Weekly Update: November 16, 2014

I am writing to you on this beautiful, sunny day here in southern Colorado. To the north, Pikes Peak stands tall, dusted with snow; and to the south, the Spanish Peaks rise from the ground. With the temperatures hovering in the high 20s, these clear conditions made for quite the enjoyable run.

Today marks the longest run I have done since that ill-fated day (October 9) when I strained my soleus, thus rendering it impossible for me to run the Pony Express Trail 50 on October 17 in Utah. The cause of the strain was most likely from doing yoga on a mat while wearing these blasted double-layer socks from Road Runner Sports that are supposed to prevent blisters while running. I never found them to be anything special for running, and the sock shrank a bit and therefore exposed part of my Achilles tendon to the shoe, so I have just been wearing them around. But after the slipping on the yoga mat, all three pairs of these socks are in the trash.

(Speaking of the Pony Express Trail runs, last year I pulled out of what would have been my first 100 mile run due to my left piriformis acting up. I attributed this injury to using a weighted vest while doing strength training (especially burpees), but am not sure if this is the case, since the piriformis aids in lateral rotation. Sure, upon out of the pushup/plank position before jumping up, there is some lateral rotation in the hips, but is this enough to irritate the piriformis? Anyway, the Pony Express Trail runs have eluded me for two years now…let’s hope that next year is a “go”!)

For the past two weeks, I have progressed from 2 mile runs, to 4 to 6 miles runs, to today’s 8 mile run. No more do I even sense that something had been strained in my left leg. This is such a great fact that perhaps I will go celebrate with an expensive beer or something tasty!

Ever since the soleus strain, I have been using a run/walk method, first a 1:00/1:00 for the short 2 milers, a 2:00/1:00 for the 4 milers, a 2:30/1:00 progressing to 3:00/1:00 in the 5 and 6 milers, and then a 3:00/1:00 for today’s 8 mile. I will write later about the benefits of a run/walk strategy. In general, this is what projected training pace would be like for a 20 miler:

8:15 if no or little walking

8:30 if following a 9:00/1:00 pattern

9:00 if following a 4:00/1:00 pattern

9:30 if following a 3:00/1:00 pattern

10:00 if following a 2:30/1:00 pattern

11:00 if following a 2:00/1:00 pattern

12:00 if following a 1:00/1:00 pattern

I adopted a run/walk strategy about a year and a half ago, and believe that for the Race Across New Mexico, this will be the most efficient and beneficial race strategy.

Well, I will write more about this subject at a later! For now, I am just glad to be up on my feet moving again without any pain!

Until next time,

Run on!