Mega-Training Day: Now Featuring Recovery!

Last week has been kind of up-and-down.  After some rest I got back out even while still feeling a bit achy.  These have been the first warm and semi-humid days of the season too, so its hard to tell if I was feeling so out of shape from the rest and general lack of energy I have been experiencing, or if it has to do with adjusting to the spring weather.  I'm hoping its the latter.

Biking Running Routes

These weird aches, sore hips, and general fatigue have caused me to take to the streets on my bike.  Even though I was dreading this at first its actually pretty fun.  Not as good a workout as running but much easier on the body.  Its almost like magic: the pains I have all over my legs while running seem to vanish once I get on the bike.

I've heard a rule of thumb is that the time you spend on a good, tough bike ride equates to about 2/3 that time in running.  So, if  you spend 90 minutes pedaling your heart out, think of that workout like a 1 hour run.  This won't train you for a marathon, but it keeps you in shape so you can train for one later.

Its fun to test ride potential running routes too on the bike since covering 20 miles on wheels isn't a big deal, even if its not easy on my tank of a mountain bike.

Saturday Mega-Day

Northface is in less than 2 weeks, and I have been forced to be inconsistent with my training, so Saturday I decided to make it a long, arduous  make-it or break-it workout.  The goal was 6-7 hours of almost continuous activity, to simulate the demands of running an ultra.  My body would  not be able to hold up to that much running and I would probably be too damaged to race in a couple weeks, so I made it a combo bike, run and walk day.  It wen't down something like this, staring at about 7:30am:

• 20 minute bike ride, about 6 miles
• 2 hour 20 minute road run, about 16 miles
• 1 hour 40 minute bike ride, about 21 miles
• 25 minute walk, about 2 miles
• 2 hour trail run (with plenty of walk breaks), about 9 miles

Total Time on my feet: over 7 hours, with only short breaks between each activity.  This tells me I have the endurance and energy to run the 50 miler, now I just have to hope my legs hold up.  Needless to say, I was ridiculously tired when it was all said and done!

Riding North on the Mt. Vernon trail just after leaving Alexandria you pass some kind of electrical/utility/cooling plant.
There are murals on the wall and you pass under fencing which looks cool up close. 

A mid-workout snack.  More nasty
Gu, a Sandwich, and Chips (not shown).

After my long bike ride, I had a small snack before my walk, and then another snack after my walk before I headed out on the trails.  This is good prep for Ultras since the aid stations feature more "real food" (ie sandwiches, cookies, crackers) then sports nutrition (like Gu).  You need the calories and something to physically fill you up since after a few hour you start getting really hungry.  Plus, eating too much Gu, Sport Beans, and Gatorade kind of makes you feel sick...

Recovery the Right Way

179.6 lbs and holding steady.  Nevermind the toes.

But it wasn't really over yet.  In keeping with my conservative approach, I wanted to give myself a full cool-down, stretch out, foam roll, and ice bath recovery.

I weighed myself when I got home.  I half expected to have dropped a few pounds like on a hot summer day, but I was actually only a hair below my day-to-day weight of 180 lbs.  This is a good thing - it means you are taking in enough calories and fluids throughout your workout to replenish what you are losing.

Then came about 20 minutes of stretching and another 20 minutes of foam rolling.  And then, an ice bath, which I reserve for only after particularly tough workouts and/or for when your legs are sore all over.

Recipe for success - Reading material, food,
water, coffee, and - oh yea - ICE!  Gotta have
something to keep you occupied.

Brrrr!! I can just feel those inflamed legs
cooling off - the first couple minutes
are the worst part!

There are a zillion things out there that people "swear by" and I'm skeptical of just about all of them.  Ice baths however are the real deal.  Its essentially like covering every inch and crevasse of your lower body with ice packs.  When your legs are sore after a hard workout they are also inflamed all over and just like when you ice an injured spot the freezing cold water reduces the inflammation.  They aren't for the faint of heart though and the first few minutes are freezing.  After that you kind of get used to it - just be sure to have some snacks and reading material to pass the next 18 minutes with.  I have a method to make it not quite as bad: put cold water in the tub, get in (while this is cold it isn't freezing yet), then dump the ice in to lower the water temperature more gradually.  It will reduce the likelihood of injury and you won't feel as much of that stiff/sore feeling the rest of the day.

Rethinking my Strategy

Lately I have been rethinking my long term strategy and realizing what I really want to focus on.  There is a quote that I've always liked, but lately I have been relating it to running, training and racing:

“Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” (John D. Rockefeller)

I used to think this just meant that you should always give it your all (whatever "it" is that you love) and never look back.  I still think this applies, but I see a new meaning too.  That you need to determine, more specifically, what you love and what brings you happiness and focus on that - even at the cost of things that only make you kinda happy.

How does this translate to running? If you want to be a fast marathoner, focus on the marathon at the cost of shorter events and true speed.  Want to be a 5k artist? Hammer out 5k specific workouts and training plans and do not (I repeat, do not) plan on doing a marathon that season.  Oh, and what do I want right now? I think I want to be an ultra-runner.  And I want to be good at it.  This means a focused approach to ultra-marathon training at the expense of shorter distances.  There might come a time when I want to spend a whole season on 5k specific training but that hasn't come yet.  Its near impossible to train for your best 5k and 10k times while also putting in quality training for Marathons and Ultra-Marathons.

Racing too many 5ks and doing speed work while trying to keep up long (sometimes back-to-back) weekend runs is also a a recipe for injury.  This spring has taught me that and I feel fortunate to have only been out a couple of weeks because of it.

I also want to run for life, not just for another year or two, so this could even mean taking some time off running to ensure a healthy return later.  I would rather take a month or two at a very easy effort (something like an average of 20 miles per week), then run myself into an injury that needs complete rest from all physical activity for months, and could even put a damper on things for years to come.  This would definitely be "giving up the good to go for the great" as I see it.