Last Updated on December 6, 2022 by David Vause
I missed my run on Tuesday and spent the rest of the week trying to catch up against commonly accepted running advice. I wound up running off an energy cliff on Sunday and just didn’t have it in me to run 5. Energy management is a challenge for me at the current time.
Tu. 11/29/22
Inexplicitly overslept massively this morning. Missed my run and lifting.
Mo. 11/28/22
Woke up tired, and achy, but well-rested. No vigorous activity today. Spent 30 minutes in the gym stretching in the morning. It felt really good to ease up.
Su. 11/27/22
I started my run around 06:30, half an hour before sunrise today. Normally, I like to let the day warm up on the weekends before venturing out, but we had a 100% chance of rain later in the day. The choice boiled down to running in 42 F in the half-light or running in 55 F in the rain. I’ve struggled with energy levels all weekend, and this morning was no exception. A good night’s sleep last night helped.
My afternoon strength workout was a little weakened, again from energy levels. However, I was strong enough to get benefit from it. With the lifting in the afternoon, my week is done.
Sa. 11/26/22
It’s probably not since the Marine Corps that I have done both the deadlift and the squat. For most of my life, I’ve seen them as somewhat redundant for legs, working primarily the same muscles. In the past two years, I have learned that I was wrong. I love the deadlift. It is a fundamental thing to do: pick a heavy object off the ground. As anyone who has gone to failure with the movement can tell you, the deadlift works the muscles in the hands, arms, upper and lower back, chest, and right around your core. It works the glutes and, I realize now, primarily the posterior chain. Conversely, the squat strongly stimulates the anterior chain as well as the back. The two movements complement each other. I fully understand why I came back from my Iwakuni deployment in 1980 as strong as an ox.
That is a positive way to describe how I felt when I woke up this morning. While I held back on the squat since I haven’t done it in so long, I could certainly feel the combination of movements throughout the muscles I mentioned above. And more importantly, it did not impact my run.
12:35 – Bit of a lethargic run, but got it done. My legs did not feel directly heavy from my leg workout yesterday, but my overall energy was low.
Fr. 11/25/22
Did not recover well last night. My sleep score was 49, and my body battery was 50. Not sure if I’ll row before deadlifts today. I think I may have pushed my run a bit yesterday.
In sum, for the day, I planned to row for 20 minutes as a warmup before some light leg work. But my energy levels were low, and I did not want to bite into recovery for tomorrow. So, I did legs.
12:00 – Brief leg workout. Pushed the deadlifts but was very light on squats to save my legs for tomorrow’s running. Energy is not as poor as my Garmin scores would cause me to anticipate.
Th. 11/24/22
13:05 – Ran a bit hard. Not used to running after sunrise and it messes with my perceived exertion and sense of pace. Good run. +4 conditioning readiness.
8:11 – The upper end of my left lat was bothering me a bit last week after a pull workout. I suspect I need to do more warming up before lifting, especially for chin-ups. It’s a concession to old age perhaps. Otherwise, good workout. 40 sets, 164 reps, 8195 lbs. total volume.
Sa. 8/6/22 06:30 – 3.5 miles @ 12:44/79% mHR – 70 F @ 93% RH
Easy run. When I started, the sun was entirely hidden by the mists. Unfortunately, within a mile, the moisture burned off. Since it was such a short run, I was done before things got too ugly. Since I have a slight twinge in my right knee.
Su. 7/31/22 – 6:30 – 6 miles @ 12:42/82% mHR – 75 F @ 85% RH
Overdid the run, even following my monitor. The heat probably made it worse. Later in the day, while doing 5 sets of deadlifts, I felt a bit ill on the fourth set. I had to take Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday, I ran but still didn’t feel right. I would not run again until Saturday.
Th. 7/28/22 4:30 – 3.5 miles @ 13:37 – 75 F @ 85%
I’ve been following my heart rate while I run pretty carefully. By my third run this week it appears that my unconscious bio-feedback has allowed me to dial into 70-80% of MHR with less constant checking of my Garmin. But the cumulative effects of both running and lifting on the same day have caught up to me a bit. I was pretty tired on this run. Tomorrow is a day off, except I plan to do an upper body push with deadlifts.
Su. 7/24/22 6:30 – 5.0 miles @ 13:31 – 225 ft – 67F @ 93%
After a surprising slow performance at the 2019 Marine Corps Marathon, I started including a pace readout on my Garmin 910 XT. I slowly got into the habit of chasing my pace, slowly going faster and faster. This probably played a role in my injuries last year…..and the one that I’m just recovering from now.
My new Garmin 955 has a wrist heart-rate monitor. On my second run, I became aware if its readout amongst the frames of data it presents. I noticed that I kept slipping up into the threshold/red zone/tempo pace zone, at 80% of maximum heart rate or higher. I thought that I was primarily managing to stay below it. Browsing my Garmin account this morning, I discovered that I had spent 67% of my run at tempo pace. While tempo running has its place in training, doing all one’s mileage at that pace is asking for trouble. My goal for this stage in my running is to build miles and stay away from intensity.
This morning, I ignored the pace and distance displays and focused strictly on the heart rate monitor. As a result, I spent 90% of my run in the aerobic zone with the remaining 10% in warm up or easy running. I’m very pleased with this new tool that I can apply to my training.
Sa. 7/23/22 6:30 – 3.7 miles @ 12:38 – 125 ft – 80 F at 80%
My running’s going really well, and I’m keeping the miles low.
We’ve entered the Dog Days, by my reckoning. The wet bulb was sitting at 85F for most of my run. I think I was at my upper limit for fairly comfortable running. Warmer than that, and it would have become an issue. I think I’m still running too fast. My new Garmin has a wrist heart rate monitor. I’m trying to use it to cut back my amount of running in the threshold zone and stay aerobic for most of the run.
I pushed my deadlifts yesterday, taking a chance on today’s run. It worked out ok. I felt them at the beginning of the run, but can say they had no impact on my pace or level of tiredness.
Su 7/17/22 6:30 – 4.0 miles @ 12:36 – 197 ft – 74 at 99% – 149.5 lbs
Deviated from my plan to run 5 3-milers and ran 4. Low risk as I ran 5 4-milers 2 weeks ago. Saw 3 people, all walking dogs. I’m amazed. This neighborhood has 502 homes. It stuns my brain to think of how sedentary Americans are. Bodywise, it was a completely uneventful run. I’m still in the recovering from injury mindset and am hyper-aware of any niggles.
In the afternoon after lunch, spent two hours sweating in the gardens, fertilizing and weeding.
Late afternoon did deadlifts and an upper body pull session.
Sa 7/16/22 6:30 – 3.0 miles @ 12:53 – 160ft – 69F at 99%
Reflecting my growing confidence about the structural integrity of my legs, I ran my hilliest 3-mile route today. Also ran a bit faster, probably because the sun was up. Another relatively easy run, though I fully realized that I ran a bit too fast. Once again, no niggles or aches, not even minor. I think my micro-tear is completely healed. The mild discomfort that I was having after my 20-mile week is also completely gone.
Fr 7/15/22 4:55 – 3.0 miles @ 12:55 – 69F at 99%
Another gentle run as I try to rebuild miles after my presumed calf micro-tear. Got my first glimpse of the waning moon this morning. Mostly, I’ve been preoccupied with the planet show that has been up there since June. Absolutely no niggles or weird sensations. Just need two more runs for the week, and I’ll be at 15 and change.
I pushed my deadlift more than the recent usual yesterday. I can feel the effect today, but it did not appreciably affect my easy pace. “Push”, on this occasion, means that my last of 5 sets was to near total failure. I did not want to torch my weekend runs by pushing really hard.
We 7/13/22 4:50 – 3.0 miles @ 12:50 – 67F at 97%
Another easy run. No adverse perceptions. As with yesterday, I started my run thinking that, given that I felt so comfortable, I wouldn’t need a shower at the end of my run. Also, like yesterday, I was drenched by 3 miles.
It was a bats to birds run. I started in the dark, with only a faint glow in the east, and completed in daylight, albeit, still before dawn. I did not use my headlight, preferring to run in the natural light.
Tu 7/12/22 4:30 – 3.0 miles @ xxxx – 67F 100%
Easy run to start off 5 3-milers for the week. No niggles or anything. Pleasant cool breeze.
I made it out before the early first light in the east. I got to see the planetary alignment along the orbital plane, Saturn, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and, ever bright, Venus. I thought I saw a dim presence between Mars and Venus but couldn’t tell for sure. It turns out that the light that I saw was Uranus.
Sa. 7/9
Heavy rains this morning and roughly 73 F. Just didn’t feel like being drenched even though it’s warm enough.
At 11:30, the rains let up, so I went for my planned 2 miles. It’s very heavily overcast with high winds at altitude, displaying big billowy puffs of gray. Another very easy pace, circa 12:40 MPM. No unwelcome niggles or pain. I plan 5 runs of 3 miles next week, backing off from last week’s 20 miles. I think I pushed upward just a little quickly.
Fr. 7/8
I did 2 miles today, just before dawn. I preceded it with 8 sets for lats, 3 sets of chins, and 5 sets of bent-over rows. This was preceded by a 2 km warm-up row. But the high part is always the run, as modest as it is.
I took it very easy and had no sign of any stress in my knee. While only 71 F, the 90% or so humidity left me in a good sweat. It’s good to get out there after several weeks after 5 weeks of down time.
Th. 7/7/22
I took 4 days off from running when I developed a very mild pain going up and down steps after my Sunday run. Today, I’m asymptomatic. Tomorrow, I’m going to start again, but gently.
Admittedly, I pushed the ramp a bit. But in light of the miles earlier this year, I did not think I’d have issues.
I had planned a down week this week anyway, so I’m not particularly disappointed.
To be ultra-conservative, I’m going to cut to 15 miles next week and do 15, 17.5, and 20 miles in the subsequent weeks.
I also managed to sprain a finger in my hand, so I laid off weights. Today, I returned to them.
It is a modified workout because I’m still dealing with shoulder impingement syndrome.
Going forward I’m going to try to be way more structured and disciplined in all dimensions of my training.
