Week one marked my return to Coach Kevin’s running workouts! I was officially cleared to run on December 6, so back up we start! I’ve also embarked on Physical Therapy to help rehab my foot and correct my running form moving forward. It’s humbling to start up again running a mile at a time, but I’ve said it before: even a mile is solid ground from which to propel forward. New goals await, as does some healthy running.
Monday
Run: Easy.
Scheduled to run one mile on soft surface. Instead, had a photo shoot for Fitness Magazine, which required some easy running back and forth. Was outside in the cold/rain for a good 30-40 minutes. Figured that covered the effort of a one-mile run.
Conditions: Rain – 30(ish)F
Fuel: N/A
Shoe: Saucony Kinvara 4
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 1 mi easy
- Actual = Easy jogging back & forth over short distance (~ 30 min)
- Splits = N/A
Tuesday
Cross-Train: Spin
Blatantly misinterpreted Kevin’s workout instructions. Subtle difference made for a very different workout than intended. Resulted in what Kevin claimed “must have been a hellacious workout.”
Believe instructions actually indicated 4 or 5 intervals of :45-1:00 surges, with a 3-min easy rest between each. Instead, I thought he meant 4 intervals of 4-min or 5-min surges with the last minute of each surge even faster. So, that’s what I did. Regardless, it was a great workout.
Conditions: N/A
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 15 min wu; 4-5 x :45-1:00 harder (3:00 RI); 10 min cd
- Actual = 57 min = 15 min wu; 4 x 5-min surge w/ 1:00 harder (3:00 RI); 10 min cd
- Splits = N/A
Wednesday
Physical Therapy: Initial Evaluation.
Met with Alison, the Physical Therapist at Finish Line PT, who is helping rehab my foot after stress fracture recovery. She did some balance and form assessments during a 1-hour evaluation.
Focused on stretching my calves and hip flexors, and some form corrections concerning my right foot.
Thursday
Run: Easy.
Kevin has me doing my return-to-running workouts on soft surfaces (i.e. a dirt path or trail). The temperatures have been cold, which is normally fine for my running. But the nearest dirt path is at least a 10-minute walk away from home. Not far, but in the cold, I would be walking more than running. So, I opted for another soft surface: the treadmill. Believe me, it’s not my favorite option, but lets me get the job done. Kept the treadmill pace very easy.
Did the hip flexor and calf stretches that Alison – Physical Therapist from Finish Line PT – recommended before run.
Conditions: N/A
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Shoe: Saucony Ride 5
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 10 min easy on dirt path
- Actual = 1.13 mi – 10:00 – 8:50 min/mi avg pace
- Splits = N/A
Friday
Cross-Train: Spinning
Moved workout to Saturday due to personal schedule.
Saturday
Two-workout day.
Cross-Train: Spinning
This was Friday’s workout, moved to Saturday. Did 45 min easy spin, concentrating on keeping RPM at 90. Did a few surges from 20-seconds to 1:00. Nothing crazy – relatively low resistance – just to get cadence up.
Shoe: Shimano Cycling Shoe
Run: Easy.
Easy 10-15 min run on treadmill following spin session. With the snow, wasn’t worth testing a newly healed stress fracture on some slick ground. Again, kept treadmill pace very easy.
Did the hip flexor and calf stretches that Alison – Physical Therapist from Finish Line PT – recommended after run.
Conditions: N/A
Fuel: Protein-enhanced Chocolate UCAN (1 packet)
Shoe: Saucony Ride 5
Plan v Actual:
- Plan = 10-15 min easy on dirt path
- Actual = 1.67 mi – 15:00 – 9:00 min/mi avg pace
- Splits = N/A
Sunday
Rest Day.
Weekly Totals
- 3 hrs 37mins
- 2.8 miles running
See all weekly workout recaps here.
