TCM Training: Week 10

Week’s Theme: Winging It, Apparently?

This week was weird, dudes. I went into it with that hip cramp/tightness that thankfully subsided with a massage, did a lot of swapping of things to accommodate life, and did some off-road miles for a change of pace. Far from perfect, but also way better than I thought it would be at literally any point during that 7-day period.

Day	Planned	Actual
Monday:	6 + plyos	5
Tuesday:	1-2 U/D + 6 x 1600 @ ~10k	0 [hip tweak]
Wednesday:	Rest	Massage + 3
Thursday:	9	1 up + 5 MP [6]
Friday:	6 + strength	Lollapalooza walking [~8]
Saturday:	18	7
Sunday:	7	18.25
Total Mileage	57	39 + 8 Bud Light miles

 

These free Chipotle shades are my new running accessory.

I’m not really counting the 8ish (maybe more? My phone died.) miles I walked at Lollapalooza, but I know that when I’m on the podium at Twin Cities thanking my sponsors, those miles (and beers) will have gotten me there.

My run Monday was on the gravel trails that weave in and around the paved lake shore path I usually use, and about two miles in I got the same sharp hip pain/tightness I had gotten on my long run a few days earlier. Both times it happened when I stopped for something (water + bathroom), and while I was able to run through it for the most part without feeling like I was doing damage, around mile 4 it started travelling my leg and feeling sharper. I stopped at that point to stretch it a bit and that was enough to get me the mile home. I skipped my planned track session the next day because I’m not an idiot (although I was really sad about it), and my massage Wednesday helped to loosen everything back out. I’ve been way better this week about stretching and foam rolling, and I’ve not had any more hip issues. Here’s hoping that continues!

New This Week: Self Care!

My massage was the first one I’ve gotten in years, and sorely needed. I’ve been abysmal about stretching and foam rolling and doing all of the auxiliary stuff that I used to be really good about. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that my tight Achilles/calf issues and my hip thing was like 98% due to being lazy about the things that don’t involve actually running. I’m halfheartedly bribing myself with a trip to the ice cream shoppe on Sunday if I’m good this week, but my real prize is being able to exist without self-imposed physical limitations. Normally, I try and give myself the day off when I’ve gotten a massage (it’s a workout in of itself!), but I went out for an easy three miles after work so that I could warm-up my legs and roll out some lingering kinks and junk that still lingered.

Long Run: 18 (8 easy + 8 MP + 2 easy)

Actual:  8 easy (10:08, 10:25, 10:34, 10:21, 10:13, 10:29, 10:41, 10:45) + 4 ~MP (8:52, 8:51, 9:06, 9:03) + 6 easy (10:20, 10:30, 11:46 (#watersituation), 10:13, 10:10, 9:34)
I modified this run a bit in my brain, as we decided to head out to a reasonably hilly gravel trail in the suburbs and I didn’t want to push things too far and find myself back to crunchy hip-ville. In addition to the coolness factor of circling a lab with an atom smasher, this trail is about 9.5mi long, which made it almost perfect for my 18mi plan.

The first half started out fine – my Achilles had some sharper pain in the first few steps, but some quick massage and an easy pace warmed things up and it felt fine the rest of the run. I peeled off from T near the end of the first lap, and ultimately decided to try for as many MP miles as I had in me, finishing up the rest of them as easy paced whatevers. The first mile was great and took me back to the car so I could swap out my iPod shuffle for my Spotify (greatly needed mental boost) and grab a drink of water from the well pump. I decided to keep the final miles in and around the main parking lot (instead of doing another full loop) because it kept me closer to water and it was hotter than either of us anticipated.

The lack of hydration in the first half caught up with me and around mile 13 I stopped and chugged basically an entire water bottle before realizing my mistake. This obviously concerned me and my now inflated stomach, and my brain kept drifting to the Violet Beauregarde scene in Willy Wonka. I tried to rationalize stopping at this point and “finishing the last five at home” but knew that getting in the car and driving for 45 minutes while my legs cramped up and cooled down would be the death of my long run. I reluctantly slogged out the last five miles – not only did my stomach feel surprisingly OK with all of that water (walked a minute or two to let things settle), but I stopped halfway through this 5mi segment and got MORE. #SignsYou’reDehydratedFor200   I also got a major chuckle over the fact that no one around me knew how to use the well water pump and had a moment of, “No WONDER Trump thought he invented the term ‘priming the pump’… no one uses these things anymore!”  (Also, that shit’s a workout!)

Final Thoughts: Peak Weirdness

This week definitely did not go as planned, but it looking back, it wasn’t nearly as off-the-rails as it felt at the time. This training has been rough, and realizing that I only have seven more weeks before my race is scary, but I’m trying to focus on what I’ve accomplished and forgiving what I missed. I can be really hard on myself (too hard, at times), and that’s just not productive. Finding the right balance between commitment and rigidity can be difficult, and I definitely veered into the danger zone the last few weeks. Here’s hoping I can be better to myself in the coming weeks — mentally AND physically.

What kind of self-care/extra stuff do you do to keep things loose and healthy?

When was the last time you drank well water?
My mom loves that stuff…