Doubled Up

One double header later I’m convinced that I will be able to train through the knee pain without too much trouble. I know some people out there think I’m overdoing things, but I seem to be getting injured exactly once in every training cycle I’ve ever undertaken, and that included plans that didn’t go past 55 miles. It just seems to happen every time. On the plus side, I always recover quickly, and without making any drastic changes to my training. So far this injury is following the same pattern.

On Monday I found out that running 8:40 pace hurts just as much as running 8:00 pace. On Tuesday I tried to find out what 7:15 would feel like. The plan called for 10 miles, with 2 miles warm-up and 8 miles at marathon pace, which for some reason I still think of as 7:15, because that’s my target MP, but apparently not my “present” MP. After a slow and steady first two miles I cranked up the volume, but never got going properly. The run was basically cut into 4 segments of 2.5 miles each. I was reasonably happy with the first tempo segment, but not with the following ones. At least twice I caught myself day-dreaming instead of concentrating on the effort, and of course each time I had already slowed down by quite some bit. The problem wasn’t physical, I could have run faster, it was purely mental; I seemed to be unable to keep the mind set on the effort. The paces for each segment were 8:30, 7:20, 7:28 and 7:26, which gives an average pace of 7:25 for the main part of the run. When I got home I was less than happy about the paces, but I have since played with the idea that those might have been the “correct” paces anyway, i.e. my present MP rather than my planned one. Oh, and the knee felt pretty good. In fact, about 5 miles into the run I remember thinking “funny, my knee doesn’t hurt at all”. Of course as soon as that thought had entered my head the pain returned, because I got conscious of the issue again. Even so, it was definitely manageable.

A double header also has a second part of course, and today called for a 17 miles run, with 10 miles at 8:00 pace and 3 miles at 7:15 (plus warm-up and cool-down). I was a bit apprehensive about my knee, but again it felt better once I hit the faster paces. Why that’s the case, I can’t be sure. Either the different biomechanics of 7:15 pace put less stress on the injured part, or the concentration required to hit 7:15 is sufficient to take my mind off that knee. Either way I was happy with the way I felt. I even allowed myself to hope that I’m already getting better, but at lunchtime I was hurting quite badly again. Running for several hours seems to be fine. Sitting in an office chair leaves me in agony.

The run was a bit of a mixed bag. As much as I tried to tune into 8:00 pace, I never quite managed it. I kept checking my times at each turn-around point (every 2.5 miles), and the pace was always between 8:05 and 8:10. It’s not too far off the planned pace, but I was annoyed about the fact that I kept missing the target. It also didn’t bode too well for the speedier section. When that part of the run arrived I accelerated and hoped for the best. To cover 3 miles at 7:15 pace takes 21:45, and when I checked my watch at that point it showed 21:46. Pretty good going. In marked contrast to my last effort from 2 weeks ago I felt good enough to continue the faster pace for another half mile before I eased off. Even then I still felt fine, but thought that a proper cool-down might be better, especially keeping in mind that I was injured already. As far as the course went, the out-and-back loops of the Ard-na-Sidhe road make a lot more sense for that kind of workout than the loop around Caragh Lake. Not only do I not have to cross two mountain ranges in the first 12 miles (slight poetic license here), the road for the faster part is also reasonably flat. Maybe that’s why I felt so much better than last time; or maybe it’s because I took it so easy on Monday; or maybe it’s because those runs do get easier, just like Mike had promised; or maybe I’m generally a little bit fitter than 12 days ago. Whatever the cause, I’m satisfied with today’s work.

26 Jun: 10 miles, 1:16:56, 7:41 pace, avg. HR 157 (incl. 8 miles at 7:25 pace)
27 Jun: 17 miles, 2:16:08, 8:00 pace, avg. HR 150 (incl. 10 miles at 8:05-8:10 and 3.5 miles at 7:15)