Tag Archives: quick thoughts

Oct 08 2021
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Checking In 10/8/2021

Even after sneaking over to the gym and riding the spin bike easy for half an hour, yesterday was a fairly restful day. The laundry I was going to do could wait until the weekend.

Garmin logs your stress according to restful periods, low stress, medium stress, high stress. Usually, I only log about 6-8 hours total restful time (which includes sleep), and bear in mind stress comes not just from your daily living and recovery following exercise, but from digesting food.

However, yesterday I logged over 10 restful hours. I don’t think that’s a record, but it’s probably close. So, even with meals and the workday, even not being able to get to sleep for some reason until close to 11pm, I had a fairly restful day. After some initial grogginess this morning after waking up a bit late (6am), I feel pretty good, and my body battery started at 89, which for me lately is fairly good as I’ve been averaging in the 50’s. I had been feeling fairly tired the last couple days, so it’s great to feel substantially better.

I decided to ride the restful wave and not run this morning before work, even though the conditions (60-65°F, 50% humidity, overcast following rain overnight) are basically perfect for a run. That’ll reduce projected training volume a little bit, but at this point I’m aiming for this to be a down week.

My hamstrings have had for a couple days this slight lingering ache, which I vastly prefer to being injured. For the next couple days I’m going to err training on the side of caution and see if I can heal all the way up going into next week’s gauntlet. I still have some long cross training planned, but I’ll play running by ear.

I switched up my supplements after running out of my usual Cal-Mag Citrate. I went with a generic magnesium glycinate standalone plus a Calcium Citrate and D3 supplement from Sprouts, and I’ll stick with that for the next month or two before deciding to stick with it or switch back.

Tonight after some quick errands (a running theme this week) I’ll do some cross training at the gym, and tomorrow I have to take my car in for service, which will either break up tomorrow’s training into smaller portions or push it all back to the afternoon.

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Oct 07 2021
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Checking In 10/7/2021

Last night I got to the gym… and didn’t walk in the door for another 45 minutes.

Instead, I went for a run in the neighborhood and logged close to 6K before looping back to the gym, going a few minutes on the rowing machine and stretching out. My right hamstring ached some yesterday but I had no problem running with it.

While granted the weather is now cooler so this couldn’t have worked before now, this ended up working fairly well, and I’ll probably do this going forward. If for some reason running isn’t working on a given day, I’m very close to the gym so I can just head back and use the elliptical instead.

Yesterday I also got to work early and went on a brief pre-work run. The climate and temperature was not only too good but loosely matched the expected conditions for Indy (cool, some humidity). Doing this run felt quite a bit better physically than the break runs (and I still did a couple of those during work yesterday). So I’d like to also do these pre-work runs on training days going forward, and then just take it easy on lunch breaks as I’ve been doing the last couple weeks.

Today is a scheduled rest day from training (which I guess is good because I feel worn out this morning), and I’ve got laundry and other errands to attend to tonight. Tomorrow I have more evening errands so (break runs aside) I won’t be able to train too much tomorrow. Saturday will be a swing day, where depending on feel I’ll either train long or take it easy and probably train more like a weekday. Sunday is also a scheduled rest day from training. A lot of rest!

Next week will be peak week: Wall to wall weekday training, Saturday a day of rest if needed, and then a tough long workout that Sunday. If I can go 16+ miles without significant trouble that weekend, I should be in a good place for Indy.

I’ve decided for now not to travel that weekend, though weather and other motivations could change my mind before then. A day trip somewhere is also not out of the question, and that requires far less planning. I’m also not taking days off work that weekend, so any possible trip would be a pure weekender.

More to come as I figure it out.

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Oct 06 2021
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Checking In 10/6/2021

I had previously hoped to run outside after work yesterday, but it was still somewhat warm, plus Vegas got some rare rain so we had a bunch of humidity to go with it. I also felt some soreness in both hamstrings, but nothing I couldn’t have easily run through.

Mostly, however, I was rather tired, closer to going to sleep than feeling energetic enough to run a few miles outside through warm overcast. The elliptical is always far more do-able in that condition, so I stuck to 45 minutes of that and strength training.

I had in fact felt rather tired the last couple evenings despite decent sleep, but feel markedly better today. I wasn’t training super hard the last few days or sleeping poorly. Sometimes I guess you just get tired during stretches.

(Well, that and sometimes you train a bunch on both days of a weekend and don’t actually get a full day of rest. Whoops!)

For birthday weekend I’m still considering a long weekender to Flagstaff or Big Bear, though staying home doesn’t look too bad either. Both locales have forecasted highs that weekend in the 50’s with lows around 30(F), around the same conditions as my last visit to Big Bear. So I’d be fairly comfortable in those conditions.

Or instead of using the two days off from work I could bank them and use them in December. I’ve hinted about new training plans for after Indy, and while I remain close to the vest about those for now (too much still TBD) I could use the days off in December for that. Plus, if I really wanted to travel that weekend, it’s not like I couldn’t have it both ways. It would just be another weekend road trip where I’d leave Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon.

I’ll figure it out in a bit. This weekend, meanwhile, I’m staying in town and not planning to train too hard. Sunday will be a day off from training (usual caveats: if bored will hit the spin bike and read a bit). If feeling up to a long run Saturday morning I will take it, but I do have errands to run that day so no pressure to get in much of a long workout that day. The next weekend will be a big workout.

Conditions are balmy today so I’ll see about getting out for a run, if nothing else to acclimate to conditions closer to what Indy will feel like.

I think I found a good split for upper body strength training that best minimizes training on overactive muscles while getting extra work into underactives that need the work. As mentioned before my strength workouts are always 20 minutes long, with 30 second breaks unless switching exercises.

Currently I leave my A-Block (Pull exercises) as they are: Lat Pulldowns, Seated Cable Rows, Face Pulls and/or Hanging Raises, and finally Hammer Curls. The format is 4 sets, 1st and last set 12 reps light weight, middle sets 8 reps heavy weight. (In the case of the Hanging Raises I do 1st and last as 12 reps knee raises, then middle sets 8 reps straight leg raises).

Now with my B-Block (push exercises), I basically combine chest and shoulder presses into one by doing a block of incline bench presses (same 4-set sequence as listed above). Then I once again do Seated Cable Rows, except just a flat 4 sets of a lighter weight (no heavy 8 rep sets). Then I either find the abductor machine and do Seated Hip Abductions, or find open floor space and do bodyweight ATG Split Squat lunges (these are just 4 sets, 12 reps 8 reps 8 reps 12 reps). Then I do either Tricep Extensions or Tricep Press-Downs, and if there’s time left I’ll finish by mixing in some squat jumps or goblet squats depending on feel and space/equipment available.

I swapped a redundant pull exercise into the Push workout to work an upper back muscle group that for me and many others is underactive, but at more of a light shakeout intensity in case they are still tired or sore from the A-Block workout.

Note I de-emphasize leg exercises. Obviously, I do a ton of running and cross training, and I don’t want to overtax those lower body muscles, but still want to work on key underactive muscles (e.g. the hip abductions focus on the gluteus medius, a typically underactive muscle that in my case may have been a contributing factor to my recent hamstring/groin issues). The latter squat exercises are basically optional, though they can help develop strength/power that will be useful.

At this point I strength train about twice a week, one day the A-Block and one day the B-Block. I usually do one or both on the weekend, as machines and equipment tend to be freer around that time, though sometimes (like last night) I’m able to do some during the weeknights.

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Oct 05 2021
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Checking In 10/5/2021

While I’m ultimately not going to Vancouver this month, I am still training for Indy, and taking it a bit slow the last couple of days after a lengthy Saturday workout.

I ran a couple of slow work break runs yesterday but otherwise did no other running. I got on the elliptical yesterday and worked a full hour, but that was all.

Tonight I will look to actually do an outside training run in Vegas for the first time in a bit. All my other running has been fairly short, obviously, and this time I’m looking for 4-7 miles. I’m thinking of parking at the gym and then running near the gym (again, I want to avoid the treadmill for now) so afterward I can quickly get inside and perhaps lift a bit, but definitely stretch.

This training cycle I have made a concerted effort to stretch in the gym before and after workouts (sometimes during workouts). I don’t do anything fancy. The only dynamic stretching I do before and after is leg swings. After workouts and after leg swings I find the stretch chair and do all the listed stretches except for the quad stretch, which I do while standing James Dunne style.

Making a point to do this after treadmill runs and elliptical workouts has probably helped me quite a bit in ways I can’t totally articulate right now. I’ve probably improved my anterior hip mobility, which was likely a contributing factor in my hamstring and groin problems earlier. Even now, that same hamstring tendon is a bit sore but nothing like it was during my prior recovery.

So I’d like to make a point to stretch before and after outdoor runs, and running near the gym facilitates that since I can just walk in and stretch when I’m done. Even when I run in the park, I can find a bench and approximate a lot of the static stretches there afterward, but it’s admittedly easier and more relaxing when I have the stretch chair.

Also, apparently, my gym just soft-opened a new location near where I work. I may go eat lunch near there and then hit the gym for 20 minutes.

If this works well, I may do this twice a week. I’d go more often but my gym sets a max limit on outside visits to one non-home gym, which I’d easily hit if I went every day. I do like my main gym and still visit almost every day, so I don’t want to switch home-gym locations.

When the scale shows I’ve gained weight but that my estimated body fat has gone down, that’s a good sign, especially days after a long workout. It usually means my muscles have reloaded their glycogen stores.

At this point I’m cruising around 176-179 pounds, and I’ve accepted that this number’s not likely to go down much before Indy. The required balance between suitably fueling training volume and everyday life with trying to shed excess fat means there’s only so much I can expect to do on that end right now.

Storms have reached town this morning so we’ll see if I get a work break run in this morning, though I think they’ll clear before the afternoon.

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Oct 04 2021
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Checking In 10/4/2021

Yesterday I ground out 80 minutes on the elliptical and (for the first time in a week or so) strength training. My legs still a little bit sore this morning, but nothing that should stop me from training.

… well, nothing but forgetting my running shorts! Again! I did this a couple weeks ago, and though going home to get them after work and then going to the gym isn’t a hassle, doing so does waste valuable time and limits what I can do when I get to the gym.

I like to form habits that avoid forgetting things like this. For example, I’ll stow key items for work in my backpack so I don’t end up forgetting them, since I take my backpack to work and they’ll obviously be there.

The only reason I haven’t done the same for my shorts is when I get home I usually just came from the gym so I’m wearing them. I don’t always think to take them off and put them in my backpack. I should, obviously.

I only own a couple pairs of shorts anyway, so perhaps this is a sign to go before work or during lunch and buy another pair of training shorts. Then when I get home I can stash two pairs of my shorts in the bag so I have an “emergency pair”.

Tonight I’m riding the elliptical and strength training again, and will see how I feel tomorrow, when Vegas should be a lot cooler and the post-work evening should be closer to training conditions. Presuming I feel okay and the temperatures are acceptable, I have plans to run and then possibly sneak over to the gym afterward.

With 33 days to go until Indy, even after 3+ hours of training Saturday I remain concerned about readiness for the race. The main goal this week is to knock out back to back to back 45-90 minute aerobic or running sessions, and possibly get some of that running done outside.

If I get to Thursday feeling okay and having trained well I’ll see how long I can go this weekend, though Plan A right now is not to go terribly long Saturday or Sunday. So if I’m not feeling up to a long workout, then it fits, so long as I get in 45+ minute sessions both weekend days. The next weekend in Vancouver will include a long workout.

If possible I’m going to once again stay off the treadmill. I got what I needed out of it this weekend, and while the workouts were strong and beneficial, I don’t want to push any injury risks if running outside is going to do my body better.

More to come.

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Oct 03 2021
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Checking In 10/3/2021

Yesterday I spent about four hours at the gym, with 3:20 of that on the treadmill and elliptical.

I wanted to spend a full three hours running on the treadmill, but about 67 minutes in I felt a twinge in my right hamstring that didn’t quickly disappear. So I shut down running and moved to the elliptical, where I could work pain free, and spent another 2 hours 13 working at a high zone 1 low zone 2 effort.

I was tired when finished and understandably stiff but not in any pain beyond workout soreness, and this morning while sore I don’t feel at all beat up. After relaxing a bit, I’m going to strength train and ride the elliptical for 80 minutes today, and we’ll see how I’m feeling tomorrow morning. That my right hamstring is not bothering me much at all (beyond feeling a bit sore, like the rest of me) and I can move normally tells me I shut it down at the right time.

Was it running on the treadmill once again? Not really… I wasn’t struggling at all with my steady easy run, and the brief surges every 9-10 minutes weren’t terribly fast or difficult. If the twinge didn’t suddenly appear I wouldn’t have had much trouble (beyond fatigue, obviously) running that way for a full three hours.

The only possible thing I can imagine led to it was that I paused the treadmill for a bit to take fluid and fuel. While pausing the treadmill was planned and helped recover, doing that resets all the treadmill settings (a bug/feature of these mills).

While I obviously got the treadmill back up to speed, I forgot to restore the 1.0 incline I had originally set, and that may have caused some undue strain in the later minutes. An incline generally helps reduce the needed extension on your stride, which is easier on your body even if climbing takes a bit more effort. The pounding of running on the mill can be exacerbated by this lack of incline by causing a hamstring-constrictive overstride.

I also noticed the twinge happened during one of the 30 second surges. The surges were a bit faster than I had originally planned, but were still comfortable, and I think the incline might have been a bigger factor. It probably didn’t help, though.

Finally, it’s worth noting I ran the workout in my Topo ST-3’s, which are minimalist low-drop shoes. There was no support, which I usually prefer. But that probably contributed to any extra pounding from the above issues. I don’t know for sure that a more supportive shoe would have avoided the problem (a bigger sole could have caused an easier heel strike that would have produced more of the aforementioned overstride). But fatigue usually exacerbates any pounding from the lack of support, and while not causing the problem I imagine that didn’t help.

I will probably test out a work break run on Monday and that should give me a good idea of whether I need more rest, or it will be fine as long as I’m not on a treadmill.

Some good news is Vegas will finally cool below 80 degree (F) highs this week, so I can probably run outside after work again. Monday will still be a bit warm in the low/mid 80’s, but Tuesday after work will be around 75 degrees, which works great. If I run on pavement and stay off the treadmill, I can probably avoid further trouble. A couple of turns on The Big Loop this week will be good for my fitness and form.

Side note, and this is probably a good time to have started this, but I started taking RejuvenZyme, a blend of systemic enzymes that aid in recovery through combatting inflammation and actually consuming excess scar tissue. The Tissue Rejuvenator I currently take does have some of these enzymes, but like most supplements they exist more for digestion than any recovery aid.

The particular unique enzymes in RejuvenZyme are Chymotrypsin and Serrapeptase. These are hard to find in any vitamin or supplement blend, as most producers focus on digestive enzymes (which are not hard to find). You usually have to get each separately and take them with your stack, but I was fortunate to find a blend that has all of them plus some other essentials that work with them like Bromelain and Papain. It wasn’t cheap (the bottle of 120 I got was about $48), and no one really carries it: I had to go to a specialty store in West Las Vegas aptly called Stay Healthy(!) to find them.

But if this does work for me, I do think I’ll recover quicker and avoid exercise-related inflammation. Plus, of course, it would help with whatever issue popped up yesterday, and speed along its healing.

For now, I’m taking it mostly easy today aside from the planned cross training workout. Maybe I’ll take a nap. Busy week of training starts tomorrow, with rest days Thursday and Sunday, though it’s a down week so Saturday’s training isn’t currently planned to be terribly long. The real hammer week will be the following week, ending with my planned Vancouver getaway. After that, we head downhill into the taper for Indy.

More to come.

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Oct 02 2021
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Checking In 10/2/2021

There won’t be an outdoor run today. The weather was fine, but I clearly needed to sleep in quite a bit, which for me is until about 6:30am, and at that point it’s far too late in the morning to get to starting a long run and not end up in too hot conditions for the run to go fine.

So the plan today and tomorrow is to work on the treadmill at easy pace to marathon pace, by swinging two workouts. Plan A was to do a long run of about 16-18 miles today and an hour of running tomorrow, and in each I’d stop and walk after 2 miles for fluid and fuel, as I will when I run Indy.

Workout 1 is an easy interval style long run, running most of it at an easy, slow pace where every 10 minutes I’d briefly surge to marathon pace, then dial back to easy pace. I’d pause every 20 minutes for fluid and fuel, then resume. Obviously the gym treadmills stop at one hour, so that break would be a bit longer, but I’d restart and get right back at it until I’ve done three hours.

However, if not feeling like death, the 3rd hour would increase 15 minutes in from easy pace running to marathon pace running, with 30 second surges to Easy Interval pace every 10 minutes. Again, I’d stop every 20 minutes for fluid and fuel as before.

Workout 2 is a marathon pace workout that should take about 80-90 minutes, and basically practices the mechanics of race day. I start with marathon pace, then slow to a walk at 2 miles to take fluid and fuel. Once situated I get back to marathon pace until I get to 4 miles, then stop the treadmill outright for fluid and fuel in a more extended break. Once ready, I restart the treadmill and repeat the process, ultimately doing four long marathon intervals of about 2 miles each. The reason I don’t do a full hour ending with a runout is I want to simulate the true mechanics of running between the Indy aid stations, and ending each hour with a shorter run-out screws that up.

I could start on the treadmill today and find it won’t work for my body to go 3 hours today, so then I could pivot to Workout 2 and only do an hour, maybe only do three 2-mile intervals since I’ll have been running a bit by that point, then take it easy the rest of the day and go for the long Workout 1 tomorrow.

However, Workout 1 today and Workout 2 tomorrow is the plan for now, and I believe that can work just fine. If I get through this weekend with both completed as planned, I’m in very good shape for Indy given where I was a month ago.

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