Getting Slower to Get Faster

Very, very easy 30 minute bike ride. Its funny how fatigue works. After sizzling through yesterday's ride and feeling unstoppable while doing it, today, riding over 75 RPM with minimal resistance felt strenuous. . . So I stayed ~75 RPM and kept today perceptually easy.

Core and weights after ride.

I may run tomorrow. Everyday since re-injury with my overly ambitious speed workout my achilles has felt noticeably better than the day before--a good sign. Also, it was a little sore out of bed this morning, but after riding and weights, felt better, also a good sign. The week I will run very easy on my easy days and put in some nasty bike workouts on the hard days. If an easy run causes a flare-up, I'll stick to the bike for a few consecutive days and test again.

Standard 21st East loop. Running again feels very nice. As expected I felt awkward and out of sorts. My pace was a little slower than before re-injury. I'm fairly certain it's not because of fitness loss but due to the aforementioned rustiness. My achilles seemed to handle the run very well. It felt better at the end then the beginning which is a big positive.

When I woke this morning my achilles was a little more sore than I would have like so I debated biking instead. However, by past experience I've found that sometimes an easy run after several rest days helps swollen tissue expel the excess water--I think because of the effect of the "muscle pump" on lymph flow. Biking (at my level) doesn't work my calves anywhere near what running does so a run would be better to pump out debris. In today's case this appears to have been correct. If I'd been wrong, my plan was to bike the next 2 days.

3.25 mi/32:14. Post ~5 min warm-up: 9:33/mi = HR 144

Iced after run.

A.M. Weight = 188.9 (retaining water because of bad diet and lack of running).

Foothill loop in 47:23. Post ~ 5 min warm-up: 9:46/mi @ HR 144.

Did not ice after run. As with any treatment, I think it is good to take a break from icing. So, one week after running a lot more speedwork than I should have, my achilles is starting to feel pretty good again. I need to get my mileage up to prepare for the Gannett Peak climb. It will help with weight loss and will be safer for my achilles than speedwork. The nice thing about being as undertrained as I am, is that about anything will make me faster. For peak performance my training volume will have to go up a lot anyway. All these things considered, it is a no-brainer to bump up my mileage a little and lay off the speed. I'll likely to one really intense workout on the bike. That and my weight work will keep me primed for speed work when I am ready.

A.M. Weight = 189.2

Ran laps and various surfaces at Liberty Park. Will log more later.

5.99 mi = 60:26 = 10:05/mi at HR = 143 for whole run.

Iced after run.

A.M. Weight = 188.1

I've had three days of running in a row when this time last week I was still walking with a limp. My achilles is not at 100% and probably won't be for a several weeks, but I'm able to run pain free as long as I keep it easy. Rather than push my luck, I thought it would be better to cross-train this morning and then finish the week with a 45-50 minute run on Friday, a longer run on Saturday (75-90 min--VERY long for me right now) and perhaps a quick solo climb of Mount Olympus Sunday morning. Besides getting back in running shape, I need to do some climbing/hiking to prepare for a Gannett Peak which I'll attempt to climb the first week of July. Gannett is difficult because of the extremely long approach with a heavy pack. It's considered the 2nd most difficult state high point after Denali in Alaska.

10 minute warm-up on the bike.

Weights and core work. Added step-up lunges.

A.M. Weight = 188.1

So, I'm still figuring out where the best places to run in the Salt Lake area are. Fortunately, Adam is always coming over to the lab where I work in to use some equipment. He suggesting running along Foothill and across the foot bridge to Wasatch Dr so I tried this route. I like it a lot because the way out is slightly uphill and the way back is of course slighly downill.

Despite having fairly sore glutes from yesterday's step-up lunges I managed to settle into a good rhythm and felt pretty good overall. Taking what my body was giving, I stepped up the effort just a little to Base II territory for the return trip. It felt great, I was totally confortable with easy breathing but with the more enjoyable rhythm of a faster tempo (it is strange to me that 8:30/mile can feel like a faster tempo--that used to be my regeneration pace). The length of the run was about perfect because I could feel the depletion in my legs the last 5 minutes or so but didn't have to cash in any chips to finish strong.

My achilles felt pretty good on this run but I have been getting a little nervous about it not being ready for the Gannett Peak expedition. I decided to pull out one more stop and see a Sport's Medicine Doc in hope of getting an oral corticosteroid to knock-out the last bit of inflammation that NSAIDS can't quite reach. I've worked with Rus Toronto before but he is out of town and his office recommended either Drs Betteridge or Richards. Betteridge had opening on Friday that I drove up to Bountiful to take.

Dr. Betteridge performed some ultrasound imaging on the achilles. Overall the integrity of the tendon looks very good. There was just a little extra water on the small localized spot at the lateral muscle-tendon junction that pains me. Given the general health of the tendon he agreed that trying an oral corticosteroid was the next step. So I got a Medrol (methylprednisolone) Dose Pack where you take 6 pills the first day, 5 the next, and so forth down to 1. I took the first 6 today. If this doesn't work, then  we'll move to a more aggressive approach focusing again on high-load eccentric lifting and a very aggressive form of massage called Astym (even more aggressive than Active Release which seemed to help me) that will serve to re-introduce the inflammatory process and help the cycle go to completion. I was thorough impressed with Dr. Betteridge and based on this first experience would recommend him (I'm usually, very, very critical of Drs because far too many don't know their stuff when it goes beyond the basics).

7.88 mi/1:14:20

Out (post ~ 5 min warm-up)  = 10:10/mi @ HR 141

Back = 8:32/mi @ HR 152

Average post-warmup = 9:16/mi @ HR 147.

A.M. Weight = 187.5

Iced within 5 min of finishing run.

I intended to summit Mt. Olympus this morning hiking at a hard pace. However, about 2 miles up I could feel my right heel getting a hot spot where it was rubbbing against my boot. than Rather foolishly push it to a blister, I decided to turn back. I descended with intermittent periods of jogging and walking where the terrain did not permit jogging. As it was, it turned out to be a great workout because of the pace I set carrying 20 lbs of gear. Although I didn't cover a lot of miles, I did spend a significant period of time at an elevated heart rate. This was definitely much more demanding on the legs than a simple run.

4.20 miles in 1:44 @ HR Ave = 133 (144 up/118 down)

Took 5 Medrols today (see yesterday's entry). I can still feel the inflammation although it is subsiding. I've gone the oral corticosteroid route in the past and seem to remember it taking a few days to really knock-out the inflammation.

A.M. Weight = 186.7

Day off

4 Medrols (see entry from June 6th).

A.M. Weight = 187.8

My hips are a little sore from the power hike I did on Saturday so I kept it short and easy and ran my standard 21st East loop. Today's run was the fastest my pace has been at this HR(Base I) on this loop yet, so I'm pleased with that. Despite having to be very cautious with my training, I am seeing continued improvement which is all that matters in the long term.

The Medrol (See June 6th entry) has definitely reduced my achilles inflammation to a level not reached by the NSAIDS but it is still mildly present if I push on the sore spot. I'm worried about it coming back full-force once I finish the scheduled dosage. I've got some left-over prednisone from a few years back that I may extend the dosage cycle a few days with before the taper. I know of at least one Doc who has advocated a 14 cycle rather than a 6 day one because he has observed that 6 days is often just short of what is needed to erradicate the last traces of inflammation.

3.23 miles in 30:17.

9:06/mi = HR ave 144.

3 Medrol's this morning

A.M. Weight = 187.8

13th East Foothill Loop. I felt a little awkward and sleepy on this run but stayed relaxed and didn't push anything. For this route I drop down towards the city and then climb back up and higher on 4th South and Foothill and then ride a mild descent back home.

I'm still not moving super fast but continue to see improvement. My pace at all heart rates is consistently faster than it was a few weeks back and so forth. The Medrol has helped my achilles for sure, but at this point in time I don't think this one cycle will have been enough to erradicate the last vestiges of unwanted inflammation.

4.66 mi in 45:06 = 9:27/mi @ HR 139

2 Medrols (See June 6th entry)

A.M. Weight = 187.8

Last week I enjoyed my long run on Foothill towards Wasatch Dr. I decided to run that way again but keep it at ~1 hr for a mid-week longer run. My plan was to run at Base I pace on the way out and then run by feel on the way back, settling into the fastest pace that felt effortless.

At the start of the run I felt a little hyper and jittery. Maybe I was getting exciting for the second half. Could be the gradual reduction in the Medrol (see June 6th entry). Nonetheless, my legs felt good and responsive. I knew I would come back faster than I went out so I turned around just after 33 min thinking I would make it back in about 27 min. I got hailed on at the turn-around point which was kinda of fun, especially when my Garmin did something weird and I had to stand and get hailed on while I figured out how to fix it.

I settled into a good pace on the way back without focusing on speed or heart rate, just my fastest effortless pace. I made it home in under 26 minutes so I knew I'd run a decent pace.

Out: 33:16 = 9:36/mi at HR = 146 (up a slight grade almost the whole way)

Back: 25:48 = 7:45/mi at HR = 158 (obviously down a slight grade)

Entire run including warm-up and cool-down = 6.74 mi/60:10 = 8:55/mi @ HR = 149

I'm really pleased about getting back in to "the 7s" on a non-tempo type effort. I still have a long way to go (when I'm running 6:15s at this HR then I will be officially back) but I've seen continuous improvement in my fitness. The one positive about having to baby my achilles is that is has been nearly impossible to over train. My deep energy feels strong. I feel healthy and running feels good and thats the way is should be most of the time.

1 Medrol

A.M. Weight = 186.0 (lowest weight yet, I should start seeing some 185s soon).

3.22 miles at 9:49/mi without HRM. Kept it very easy. Today was my first day off of the Medrol so I'm a little anxious and curious to see how much inflammation comes back.

1 x 10 heel drops with straight leg.

1 x 10 " " with bent knee.

P.M. Repeat heal drops

A.M. Weight = 186.5

Ran 21st east loop. I felt hyper again this morning. Probably more fall-out from clearing the Medrol (see June 6th entry). If I thought about racing or track work or anything remotely exciting my HR would shoot way up so HR/pace means nothing on this run!

3.23 mile in 31:04 = 9:36/mi @ HR 146

Some weight work at home. A.M. and P.M heel drops.

A.M. Weight = 184.0

(This was nice surprise, I re-weighed a couple of times to make sure this was right. Corticosteroids cause mild water retention so maybe the Medrol masked some weight loss. Also, I could be losing plasma volume due to a lack of intense work).

While falling asleep last night I decided that today would be a nice day for easy mile repeats. The East High Track is closed for some sort of production so I went the track at Highland High. After a warm-up and some drills I ran 3 x 1600 with a lap jog inbetween. I started all of them off at an AT (sub-LT) effort for the 1st 2 laps and then gently accelerated a little on the last 2 laps. I pushed a little more on the last lap of the 3rd repeat to spike my HR to help maintain plasma volume acquired from the more intense work before I mildly re-injured my achilles tendon. The final product was workout that was probably equivalent to 3 x 1600 at 10K pace from stress perspective. Peak HRs are elevated because of the progressive increase in speed.

Rep     Time    Ave HR    Peak HR

1.         7:05       169          181

2.         7:10       174*        184

3.         6:50       175          194

* Artefactually elevated because of fast recovery lap

These were a little slower than I expected based off the increased pace of my easy runs at same effort and HR. Its been a few weeks since I've run anything faster than base work so I'm not real surprised. By past experience improvements in faster work/LT usually lag a little after improvents in basal fitness but can be fairly substantial once they set in--the whole point of periodizing and modulating training. Vice versa is true for track work translating to faster easy runs.

My achilles is doing very well. The Medrol knocked out quite a bit of inflammation that doesn't seem to be coming back. Now, I'll keep working with heel drops, stretching, massage, and not doing speed work until I certain it will tolerate it which isn't now (the above doesn't remotely come close to "speed work.")

A.M. Weight = 184.1

Easy endurance run out to Wasatch Dr. via Foothill. My legs were a little tired from yesterday when I started. I exercised a lot of discipline to keep the run easy on the way back. The purpose of the run was endurance and I did not let myself run greedy. Yesterday was more intense and I would have gained nothing by pushing the pace today.

Out = 10:16/mi @ HR = 141

Back = 8:46/mi @ HR = 146

Total run time = 1:31:45 (My longest run in a long time--I wouldn't be going this long this early except that I need to push the endurance button a little extra for the Gannett Peak climb)

A.M. Weight = 186.5

~30 minutes on the treadmill @ ~9:10/mi, no HRM

Core/Weight work

Heel drops

A.M. Weight = 186.3

I climbed to the top of Mt. Timpanogos and back sort of following the Aspen Grove Trail. Somewhere between the 2.5 and 3 mile mark the trail became covered by snow and remained so for virtually the remainder of the climb. At this point the crampons went on and the ice axe came out. We ascended two large snow fields with much of it a 45 degree slope. We ended up ascending the glacier because the top of the saddle was blocked by a large cornice. Once ascending the glacier the final stretch to the summit along the western ridge was 99% snow free. We glissaded down the glacier and a few other spots and were able to descend much faster than we went up. Total round trip was 15 miles with 4,900 net feet of vertical gain to 11,749 feet on the ascent. Round trip time was 13 hours.

The safety level of a climb like this in these conditions is quite high IF you do it right technically, which we did. It required long periods of time with unbroken concentration. Thus it was a very taxing climb physically and mentally. My calves are quite sore this morning (6/18) and I'm a little sun burnt despite applying sunscreen. My achilles felt sore this morning but after a few sets of heel drops it instantly loosened up and ceased to pain me. If I was in competition on the mileage board, I wouldn't count this as mileage, but at this point in time I will. It taxed my much more than a 15 mile run would have.

A deserved day off.

A.M. and P.M heel drops.

My legs feel like absolute lead today. Going up the slighest incline was hard. Clearly Tuesday's climb was very strenuous and I still fatigued. A run of any significance wasn't going to happen. I had to labor to push my HR over 120. Hips are locked up and calves are sore. Thus, today became a 20 minute regeneration run. Tomorrow I'll likely feel much better.

1.63 miles in 20:04 = 12:17/mi @ HR 118.

A.M. Weight = 186.2

I'm still recovering from the climb and have sore muscles. However, unlike yesterday, I didn't feel exhausted when running faster than a 12 minute mile. I "pushed" the pace up to the HR 140s to loosen up and make it a normal run. Its hard to tell whether my effort level and HR are out of sync right now because of the climb. A few days time will tell on that. Nonetheless, on today's run I took another significant chunk off my Base I pace. My slightly increased mileage with some longer runs may be manifesting itself also. The net result of very small improvements over the past 2 months is that I am running over a 1 minute faster per mile at the same HR while training very much within myself. I'm still running relatively slow, but I'm not looking for a quick fix hear and am allowing myself a year to return to fitness. So on that count, I'm on track.

Standard 21st East Loop

3.24 miles in 30:19 = 8:57/mi @ HR 144.

A.M./P.M. heel drops

A.M. Weight = 185.6

Once again I sucumbed to the siren call of the track--but, I came away unscathed. I ran 1.5 mi warm-up + drills and a little stretching then 4 x 800 with a lap jog. I ran each one faster than the one before and generally negative split each 800. I was very much in control the whole way and was pleased with how easy it was. Based off this workout I think I could hold 6:15s for a 5k, far from the 5:00 miles I am aiming for, but it is one more indicator of continued progress.

My achilles is holding up fairly well. I think the Medrol and its immediate pharmacologic effects have completely cleared my system. The inflammation is still present, but it seems less touchy and sensitive to activity. I could feel it a little today while running but was essentially pain free. I'll keep with the heel drops and stretching but need to get some very aggressive massage whether it be Astym, Active Release, or something else. A workout like today is likely the fastest I can get away with.

On the rehab note, I don't beleive that by continuing to run on it that I am delaying my recovery or damaging it more. I really don't believe that at this stage total rest would have any different result and in fact could lead to atrophy. The ultrasound 2 weeks ago showed that it is in general very healthy. What I am trying to do is induce tissue remodeling and build a strong supple tendon which is what the heel drops and continued running do.

3:11/183

3:05/187

3:01/191

2:53/195

Recovery laps were ~3:30 followed by a 30 second circle walk to grab my shirt and wipe the sweat off my brow. Again, I was very much in control during this workout and am pleased with the result. By effort it was a 7.5 out of 10

A.M. Weight = 185.4

5 minute warm-up on the bike

Weights/core work

A.M. Weight = 184.8

This morning I found myself suffering from the terrible curse of the Sunday afternoon nap. Yesterday I took a nap--too long. When I finally awoke, I spent one hour trying to rearrange my nap face and make the walls stop spinning. No, I was not drunk nor do I get drunk. I was stricken by a severe case of the grogs, a insidious ailment known to make manly men feel like teetering children who tried too hard to get dizzy. It took several hours to become completely cognizant. Then, horribly, at night, I was tired but could not fall asleep. Consequently, this morning I was sleepy and felt as coordinated running as a drunken elephant. I ran a windy, loopy, hilly course in my loopy state through the streets by my home.

3.56 miles in 34:35 = 9:24/mi @ HR = 144.

Heel drops with 15 lbs weight. (Last night I worked out my achilles with a very aggressive bare knuckle grind/massage. It felt GREAT to walk around on today but is VERY sore to the touch. I'm on the right track for fully recovery with a little more time and patience--then I can do some real workouts).

A.M. Weight = 185.6

I ran a regeneration run this morning because I am tired. I think I'm still recovering a little from the climb (see 6/17). If I feel normal tomorrow I'll run a 75 minute progression run. I'll make a strong effort to stay relaxed at work today and get to sleep a little earlier tonight.

5.09 miles in 54:17 = 10:24/mi @ HR 128

A.M. Weight = 186.5

Yesterday I wrote that I would run a 75 minute progression run if I felt normal. I still feel a little off and felt like I needed something quicker and shorter.

I went to the large grass field just off Sunnyside and Guardsman and ran 20 minutes of 30 sec fast followed by 30 seconds moderate to slow. This workout is great for jumping fitness, especially for a middle distance runner who doesn't respond as well to long slow distance. You can run the fast portions pretty quick without going lactic. The overall feeling of the workout is like a threshold run.

Ideally the 30 off is kept at a moderate pace rather than a grandma jog. I did fine for the first 10 minutes but started to flame-out at the end. The last "on" segment I ran for 60 sec rather than 30. Running on grass allowed me to take a little strain off my achilles which is definitely not 100% but it is more stable and less touchy than a few weeks ago. I was willing to take the risk anyway because all this slow running is driving me crazy.

Ave HR for 20 min = ~177, Peak = 189. I missed the lap button on my Garmin but going by the graph of the workout I covered 2.6 miles during the 20 minute period for an average pace of 7:42/mi.

A.M. Weight = 186.2

Initially I had planned to run 45 minutes easy this morning, but due to a full morning ended up having barely 30 minutes to fit in a workout. To compensate I ran my 21st East loop a little faster to make it a Base II run.

3.28 mi in 28:42 = 8:32/mi @ HR = 154.

A.M. Weight = 185.9

13th East Foothill loop--easy. I still don't feel normal, but definitely better.

45:03 = 9:42/mi @ HR 146

A.M. and P.M. heel drops.

A.M. Weight = 184.8

I got 8 solid hours of sleep last night and energy wise felt a lot better today, almost normal. I ran a 60 minute progression run with the last half at the aerobic threshold (just a little easier pace than for a traditional 20 minute tempo/LT run).

7.01 miles out and back on foot hill.

Out = 28:10 @ 9:15/mi = HR 153

Back = 25:16 @ 7:27/mi = HR 169

A.M./P.M. Heel Drops

A.M. Weight = 184.7

Day off.

I've got a long week back-packing and climbing coming up. As not quite right as I felt last week, I decided to rest. I won't do anything very strenuous Monday or Tuesday. When I get back from my trip I'll recover and then hopefully be able to train as I would like, unencumbered by my SLOWLY recovering achilles tendon.

(How it got injured in the first place is a mystery to me. What I can say is that it wasn't running but some sort of freak off-chance event that I didn't even notice when it happened. One day I woke up and it was sore--I hadn't run for several days before. It's one of the most perplexing and frustrating injuries I've ever had).

13th East loop with an uphill interval and 2 short sprints on grass.

Overall run = 41:58/4.55 mi = 9:13/mi @ HR 149

Up hill interval = 3:17/.43 mi = 7:42/mi @ HR 188 peak

A.M. Heel Drops, RDLs, bicycle crunches, and set-ups.

A.M. Weight = 185.5