week of crosstraining workouts + pes anserine bursitis

Naming my affliction offers much clarity into rehab moving forward. I finally visited a doctor on Tuesday – 3/10, so after this week of training – and he diagnosed me with pes anserine bursitis. This tiny sac of fluid, located near the knee joint, swelled up so badly it likely caused the radiating pain cruising from my inner leg to my ankles. Amazing how such a miniscule mechanism catalyzes such intense discomfort and normalcy disruption, yet here we are. He said that this one can be particularly debilitating because it crosses three major hamstring tendons. Oh, and usually springs up in older women. I guess I really am 62 years.

I received a cortisone shot and was instructed to minimize weight bearing for a few days while the steroid worked in the joint. Shockingly, doc didn’t shoot down my running of Big Sur (this is, of course, assuming coronavirus doesn’t cripple the event). Because I built up so much before being benched, my aerobic base is likely good enough to get me to a respectable finish. Will I pull off sub-4 hours? Probably not. 4-4.5, though? Perhaps. If I can slash an hour from last year’s time, I think I’d be happy. Though, I’m still torn whether I even want to run the marathon at this point. My heart faded away from attachment to its completion during this hiatus. Then again, downgrading to a shorter distance is no longer an option due to sell-outs, and I’d be bummed that I didn’t cross the finish with J.

I don’t have to decide right now, though. I still need to comfortably reinstate running and ensure my leg can handle the load marathon training requires. I know much of my volume would be replaced with elliptical, cycling, and swimming (I’d certainly not give those up completely, I’ve come to love them too much), but perhaps some key workouts could safely integrate me back into the flow of training.

In the meantime, here’s last week’s training!

Monday, 3/2: 75 minute elliptical intervals

I intended to tack some core work after the elliptical, but I was WIPED and didn’t want to spend any extra time in the gym. Will move to another day this week, methinks.

• 10 min hands free warmup
• 8 x 3 threshold (level 7)/2 min hands free easy
• 8 x 1 min hard (level 8)/1 min hands free easy
• Cooldown to 75 minutes

Tuesday, 3/3: 50 minute elliptical intervals + 20 minute core work + 3,200 yard swim (1:01:54)

Yesterday’s core work turned into today’s, and though the session wasn’t extensive I’m glad I got it done. Another killer elliptical workout and a fun swim dubbed “Strip Poker” by Triathlon Magazine. You’ll understand why in a second.

Elliptical:

• 10 min hands free warmup
• 4 x 6 min “10K” effort (level 6)/2 min aerobic effort (level 4)
• Cooldown to 50 min

Core:

• :90 forearm plank
• 3 x 20 stability ball leg drops
• :60 Warrior 3 hold (R)
• :60 Warrior 3 hold (L)
• 3 x 15 stability ball back extensions w. med ball
• 3 x 20 med ball Russian twists
• 3 x 20 band archer rows
• 3 x 15 med ball bent knee jackknives

Swim:

• 500 yard warmup as 200 easy free/100 pull/ 4 x 50 build
• 600 yard pull, focus on breath: every 2nd stroke, 4th, 6th, 4th, 2nd, then whatever I felt like doing the final 100y
• 3 x 300: first with pull, second half pull half freestyle, third fully freestyle (hence, the “strip poker” name – you eventually remove your tools by the end of the sets)
• 6 x 100: pull on 1st and 6th, half pull half free on 2nd and 5th, fully free on 3rd and 4th
• 8 x 50 fast, focus on breath
• 200 easy freestyle cooldown

Wednesday, 3/4: 40 min aerobic elliptical + 4,150y swim (1:32:51)

Very obvious to me that running is really far out of reach still. I tried this morning and made it :48 before my leg nearly gave out. I don’t understand why my injuries compound and set me back for so long – either I’m a slow healer or extremely unlucky. Either way, I quelled my disappointment with a short elliptical spin since I wore workout clothes anyway. This felt fine, but my stomach after breakfast didn’t feel quite up to par during my swim. I think that slowed me down, though the distance was great and I was really proud of making it so far!

Elliptical:

• 5 min hands free warmup
• 30 min steady aerobic zone 3 (level 4), some hands free mixed in
• 5 min hands free cooldown

Swim:

• 600 warmup as 200 free/150 pull/250 breathwork
• 5 x 50y strong (:54, :52, :53, :51, :52)
• 400 yard easy focus on technique (either 8:33 or 9:31, I lost count when I stopped my watch)
• 3 x 100 strong (1:56, 1:56, 1:54)
• 150 recovery (3:11)
• 2 x 100 strong (1:56, 1:57)
• 150 recovery with buoy (3:06)
• 1 x 100 strong (1:57)
• 150 recovery (3:11)
• 2 x 100 strong (1:59, 1:58)
• 150 recovery with buoy (3:07)
• 3 x 100 strong (1:59, 2:00, 2:01 <- definitely bonking here)
• 150 recovery (3:15)
• 400 easy, technique focus (10:26)
• 5 x 50 strong (:57, :58, :56, :58, :56)
• 550 cooldown. I tacked on an extra 150 because I thought I forgot an interval, which I didn’t.

Thursday, 3/5: 75 minute cycling intervals

I have a bike! It’s a beauty of a Canondale, I think 2012-13 model or similar. J helped me set it up on his trainer and I embarked on a satisfyingly sweaty yet utterly noisy ride. Parts of the pedal need cleaning or replacing, which isn’t a huge setback, but the bike clunked and clunked which got quite irritating after awhile. I’m ecstatic for the new family member, though, and can’t wait to put some serious miles on it!

• 10 min easy spin warmup
• 15 min zone 3 aerobic
• 5 x 5 min tempo with 2 min recoveries
• 10 min zone 3 aerobic
• 5 min easy spin cooldown

The meter on my pedal measured from 75-85 RPM cadence, which is pretty good for a rusty cyclist.

Friday, 3/6: 70 minute elliptical hills + 45 minute Pilates

Started super early since today was J’s birthday and I wanted to have ample time to prep a good breakfast and get some little things done before I kidnapped him. My stomach ached quite a bit during the tough elliptical segments and I struggled through the final 20 minutes or so, but got it done and enjoyed popping a squat in the shower once back home. After a refuel my energy improved, so I swapped out a planned strength day with a gentler but burn-laden resistance band Pilates workout I found on Pinterest.

Elliptical:

• 10 min hands free warmup
• 10 min aerobic (level 4). Definitely felt harder than usual.
• 2 min easy hands free
• 12 x :30 hill, heavy resistance (9-11)/:90 hands free recovery
• 2 min easy hands free
• 10 min aerobic (level 4)
• 5 min tempo (level 5)
• Cooldown to 70 min

Pilates (all with band):

• 3 x 20 standing leg abductions/leg
• 3 x 20 standing leg extensions/leg
• 3 x 20 seated bicep curls
• 3 x 20 seated single-arm row/arm
• 3 x 20 overhead outward push
• 3 x 40 clamshells/leg
• :60 boat hold
• 3 x 20 scapular retractions
• 3 x 16 squat step-outs
• 3 x 20 inclined bridge w. abduction

Saturday, 3/7: 120 minute cycling + 2,800y swim (54:56)

My bike returned after a cleaning stint at the shop, so I took it for a much less loud spin on the trainer. I worked on staying within certain heart rate zones and while I recognize biking heart rate zones differ from running, I managed to do a pretty good job of maintaining the appropriate effort levels during the intervals.

Later in the morning I swam some faster laps My injured leg gets pretty tired by the end of workouts and thus mucks up my form, so I largely relied on my upper body in the later portions of the workout. Not necessarily a bad thing as far as gaining arm and shoulder strength goes, but not great for my overall aquatic posture.

Cycling:

• 10 min easy spin warmup
• 35 min zone 3 (aerobic)
• 6 x 1 min zone 4 (threshold)/1 min easy recovery
• 10 min zone 3 (aerobic)
• 3 x 5 min 85-90RPM/5 min easy (working on cadence)
• 5 min zone 3 (aerobic)
• 6 x 1 min zone 4 (threshold)/1 min easy recovery
• 7 min cooldown

Swimming:

• 200 easy freestyle
• 300 pull, breath every 2-4-6 strokes
• 200 strong (3:56)
• 2 x 100 strong (1:53, 1:52)
• 4 x 50 hard (:53, :54, :53, :53)
• 8 x 25 sprint (:24-:25)
• 400 steady pull (8:18)
• 200 strong (4:04 <- leg starting to get cranky)
• 2 x 100 strong (1:57, 1:57)
• 4 x 50 hard (:56, :54, :55, :54)
• 8 x 25 spring (:23-:26)
• 300 easy pull cooldown

Sunday, 3/8: 65 min cycling + 40 min lift + 3,100y swim (1:05:56)

Trifecta Sunday approached with a “take it as it comes” mentality. Wasn’t sure I felt like lifting but wound up with a satisfying session. Didn’t mentally commit to swimming but got out there and accomplished a very consistent effort over longer intervals. Starting the morning with blueberry buckwheat pancakes may have helped. Upcoming recipe, perhaps?

Cycling:

• 5 min easy warmup
• 55 min zone 3-4 maintaining 80+ RPM
• 5 min easy cooldown

Lift:

• 500m row easy
• 4 x 12 upright rows
• 4 x 12 single arm row
• 4 x 10 front to lateral raise
• 4 x 15 superset good mornings/glute situp things (no idea what these are)
• :90 bridge hold
• 500m row easy

Swim:

• 200y pull warmup
• Ladder: 100-200-300-400-300-200-100, steady efforts focused on form and not losing my kick rhythm
• 10 x 100 steady efforts (2:01-2:04)
• 300y pull cooldown

Total training hours: 14.5