Nothing special about these days - just another 3 to 3.2 miles or so for each before feeling the IT band discomfort.
Due to my schedule, I'll be taking a couple of forced days off before the Olympic tri this weekend.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
IT band rehab - 8/24
This week I'm in Indiana for work, but fortunately I've been here a couple times before, and am familiar with a short stretch of road behind the hotel that is perfect for what I'm looking to do this week. It is only a mile long, but it is flat (as if there is any elevation change anywhere in this part of the country) and there is little to no traffic.
Total distance for today was 3.2 miles before I started distinctly feeling the IT band becoming sore. It occured to me that the best way for me to gauge improvement on this is not by distance (because pace can change) - but rather time, assuming I'm keeping a consistant cadence. While I haven't been concentrating on cadence - I know I'm around 85-90 per foot per minute. Regardless - when I first started having this issue, I would feeling it after about 5 minutes. After a week or so off, that time extended to around 10-12 minutes. After another week or so off (only a few days ago), that hadn't really changed too much, as I was still around 10-12 minutes. The fact that I'm now well beyond that - at 3.2 miles, with my pace probably around the 8:30 mark - I know I'm in the range of 24 minutes or so, even if I don't know the exact numbers. So it is either sheer coincidence that I'm doubling the time in a span of four days, or the new approach is speeding up recovery.
Total distance for today was 3.2 miles before I started distinctly feeling the IT band becoming sore. It occured to me that the best way for me to gauge improvement on this is not by distance (because pace can change) - but rather time, assuming I'm keeping a consistant cadence. While I haven't been concentrating on cadence - I know I'm around 85-90 per foot per minute. Regardless - when I first started having this issue, I would feeling it after about 5 minutes. After a week or so off, that time extended to around 10-12 minutes. After another week or so off (only a few days ago), that hadn't really changed too much, as I was still around 10-12 minutes. The fact that I'm now well beyond that - at 3.2 miles, with my pace probably around the 8:30 mark - I know I'm in the range of 24 minutes or so, even if I don't know the exact numbers. So it is either sheer coincidence that I'm doubling the time in a span of four days, or the new approach is speeding up recovery.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
IT band rehab - 8/23
Today's run seemed like a bit of a set back. After running the full 1.8 miles yesterday with no issues, today I started feeling the IT band around the 1.6 mile mark again.
However, there are a few considerations that give me puase to consider it a full set back. First, yesterdays run was around 10:30 pm, and todays was around 1:30 pm - so there was barely more than 12 hours between the two. This is as opposed to the almost 24 hours usually provided between runs. Second, it followed an hour and a half of mowing the lawn (about 3-4 miles worth of walking) as well as another hour and a half or so of walking the dog (another 3 miles or so). So when considering those factors, the fact that it took until 1.8 miles to feel anything is actually a good thing.
Shoes used today were the ones purchased in 10/08.
However, there are a few considerations that give me puase to consider it a full set back. First, yesterdays run was around 10:30 pm, and todays was around 1:30 pm - so there was barely more than 12 hours between the two. This is as opposed to the almost 24 hours usually provided between runs. Second, it followed an hour and a half of mowing the lawn (about 3-4 miles worth of walking) as well as another hour and a half or so of walking the dog (another 3 miles or so). So when considering those factors, the fact that it took until 1.8 miles to feel anything is actually a good thing.
Shoes used today were the ones purchased in 10/08.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
IT band rehab - 8/22
Once again, I did the 1.8 mile loop around the neighborhood. Yesterday, I started feeling the IT band around the 1.2 mile mark (sporadic), and by 1.6 miles or so, it was a consistent presence.
Today, I completed the entire loop without any issues whatsoever. The entire 1.8 miles without even feeling a hint of complaining from the IT band. I was tempted to keep going a bit, but decided to hold back.
Tomorrow I'm planning on doing my 3 mile loop, where I'll hopefully be able to see a definate difference in how far I can go before feeling anything.
(shoes used today were the ones purchased in 10/08 with about 280 miles on them.)
Today, I completed the entire loop without any issues whatsoever. The entire 1.8 miles without even feeling a hint of complaining from the IT band. I was tempted to keep going a bit, but decided to hold back.
Tomorrow I'm planning on doing my 3 mile loop, where I'll hopefully be able to see a definate difference in how far I can go before feeling anything.
(shoes used today were the ones purchased in 10/08 with about 280 miles on them.)
Friday, August 21, 2009
IT band rehab - 8/21
After the run last night, I decided to take a different approach to the IT band rehab. Instead of waiting by idly (which is starting to drive me a little batty, as it is frustrating), I'd try running a short distance (1-2 miles) daily - basically going until I felt mild discomfort. There are a couple thoughts behind this - one, soft tissue damage often heals more quickly when used to a degree due to the increased blood flow; two, while it certainly wont improve my fitness level, and may not even keep it at the status quo, it will at least slow down any loss of performance; three, I am curious as to whether the discomfort will come about more quickly after a few days of this.
So I just did a 1.8 mile loop in the neighborhood that includes a good size uphill as well as the subsequent downhill. I started feeling the IT band around 1.25 miles, but it was a little sporadic - I'd feel it for a few steps, and then it'd go away. It wasn't until around 1.6 miles or so that it was constant. The last 0.2 miles were with that little bit of discomfort. Shoes worn were shoes purchased in 2/09, with about 186 miles on them.
So all in all, it came on at right around the same time as yesterday.
So I just did a 1.8 mile loop in the neighborhood that includes a good size uphill as well as the subsequent downhill. I started feeling the IT band around 1.25 miles, but it was a little sporadic - I'd feel it for a few steps, and then it'd go away. It wasn't until around 1.6 miles or so that it was constant. The last 0.2 miles were with that little bit of discomfort. Shoes worn were shoes purchased in 2/09, with about 186 miles on them.
So all in all, it came on at right around the same time as yesterday.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
IT Band rehab - 8/20
As it has been nearly 3 weeks of resting and hoping the IT band will recover, today I decided to give a shot at a 3 mile run to see how things felt. The other week I had done something similar, and at around 1/2 to 3/4 mile, I started to notice it. By the time I got to 2 miles, it was definately trending in a direction I didn't like. It wasn't painful, but it also wasn't going away. That run was done after about 3-4 days worth of stretching and minor strengthening exercises.
Ever since then, I've been pretty good about stretching the band on a daily basis. The stretching I've been doing has been a combination of the typical IT band stretches (similar to #2 and #3 here), as well as the foam roller stretch here (except I dont have a foam roller - only a 4" piece of PVC). In addition, I've been doing side leg lifts, and Walt Reynolds IT special for stretching and strengthening.
So, with a good solid number of stretching/strengthening days, I figured I'd test the waters.
This time, I started feeling it after about 1.25-1.5 miles - about 10 to 12 minutes. Thats an improvement, but still somewhat disappointing. I was able to finish the 3 miles, experiencing only minor discomfort, by stopping a couple times for a walk break. Interestingly enough, after starting up, the IT band would be sore for a few steps before going away for a couple minutes and then reappearing.
Just for the sake of getting all pieces of data on the table, I ran with my shoes purchased in 10/08 - they have about 280 miles on them.
Ever since then, I've been pretty good about stretching the band on a daily basis. The stretching I've been doing has been a combination of the typical IT band stretches (similar to #2 and #3 here), as well as the foam roller stretch here (except I dont have a foam roller - only a 4" piece of PVC). In addition, I've been doing side leg lifts, and Walt Reynolds IT special for stretching and strengthening.
So, with a good solid number of stretching/strengthening days, I figured I'd test the waters.
This time, I started feeling it after about 1.25-1.5 miles - about 10 to 12 minutes. Thats an improvement, but still somewhat disappointing. I was able to finish the 3 miles, experiencing only minor discomfort, by stopping a couple times for a walk break. Interestingly enough, after starting up, the IT band would be sore for a few steps before going away for a couple minutes and then reappearing.
Just for the sake of getting all pieces of data on the table, I ran with my shoes purchased in 10/08 - they have about 280 miles on them.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
1.3 mile swim - 8/15
Still taking time off from running due to the IT band irritation (which is resulting in a secondary irritation, as it is incredibly frustrating to be missing this much training time!), I decided I mine as well keep active by a long swim. The other reason for doing a long swim is the upcoming olympic distance triathlon on August 30, where the swim portion is an entire mile.
Previously, the longest swim I had done in one continuous session was a few weeks ago, when I did the 0.8 miles in the lake. Today I returned to the lake, and did a full up and back lap. With a single lap distance of 0.65 miles, the shortest distance was 1.3 miles. However, I am not very good at sighting while swimming, so I tended to veer off course a bit. Quite a bit, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if I added a full tenth of a mile to the overall distance.
The primary goal of this swim was to engrain the two beat kick into muscle memory and get it so that it felt natural, and to get my old kicking style to feel unnatural. In this goal, I was largely successful.
A secondary goal was to start becoming more familiar with breathing from the opposite side. Last time in the lake, I started out with bilateral breathing, but ended up giving up quickly, and did all my breathing from the same side. This time, I went with a slightly different strategy - instead of doing full bilateral breathing, I'd breath for a few strokes on one side, and then switch to the other side. This allowed me to work on breathing from the opposite side without needing the extra aerobic capacity to last three strokes instead of two. It also allowed me to return to my comfortable side to give myself a breather, of sorrts. Finally, I was hoping that my alternating sides, my swimming would be straighter because I'd be more balanced. This result didn't come to fruition because, as it turns out, my mechanics are vastly different on one side than on the other - and that results in not swimming straight.
Finally, the last goal was overall form with the total immersion system. Having more time to become familiar and feel more natural with the highlights - pressing the bouy (which I didn't do to well at this time), keeping the head down (which I did a reasonable job of), and using the roll and catch to generate power (which I did an OK job of).
Lap 1: 25:20 (avg HR 170/end HR 168)
Lap 2: 4:23 (break)
Lap 3: 30:04 (avg HR 169/end HR 177)
Overall, considering it was, by far, the longest continuous swim I've ever done, I felt pretty good at the end. My arms, while tired, were not as fatigued as they've been in the past when swimming - a testament to the fact that I'm cutting through the water more efficiently as well as not using my shoulder muscles to generate as much of the power required to move through the water. My time for a 50 yd distance may actually be slower at the moment, but I'm swimming more efficiently - and at the moment, that is what I care about most.
However, the fact that my arms were fatigued is also an indication that I'm still not as efficient as I should be, and thus I am still needing to generate power from my arms to some degree. While I started feeling more comfortable with the two beat kick - I knew from the beginning that my method to doing so was not going to be as low drag as it should be. Instead of performing the kick and returning the legs to a neutral position (feet together) in preparation for the next kick, I actually kept the feet apart until the opposite kick stroke. The reason for this is that I wanted to make sure I performed the kick with the proper leg at the proper time. While this results in a two-step learning process, I wanted to make sure I had the overall rhythm of the two beat kick, if nothing else.
The other major problem was sighting. The first lap I was zigzaging quite a bit - everytime I looked up, I was off course. I was much better the second time around. But a large part of why I was going off course was because the balance of power generated when breathing from one side is quite different than when breathing from the other. In other words, my mechanics for the opposite side breathing are not nearly as efficient.
Previously, the longest swim I had done in one continuous session was a few weeks ago, when I did the 0.8 miles in the lake. Today I returned to the lake, and did a full up and back lap. With a single lap distance of 0.65 miles, the shortest distance was 1.3 miles. However, I am not very good at sighting while swimming, so I tended to veer off course a bit. Quite a bit, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if I added a full tenth of a mile to the overall distance.
The primary goal of this swim was to engrain the two beat kick into muscle memory and get it so that it felt natural, and to get my old kicking style to feel unnatural. In this goal, I was largely successful.
A secondary goal was to start becoming more familiar with breathing from the opposite side. Last time in the lake, I started out with bilateral breathing, but ended up giving up quickly, and did all my breathing from the same side. This time, I went with a slightly different strategy - instead of doing full bilateral breathing, I'd breath for a few strokes on one side, and then switch to the other side. This allowed me to work on breathing from the opposite side without needing the extra aerobic capacity to last three strokes instead of two. It also allowed me to return to my comfortable side to give myself a breather, of sorrts. Finally, I was hoping that my alternating sides, my swimming would be straighter because I'd be more balanced. This result didn't come to fruition because, as it turns out, my mechanics are vastly different on one side than on the other - and that results in not swimming straight.
Finally, the last goal was overall form with the total immersion system. Having more time to become familiar and feel more natural with the highlights - pressing the bouy (which I didn't do to well at this time), keeping the head down (which I did a reasonable job of), and using the roll and catch to generate power (which I did an OK job of).
Lap 1: 25:20 (avg HR 170/end HR 168)
Lap 2: 4:23 (break)
Lap 3: 30:04 (avg HR 169/end HR 177)
Overall, considering it was, by far, the longest continuous swim I've ever done, I felt pretty good at the end. My arms, while tired, were not as fatigued as they've been in the past when swimming - a testament to the fact that I'm cutting through the water more efficiently as well as not using my shoulder muscles to generate as much of the power required to move through the water. My time for a 50 yd distance may actually be slower at the moment, but I'm swimming more efficiently - and at the moment, that is what I care about most.
However, the fact that my arms were fatigued is also an indication that I'm still not as efficient as I should be, and thus I am still needing to generate power from my arms to some degree. While I started feeling more comfortable with the two beat kick - I knew from the beginning that my method to doing so was not going to be as low drag as it should be. Instead of performing the kick and returning the legs to a neutral position (feet together) in preparation for the next kick, I actually kept the feet apart until the opposite kick stroke. The reason for this is that I wanted to make sure I performed the kick with the proper leg at the proper time. While this results in a two-step learning process, I wanted to make sure I had the overall rhythm of the two beat kick, if nothing else.
The other major problem was sighting. The first lap I was zigzaging quite a bit - everytime I looked up, I was off course. I was much better the second time around. But a large part of why I was going off course was because the balance of power generated when breathing from one side is quite different than when breathing from the other. In other words, my mechanics for the opposite side breathing are not nearly as efficient.
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