Sunday, November 22, 2009

Training 11/16/2009 - 11/22/2009

I've been working hard to fix my running form. The last year or two I've developed huge strides and an arm swing fit to knock out a boxer. As a consequence, I land hard on my heel and well in front of my pelvis leading to all kinds of irritating injuries. The last two weeks I've focused on reeling in the stride and not worrying about speed. I've noticed that when I force my myself to have a shorter stride my arm swing automatically calms down. Ugh. It hasn't been easy though. I feel awkward. At this point, running the wrong way doesn't feel right, but running the right way doesn't feel quite right either. I'm committed though. If I can fix my running form anomalies, perhaps I can kick this injury thing and go back to running more miles.

During the last run of the week, I finally started to feel more comfortable with a shorter stride. It's also the first run in a long time that I've run at home without the tiny tyke in tow, and she was not happy about me running without her. She, with her squinty eyes, informed me that she wanted to run with mommy too in her running stroller. Then she gave me sad eyes. Finally she agreed to play with daddy, and of course she had a great time with the big guy while I was off pounding pavement.

I'm still crossing my fingers, and hoping that I can pull off a reasonable 5K turkey trot time. I'm hesitant to share a goal because I'm just not sure what to expect coming off an injury and a bad marathon. Last year I ran 21:15. I'd really like to break 21:00. I'll let you know how it goes!

Training Log:

Monday:
  • Off. Well sort of. I spent the day (7:30 am - 5:00 pm) re-grouting our tub/shower area. My hands are sore, and did you know...grout is messy, like really messy?
Tuesday:
  • 7.5 mile easy run at 9:00 pace
  • Stationary bike workout: warm up/cool down, 3 x 1:20 hard, 4 x 2:00 hard, 2 minute rest between intervals, total 53 minutes
  • 2 x 20 pushups
Wednesday:
  • 7.5 mile easy run at 8:11 pace
  • 60 minutes easy on the stationary bike
  • 5 x 20 pushups
Thursday:
  • Stationary bike workout
  • Warm up/Cool down
  • Intervals: 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min
  • Half rest
  • Total time = 90 minutes
  • 5 x 20 pushups
Friday:
  • 90 minutes easy on the stationary bike
  • 1 x 20 pushups
Saturday:
  • Row workout
  • 20 minute warm up on stationary bike
  • 5 K row at 19:58
  • 20 minute cool down on stationary bike
  • 2x 20 pushups
Sunday:
  • 7 mile easy run at 8:33 pace
Total Miles Run: 22
Total Bike Time: 5:33
Total Rowed Miles: 3.1
Pushups: 15 x 20

2 comments:

Running and living said...

Love the new blog! Looks great! About running form...have you thought about getting some running shoes that reinforce a mid/forefoot landing (Newtons are great but expensive, Nike free are less expensive)? I heard great things about them! Also, with the short stride I find that focusing on pushing off with my big toe helps a lot (learned this from a running blog). Lastly, you may enjoy "Runner's body" and "Run fast from 5K to marathon", 2 fairly new books! Good luck with the turkey trot. I bet you'll break 21:00!

Katie said...

I have though about changing shoes. I was actually thinking about buying a pair of racing flats. They're pretty minimal, not expensive, and should help with the mid/forefoot landing. I haven't heard of Newtons. I'll have to check them out. Thanks for the book suggestions too. I have a long list of running books I need to read!