Frustrated. Again.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. A trip to Los Angeles bookended on either side by some particularly busy days at work. I got back Tuesday morning (after taking the red-eye Monday night – yuck!) and today I am finally feeling caught up. Caught up with work, caught up with sleep, caught up with all the other usual nonsense.
My training continues to be up and down; well, mostly down. There’s no question that I needed and deserved a break after the Ironman, but I am now getting a little frustrated. It’s been almost four weeks and I am psychologically ready to get back into the training and am really looking forward to SOS. I am also physically recovered except for this damn nagging “knee” injury, which is really bringing me down. I’m trying all the recommended steps – stretching, rolling it out with the foam roller and the Trigger Point Quadballer, strength training, ice, time off my feet and I’ve even gone back to PT. It is feeling much much much better than it was a couple weeks ago, but it’s still not 100%. I don’t have any pain when I walk, but sometimes when I go from standing to sitting or vice versa and sometimes when I move in a certain way I get a nanosecond burst of pain, generally around the bottom right corner of my patella. When I or the PT guy digs around below and behind the patella, there are some sort spots. There are also some nice spasms in my quad, IT band and calf. I’ve been working a lot on rolling those out.
The problem is not so much that I feel like I need to run to prepare for SOS or the JFK50. I’ve already decided that I’m doing SOS no matter what and I’ve resigned myself to the fact that if I can’t start running again soon the JFK50 is out. The issue is that I’m happier and better balanced when I’m running. I’m calmer, nicer, can handle stress better, feel more awake (even on less sleep) and am generally a better person to be around. I don’t get the same thing from cycling, swimming or strength training. Maybe it’s the fresh air, maybe it’s the exertion level. So, for the sake of everyone around me, I need to get back to running!
Strength – August 6
Swim – August 7
Distance: 2,500 yards
Time: 52 minutes
Run – August 8
Distance: 2.8 miles
Time: 24 minutes
Average heart rate: 149
Course: Coldwater Canyon/Beverly Hills – big hill!
Conditions: Warm (70’s), sunny
Run – August 10
Distance: 3.8 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 155
Course: Coldwater Canyon/Beverly Hills – opposite direction from August 8, still a very big hill!
Conditions: Nice (low 70’s), sunny
Indoor Bike – August 11
Time: 50 minutes
Average heart rate: 129
PT – August 11
Strength – August 12
SOS Brick – August 13
Run 1:
Distance: 1.5 miles
Time: 11:35
T1: 4:53
Swim:
Distance: 2,300 meters (2,515 yards)
Time: 48:43
T2: 4:04
Run 2:
Distance: 1.5 miles
Time: 12:50
Total time: 1:22
Run – August 14
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 40 minutes
Average heart rate: 145
Course: West Side Highway
Conditions: Nice (low 70’s), sunny