This was a pretty tough week for me. I hit just under 60 miles, and my CrossFit WODs felt challenging, especially the 20.4 WOD. By the end of the week, my legs were a level of trashed I didn’t know existed as an adult. People joke about going to the bathroom after leg day; well I could barely get my foot up and over a curb by Saturday afternoon. I will say the weather has continued to be nice, which has been wonderful on my runs. I had my first strength run, and felt really solid. On Monday, I took the day off work so I was able to meet with a new coaching client and get an adjustment, which was much needed. If you’re in the Corpus Christi area, I cannot recommend Armadillo Sports Chiropractic more. I’m really looking forward to taking some additional vacation days through the end of the year (our vacation days don’t roll over, so I will be using and not losing). I also got to enjoy trick or treating with my boys, and had the most comfortable Halloween costume I’ve ever worn. Being a zombie runner is a costume I would 10/10 recommend on the base of comfort alone. So while this week was a WHOLE lot of hard work, overall I’m happy with what I was able to accomplish, and I sure hope all of it pays off in strength and speed gains.
Total Miles: 59.5
Hansons Marathon Training Plan, Week 11
How the Runs Felt
Not to brag or anything, BUT MY FIRST STRENGTH WORKOUT WAS FLAWLESS. Honestly, I was anxious about how the strength workout would feel. I know my body is capable, considering I’ve been running 6-8 miles at a 8:00-8:10 pace without recoveries. But something about shifting gears and running longer intervals at a pace I haven’t been working on was intimidating. I stayed on the track for this workout, and was really grateful for the extra spring, but I do think next week’s strength workout will be on the road. I’m a little sad to say goodbye to the track for now, which I never thought I’d say. So here’s to showing up for yourself and doing things that make you feel a little bit like you might pee your pants! My tempo run also felt pretty amazing. It was the first time I ran the 8 miles at an 8:00 pace, and didn’t feel like I was barely hanging on by the end.
My long run this week was 16 miles, and after Friday’s workout this was a struggle. My legs were not at all happy about going for a run after the beating involved in 20.4. The first 2 miles were just comical; I was running like an injured baby elephant. I did start to warm up a bit after a couple of miles, but my quads were tight and sore the entire run. Any time I stopped to eat or drink, they started to tighten up almost instantly. When I stopped halfway through for a potty break, I had some real internal dialogue about how not ok it would be to spend the rest of the day in a public restroom. Getting up was not easy, and I did not make the mistake of sitting down again until I was done. I did have some discomfort during the last two miles, similar to my 15 miler two weeks ago. The discomfort came on later and was not as acute as what I shared in my previous post, so I’m hoping that means my ligaments are becoming acclimated to what I am asking them to do. If you haven’t read my original post where I share more about this ligament injury, you can go here for more info https://metconsandmiles.com/2019/10/20/weekly-recap-10-13-19/. I do plan to book an appointment w my doctor before the marathon to see if she has any recommendations for treating this that I am not currently doing.
What I’ve Been Listening To
I finally finished the Mysterious Mr. Epstein, and the conclusion was just as frustrating as the entire story itself. I’m glad to know that this man won’t be claiming any more victims, but it’s truly upsetting that he will never have to account for the lives he negatively impacted. I also listened to quite a few Night Owl episodes this week, and I have to say I am really hooked. I love hearing spooky stories in general, and I think this podcast is really well done. I could use some more suggestions on new True Crime/Murder podcasts, so if you have any recommendations, please send them my way.
How the WODs Felt
I felt like the workouts this week were progressively more taxing and difficult. Monday didn’t feel too bad, outside of my legs being tired from the strength workout earlier, but this is fairly expected. I was able to keep moving fairly efficiently, and didn’t have any face smacking incidents during the banded muscle-ups. Wednesday’s workout wasn’t technically difficult by any means, but my legs started to feel pretty sore after those 50 over head squats. The weight was about as low as my patience, but the high volume took a toll. After the tempo run the next day, I was really hoping the Open workout would not be lower body focused….and I was clearly very wrong. 20.4 was probably the hardest Open WOD I’ve done this year. The weights got heavy, the movements involved some skill, and the workout had a good long time cap. I’m much happier with my performance than I was last week, but my body is much less happy with me as a result. If you’d like to read about how badly 20.4 beat me up, check out https://metconsandmiles.com/2019/11/02/20-4-where-i-learned-pistols-are-from-satan/
What Went Well
To be completely honest, not too much went well this week, but we’ll get to the bad further down. I was pretty freaking wiped out towards the end of the week, and I got some really great sleep. I felt really good after the adjustment and PT on Monday, and I always love talking to new clients, so Monday was a great day for me. My runs were pretty solid, even though the long run was really mentally challenging because of how sore I was. My strength and tempo runs were both perfect, and I was feeling really strong after both of them. Thankfully, I had some good opportunities to get regular stretching in during the week, and I think it went a long way to keep me from dying later in the week. Lastly, trick or treating was a huge success, and we have enough candy at home to fuel my long runs for at least a month, which I am very excited about.
What Went Shitty
The beginning of this week started off great, but my body was hanging on by a thread by the end of it. Like I mentioned earlier, my legs felt pretty sore beginning Wednesday, and instead of coming back to life, they continued to die until after my run Saturday. I had more sugar this week than I typically do, and I know that doesn’t help inflammation levels at all, but I’m just not in a place where I’m willing to turn down Reese’s pumpkins. I accept the consequences of those decisions. I did not do a great job getting in my core work this week. I was not feeling motivated to do any extra work with how sore and run down I was feeling. I think my long run suffered a bit because of this, in addition to the dead leg issue. Overall, the combination of more sugar, not enough core work, high mileage, and tough workouts left me feeling slightly worse than post-resurrection Church in Pet Sematary.
Plans to Improve
I plan use next week’s lower mileage as an opportunity to refocus on core work. I also plan to incorporate some Epsom salt baths to try to get the legs a little more recovered. I won’t be going for any lifting PR’s this next week, and plan to keep the weights a bit lighter to give my body some additional recovery. I’m really looking forward to moving deeper into the strength runs, and I want to make sure my body doesn’t fall apart. I’m not making any promises about the Halloween candy, but I might try to limit the sugar a little more in the coming weeks. We’ll see.
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