown, I performed 3 x 15 hip drops, 3 x 20 abductions, and 6 x 10 lateral walks with 3 jump squats after each set.
Total Mileage: 38.81
A visitor to Pro Compression’s site may be compelled to buy every single design at once – and more power to you! Pro is offering a deal of 5 pairs for $95, which is a HUGE steal (their individual socks retail at $50 per!) with the code FB95. I figured to share my top 5 patterns to perhaps shorten surfing time to those who want socks in a bit of a pinch while taking advantage of this awesome discount.
Why compression socks? Read here about why I recommend all runners use them during and after a workout!
Left to right: Mint Wings |Florida Skies | Colorado Peaks | Lavender | Unicorn
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