Recovering Better

Week of Jan. 7 ~ 13

105.6km / 65.6 mi.

Monday
3:00 - 20k (5k x 4 w/ 200m walks)
Very easy pace due to having a cold - nose stuffed up and coughing. Also last 5k quads sore and knee a bit more sore than usual.

Tuesday
Rest

Wednesday
1:30 - 10k very easy.
7:30 - 10.6k track workout 1000m x 6.
4:56/33/12/18/13/12 (200m, 3')
Interesting: Knee was more sore than usual at 1:30 and during warmup. Ran first one easy and second one a bit faster, with the knee slightly sore. Then decided to just go faster and see what would happen - if the knee hurt badly, so be it. So I ran 4:12 and there was no pain at all!  The next three, also no pain. So running faster means no pain...for some reason.

Thursday
3:00 - 20k (5k x 4, 100m walks)
29:55/27:56/25:54/25:24. Felt ok coming back, although still have a cold (coughing).

Friday
Gym workout

Saturday
2:20 - 25k. 5 laps of the Palace (4,974m) with Anna and Zach, former HS runners, now good college and post-college runners. Fortunately, it was an easy (jogging) day for them. Both of them will also run Boston, by the way.
26:49/08/30/30/01. Knee was slightly sore, but not bad and didn't get worse.

Sunday
2:00 - 20k (5k x 4 (100, 200, 100m walks)
29:40/27:36 to warm up. Then ran hard/easy for 10k, with hard ones at 4:25/28/34/36/35. In other words, just over marathon pace (4:25/k = 3:06 marathon). Knee was slightly sore, but felt better when going faster.
Legs felt good, i.e., good recovery from yesterday. This may be due to quads finally getting stronger after the long layoff and/or the ketogenic diet taking effect (supposed to aid in speedy recovery). I have been following this low carb (none, except for some veggies) high fat diet quite strictly for a month, so should be keto-adapted, as Volek and Phinney say in their excellent book, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance.
Also, running 2 on, 1 off probably is keeping my legs fresher, even though both are hard (long or fast) days. I like this schedule.

Speaking of schedules, check out this article for what Meb does each day. Must be nice!
http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/better-age?page=single

Up to 100K!

Week of Dec 31 ~ Jan 6

104K, to be exact, on five days of running, so not a bad week.
Still have some issues with the right knee and left hamstring, but not serious. Well, serious enough to keep me from running as fast as marathon pace, but not to keep me from doing 20k and more runs.
As Ewen surmised, I'm sticking to 2 on, 1 off and trying to up the pace/distance somewhat.
Clear and cold every day.

Monday
3:00 - 20km broken up into 6/8/6 with 200m walk breaks. Pace per km 5:42/5:08/4:43, as planned. A pretty good run. And my weight got under 62kg.

Tuesday
3:00 - 24km broken into 6km x 4. Easier pace, all around 5:40. Knee and hamstring ok, but quads sore!

Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
Decided to cut back distance a bit these two days.
2:00 - 15km broken into 5km x 3.
27:49/25:42/23:11 @ 5:34/5:08/4:38, as planned.
Not feeling so great, though, seem to be getting a cold.

Friday
3:30 - 20km broken into 5km x 4.
Very easy pace - knee a bit sore and quads sore.

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
11:00 - 25km with walks after 10K and 15k.
There's an onsen (hot spring facility) near my house, so 11 club members came out to run along my regular bicycle path course and then take a hot spring bath. I did a very easy pace for 16km with Chih from Singapore and Frode, a visitor from Norway, then picked it up the last 9km with Aussie Keren Miers. It was a very pleasant day.
Note: these hot spring places are very popular not only up in the mountains, but also in Tokyo. They have numerous baths, including outdoor baths, plus various types of massage, and a restaurant. Very nice, and not at all expensive. Apparently, if you drill down deep enough anywhere in Eastern Japan, you'll hit hot spring water.
Despite it being very near my house, however, I rarely go. My wife, for some reason, is not crazy about it, and it's usually rather crowded. In fact, there's lots of people there from early morning til late at night, every day! It's a great business, that's for sure.

Upping the Mileage Somewhat

Week of Dec. 24 ~ 30

80k week. Did four runs, all over 16k (with walk breaks), so that is encouraging. The knee is holding up so far.

Monday
3:00 - 16k - 4k x 4 (200m, 2')
22:20/21:21/19:52/19:41
Planned to run 5:00/k pace for the last 2 and got under that.
Didn't struggle, but didn't feel real good due to having a slight cold, and weighing 63kg.
Weather: 7C/45F, clear.

Tuesday
11:30 - Gym workout.
1:30 - 20k - 4k x 3, 8k (200m/300m)
First one 23:30, then all about 5:42/k pace.
Knee slightly sore at times, but easy pace, so no problem.
Ran 8k without stopping - wow!
Weather: 7C/45F, clear.

Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
Forced rest as no time to run.

Friday
12:00 - 20k - 6k x 2, 8k (200m)
32:07/30:37/39:45 @ 5:21/5:06/4:58
Good run! No pain in knee. 8k @ 4:58 is encouraging (but still a long way to go to get to marathon pace).
Weight: 61.9kg
Weather: 6C/43F, 30%H, cloudy

Saturday
4:00 - 24k - 6k x 4 (200m, 2:20)
2:18 of running at a 5:45/k pace.
At this easy pace, the knee and hamstring were ok. Quads a bit sore, though.
Weather: 10C/50F, cloudy.

Sunday
Rest. Quads pretty sore. That's good, as that is what I have to strengthen in order to run a decent marathon.

Longer and Slower. Glucosamine?

Week of Dec 17 ~ 23

That was the theme, although it wasn't too much longer, or too much slower.

Monday
Extra rest day. Knee slightly sore...and it was raining.

Tuesday
1:00 - gym workout with elliptical 10' and 20'
3:00 - 16km. 4k x 4 (200m, easy 2:30 walk)
First time to run 4k at a time, phew! Took it easier at only about 5:50/k.
Knee slightly sore and left hamstring also slightly sore!

Wednesday
6:00 - 9k in Yoyogi Park at about 6:00/k pace. (walks after 2k)
7:30 - 6k - On the track for 600,800,1000,1200,1000,800,600.
Ran them all at about 4:45 pace. Not bad, considering my quads were pretty sore.
Cold, windy night.

Thursday
Rest

Friday
1:00 - Gym workout and elliptical 8' x 2.
3:30 - 16k - 4k x 4 (200m, 2:30)
22:25/22:34/22:34/23:00 @5:35~40

Saturday
4:30 - 20k - 4k x 5 (200m, 300m, 300m, 200m)
23:56/22:37/22:48/21:40/22:10.
Knee ok, but got very tired - legs got heavy.

By the way, I was thinking...I have been taking glucosamine (or that and chrondroitin) every day for...how many years? 15? And I STILL got a knee injury - in the meniscus/cartilage area. I don't think glucosamine has done me any good. Is it really worth taking this stuff?

Progress?

Week of Dec. 10 ~ 16

Ran a wee bit longer, but my knee hurt a wee bit more at the end.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday - 14km
AM - gym workout including 10' x 2 on the elliptical.
1:30 - 2000 x 7 (200m, 2' walk breaks)
11:07/10:36/27/11/06/9:55/9:43.
Didn't try to run faster, it just happened. Wore heavier shoes (more cushioning) which felt pretty good.

Wednesday - 13.6km
2:00 - 1000 x 6 (100m, 1') @ about 5:30/k
7:30 - track workout 600 warmup, 1600 1200 1200 800 400
3:38/7:21/5:58/5:55/3:49/1:49
1600 @4:35/k, 1200s @4:55/k
Knee ok but quads sore! That's kind of nice for a change.

Thursday
Rest  (2 days on, 1 day off)

Friday - 14km
AM - gym workout inc. 10' on elliptical.
2:00 - 2000 x 7 (200m, 2')
11:21/10:40/28/19/18/17/05. Knee ok.

Saturday - 16km
2000 x 8 (200m, 2')
11:33/10:53/37/21/9:49/48/44/56. Decided to run second 4 under 5:00 pace, but knee got a bit sore the last k of the last two, so may have been a bit too much. Also, I hesitate to say this, but my left hamstring was slightly sore - hope that does not come back!
I think at this point in my training, I can call this a hard workout.

Sunday
Rest. Knee feels a bit sore. May rest Monday also.

Next week I think I will go slightly longer, but slower.
Or:
Here's an article on elliptical training. Maybe I should be doing more of this, rather than more running.

http://running.competitor.com/2012/12/training/elliptical-workouts-for-injured-runners_62498

Getting There...Getting There

Back to normal running, that is. Not quite there yet, though.

Week of Dec. 3 ~ 9
It was about 10C/50F every day.
Total for week: 60km.

Monday
14K - 2000 x 7  w/ 200m (2') walks in between.
From 11:30 down to 10:34. Knee felt ok except for occasional twinges.

Tuesday
Gym workout with 10' x 2 on the elliptical machine.

Wednesday
12K. Track workout - 1000 x 6 x 2 (25' rest)
First 6 easy at 5:38 to 4:56, next 6 with the group at around 4:45.
Knee was ok, so that was an encouraging workout. But I was tired.
Note: it would be better to do this as two workouts - early afternoon and then evening on the track.

Thursday
Rest

Friday
AM: Gym workout with 10' x 2 on the elliptical.
PM: 8K. 1k, 2k x 3, 1k. Average 5:30 pace.

Saturday
12K. 2000 x 6 (200m walks). First 11:33, then about 10:30.
Had some twinges on the 5th one, so tried to glide more, and actually, slightly more heel striking reduces the discomfort.

Sunday
14K. 2000 x 7 (200m walks). 11:39 down to 10:47.
Knee geting slightly sore at the end.

Well, I shouldn't be running three days in a row. I'm going to switch to 2 days on, 1 day off. Actually, I was planning to do this anyway, once I got back to normal running. With all days being either hard (intervals/tempo) or long. I came up with 6 different variations of 2 on, 1 off, 1 on, 2 off, etc. etc., but for now I'll just go with 2 on, 1 off. But not all hard days. In fact, no hard days yet.
I like to try new training programs, it keeps things interesting. And I generally do it twice a year.
I recommend it - shake your program up once in a while!

Oh, and the low carb, high fat diet is going well. Feeling good. Not losing much weight yet, but I'm not in a ketosis state yet, and also, I'm not THAT fat. When I start running more, I think I will lose the excess I have (about 2kg).

A 5K Run!

Still taking my recovery step by step, the knee seems to be ok so far (despite occasional twinges).

Week of Nov. 26 ~ Dec. 2
Monday
Rest

Tuesday
Gym workout with 36mins. on elliptical (12' x 3).

Wednesday
11.2K. Track workout. 1.2k wu
1000 x 4 in 5:38/24/25/09 (1' walk in between). A long rest, then:
1000 x 3, 2000, 1000 in 4:44/53/55/10:18/5:22 (1', 2' after 2000).
The knee was ok!

Thursday
10K - 1000 x 10 (1' - 100m walk)
5:48/25/21/16/15/13/01/04/11/08
Knee ok, but getting just a bit sore at the end. Still, a good two days.
As I was running the 5:01 pace, I was thinking, Gee, I am actually doing a WORKOUT.

Friday
Gym workout with 30mins. on elliptical (10' x 3).

Saturday
2k wu and 5K at the Run For The Cure around the Imperial Palace.
This is a fun event for a good cause and several Namban and American School people were running it, so I decided to go and do an "easy" 5K. Ran _all the way_ in 25:17. Wow, really blazing along! And my knee did not hurt.
Former ASIJ star Sara Wilhelm won the 10K in 40:49 and Nambanner Mary Eckstein was 3rd. Current ASIJ stars Tanya Riordan and Mina McClure were 1st and 2nd in the 5K. They all got lots of prizes!

Sunday
Rest