week in training | 5.10 – 5.16

Almost 52 miles in the bank and mostly feeling good. The foot issue I developed last week didn’t really stir up any additional trouble, it more hung out in the background on each of my runs. I’m working on mobilizing my calf and rolling out the bottom of my foot, to lessen the plantar issues that cropped up as a result. Running feels far better than walking, an odd thing, and even with the higher mileage nothing got worse which is encouraging.

Monday, 5.10: 10.02 miles, 10:41 pace + 45 min strength

Cruised through an easy moderate long run, even negative splitting! My foot settled down once I ran and didn’t much get worse once I finished, but I definitely felt a pressure point from my shoe that I need to see how I can loosen it up and make the discomfort settle.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 heavy squat
• 3 x 10 overhead press
• 3 x 10 chest press
• 3 x 8 weighted jump squat with leg extension
• 4 x 6 ea. reverse lunge
• 3 x 5 single leg squat
• 3 x 12 ea. hip dips with leg lifted
• 3 x 12 stability ball leg lift
• 3 x 10 stir the pot
• 3 x 20 shoulder taps
• 1 min plank

Tuesday, 5.11: 8.42 miles, 10:41 pace + 2,000 yard swim (44:45)

Same story with the foot, more aggravating when walking than running and definitely better overall when I’m wearing shoes. I found a knot in my calf that very well might be a catalyst and worked several times during the day to mash it out.

Swim was so-so, not my best and definitely tiring by the end. I managed a 1:58/100 yard average and 42 SWOLF amidst a slew of 50-150 yard sets.

Wednesday, 5.12: 55.81 miles, 22.3 mph cycling (2:30:00) + 2,000 yard swim (46:18)

Traded my long run for an equal-time ride to give my leg a bit of rest and see if such helps. The previous night I worked my calf a lot with the Hypervolt and a baseball and holy crap is the area sore. Upon waking this morning, it felt looser, but I didn’t want to take any chances and opted for the safer route of cycling. The ride was really tough and left me totally beat most of the day. I averaged 127W, which is fairly low for me but I kept it conservative not knowing what I could sustain, reasonably, for such a duration. I ended with core work: 3 x 30 jackknife, 3 x 20 plank knee swivel, 3 x 5 ea. standing airplanes, 3 x 10 pushups, 1 min plank, and :30 side planks per side.

Thursday, 5.13: 12.38 miles, 10:33 pace + 30 min strength + 1,500 yard swim (34:04)

Strangely, my foot feels much worse walking than running: I keep a normal stride pattern and don’t really feel the discomfort unless I move my foot askew. Quality easy miles averaging 157 bpm. I probably won’t get a proper long run in this week so this might have to do, which is okay with me.

I needed gas anyway so I popped by the pool for a quick easy swim, averaging 43 SWOLF and 2:00/100 yards. One of the stations near the pool had no gas, and the other was riddled with lines of cars waiting. Thankfully, I snagged a nozzle relatively quickly but the image of Floridians panicking about gas shortages when the pipeline shutoff affected us nill is pathetic.

Strength:

• 3 x 12 squat
• 3 x 10 ea. front lunge
• 3 x 10 overhead press
• 3 x 12 underhand row
• 3 x 8 ea. single leg squat
• 3 x 10 stir the pot
• :90 plank

Friday, 5.14: 8.36 miles, 10:46 pace

Beautiful morning for easy miles. I stopped by watch a bit early so I could stroll home along the waterfront and enjoy the breeze. I went for a couple of walks throughout the day to loosen up the legs since I spent most of the midmorning and afternoon relaxing on the couch watching baseball.

Saturday, 5.15: 8.69 miles, 9:47 pace + 45 min strength

Speedwork felt so good this morning! I’ve kept my sessions relatively truncated for the most part with a focus on sharp speed rather than repeating paces for several reps. I’m quite satisfied with the progress I’ve seen thus far. 3 mile warmup, 1 mile at 7:45, 800 at 3:36 (7:16 pace), 600 at 2:43 (7:20 pace, headwind for the win), 400 at 1:47 (7:12 pace), 2 x 100 at :24 and :23 (6:33 and 6:19 paces), and about a 2.7 mile cooldown home.

Strength:

• 3 x 6 deadlift
• 3 x 10 reverse fly
• 3 x 10 ea. side lunge
• 3 x 10 triceps dip
• 3 x 10 ea. windmill
• 3 x 10 alt. sit down squat
• 3 x 12 front raise
• 3 x 10 stir the pot
• 3 x 20 toe tap crunch
• 1 min plank/1 min side plank per side

Sunday, 5.16: 4.02 miles, 11:11 pace

I don’t do fasted workouts often but I knew I wouldn’t be out for long and wasn’t feeling hungry, so I woke up stupidly early – my usual time, but wasn’t necessary today considering the length of my planned miles – and laced up for recovery miles. I was surprised at the 11s but my heart rate hung out at a 147 bpm average and I felt relaxed and enjoyed the cooler air once again.

Total running mileage: 51.8

Total cycling mileage: 55.8

Total swimming yardage: 5,500