I did this Facebook Live about a month ago, priding myself on going out in a downpour for a midday track workout. Little did I know that 15 minutes later, I’d be out of my attempt at my first 100-mile ultra-marathon at the Badger Mountain 100 ultra-marathon in March, and I was just starting to hit on all cylinders in my training.
Worse, had I been smarter in my recovery, maybe I wouldn’t be out of it because I re-injured myself twice now trying to get back…
I’m most perturbed about my decision to ramp up miles so quickly this week after healing. I should have known better. After an elongated three weeks from injury to recovery, I knew this week that the Badger Mountain 100-miler was off the table, and traveling there to do the 50-miler wasn’t a good use of time. I can do a 50-miler closer to home, so there wasn’t any rationale for making a 11-hour drive and taking time from work for both Lena and me to do something I can do locally.
Yet, I still tried to press and ramp up mileage this past week. I was excited to run again. I wanted to take a week to do nothing but run – no lifting or Cross-Fit – plus the feeling that I had to make up for lost training time, which is just really stupid. I could have easily done a 6-miler on Saturday along with a bit of Cross-Fit and gotten close, if not the same physical benefit as a 10-miler. I just wanted to brag to myself that I did 30 miles this week after doing none for nearly two weeks. Stupid. Just stupid.
Here’s the background…
Leading up to the original injury back in mid-January, I did a very strong 15-miler on Saturday then a deadlift + Cross-Fit workout in Sunday. Heavy lifting after a big endurance day is a training tactic I did deployed successfully during Uberman training.
But, it was a little chilly that Sunday morning. I did my usual warmups, and I could (and should) have done more. And while I wasn’t trying for any weight PRs, I was pushing pretty hard with sets of 6 reps at about 75% of max. After warming up with the bar, then with a set of 10-15 reps with light weights, I usually do 4 sets of 6 reps. I decided to do an extra set (5th set) when I didn’t need to, spurning the advice of “minimum effective dose,” and I felt the slightest twinge in the outer part of my left hamstring in this last set. I didn’t think much of it. I assumed it was just from the load and it would repair itself quickly. I’ve often tweak or twinge muscles during weight-training. (Maybe that’s another stupid thing…)
The Monday after was an off-day and I came back strong on Tuesday with a very good 7-mile run, so I thought nothing about heading out on Wednesday for my planned track workout. While it was cold and rainy, I did some stretching inside and then jogged 1/4 mile to the university track where I planned to do a pyramid workout:
- 400 meters easy, 400 meters hard **
- 400 meters easy, 800 meters hard
- 400 meters easy, 1200 meters hard
- 400 meters easy, 1600 meters hard
- 400 meters easy, 1200 meters hard
- 400 meters easy, 800 meters hard
- 400 meters easy, 400 meters hard
** 400 meters is full lap around the track, which is just slightly more than 1/4 mile.
** “Hard” is defined as 70-80% max effort, or 7-8 RPE (Relative Perceived Effort). The 400 meters “easy” laps are at a slow pace to recover on heart rate and muscular fatigue.
** This workout sums to 4+ hard miles and 2+ easy miles, including the cool down laps, and then jog back to the office. It’s a tough one, but highly effective for me.
I got to the track and did the first easy lap before accelerating for the first 400 hard meters. I turned around the last bend down the straightaway and LOCK! I felt my hamstring tear. I tried to stretch it out, thinking it was just a spasm, but alas it was torn.
Not to be deterred, I obstinately found a spot under the stands to do a round of 100 push-ups and sit-ups in the downpour. I wanted, or needed, to get something out of the time that day. After I finished, I hobbled back to my office downtown, pretty much freezing my a$$ off because I was walking in the cold rain.
A few days later on Saturday, I did a very light 3-mile jog/walk as a test and it was definitely still in disrepair.
By Thursday morning the next week, I was feeling much better so I headed out that morning for an easy 6-miler, only to have it tear again 1.5 miles into the run. I tried to make the best of the walk home. It was still dark, trying to enjoy the quiet of the morning walking past University Airport and along the olive groves, but I was still frustrated. Again not to be deterred by injury, I did a 21-15-9-6-9-15-21 workout of pushups and sit-ups, with sets of pull-ups in between.
So now it had been a week since the injury and I was right back where I started. I switched to what I could do to maintain fitness and did a heavy week of Cross-Fit and lifting. I even shed about two pounds, but there are only so many burpees, box-jumps and kettle bell swings that one can take. I would have preferred a 10-mile run over a 12-minute Cross-Fit workout many-a-times…
By the following Saturday, I was feeling healed and headed out for an easy 4-miler. No issues! On Sunday, I did an easy 6-miler followed by 100 wall balls and 100 kettle bell swings. Again, feeling great. I was back!
On Monday, I did a 7-miler at lunch with 1/4 mile pickups along the way. Still no issues. Wednesday, I did the same 7-miler with a few more pickups and a faster pace. Again, no issues and by now I assumed this was all behind me. Woohoo!
I stayed overnight in San Francisco on Thursday, so I did a hilly 4-miler from Union Square, up and over Nob Hill, down to North Beach, up Telegraph Hill, back up Lombard down to Fillmore, up to Nob Hill and back to Union Square. (One can cover a lot of neighborhoods in a short distance in San Francisco…). I kept this run slow because I had to with the hills, and it was more for mental relief after a focused week at work than it was for training.
With Friday as an off-day, the success of the past week and the fact that I had a few days since my last hard run, I thought a Saturday AM 10-miler with one-minute pickups each mile would be no problem.
And it was until 6.5 miles into the run when I felt the twinge return… Oh man… I slowed down for 1/2 mile, then had to walk the last 2.5 miles home. The hamstring injury was back.
That night, I dreamt that I was in a ski house with friends and I opened the bathroom door. A doberman leapt out and bounced uncontrollably across the house, barking with teeth glaring. In my dream, I finally managed to grab hold of its collar and got it to lay down on the bathroom rug again. I assume the doberman was my hamstring.
So here I am on Monday morning, trying to figure out my week of training with no running. Back to 4-5 Cross-Fit and lifting workouts for the week. At least I don’t have to bring my workout clothes to the office, and I’ll have more time during the day to get work stuff done. When I run at work, it lops about two hours off my day. This week, I’ll either fit in a short workout in the AM before the day begins(which I already did today), or get myself home by 4:30 to crank out something before the day ends at 5:30 or 6:00 for dinner. I don’t do well with late night workouts. My body gets too amped up and I don’t sleep well after.
The AM workouts settle my mind with the physical and mental satisfaction that I’ve done my training for the day. The afternoon workouts are an opportunity to reset after a focused day at work and to relax my mind so that I can be present with at home in the evening.
It’s looking I’ll push off the 100-miler until September and do a 50-miler without a pacer in May to keep me motivated and give myself more time to train and recover.
And so it goes…