Two more workouts: faster and faster!

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The body really is good at doing what it is told. After two weeks and only four workouts, I'm running much faster than I thought I would. The rust is gone. I'm seriously thinking 8:45ish next week, especially if the chiro treatment works out. I had a pretty long evaluation with Dr. Neil today, and he seemed to think it was a fixable problem. He will treat me on Monday.

This week, I did two workouts. Wednesday, Debardi and I jogged over to McGill at around 3pm. The girls guarding the track wanted two bucks from us, but Debardi sweet-talked them and in exchange for letting us in for free, we did our workout shirtless. Fair trade, I think. ;)

Anyway, the workout was 2x(600-400-600-400) with 2min between each interval, 10min between each set. François gave us some goal times, but they were more for Julien than for us old guys, so we modified. Still, I was pleased to run 1:47-67-1:47-66 in the first set. It gave me enough confidence to go faster in the second set, and we managed to pull it off: 1:44-64-1:44-66. The last quarter was tough, and Debardi waited for me to pull me through the last 100. Still, it felt great. I am getting faster every day.

The second workout proved it, as I opened with a 1:40 600 on a hot Friday afternoon. The workout was 600-500-400-300-200-100, the first three at 1500 pace and the next three fast. 1:22, 64 (a little too fast, but felt great), 46, 30 and no time, but fast with the McGill group doing 200s in 27. Lots of recovery, but I'm really more concerned with getting the legs to turnover, so I don't mind.

I'm a little disappointed with how much attention François is paying to me. I know, odd, as I'm a coach, too, and we both know I can figure it out on my own, but I've asked him to help me with this 1500 thing. It is a common problem with Frank: he has too many athletes and tries to do too much. He is a great coach, and a great man, but sometimes his plate gets too full. He wanted me to do 15x200 at 1500 pace on Monday, but that's my tempo day, and I don't think he realised that I'm running a 3k on Wednesday, not 1500.

200s and lower back pain

The second track/1500 workout of the summer/comeback is on. 12x200 with 200 break, in about 32. I had a couple 31s, early (and when I put the spikes on), and a 33 in there as well, near the end. It hurt, more than I think a 200m workout should, but it was considerably better than last week. I felt kind of broken-down-tractor-like for most of it (and yes, that is an improvement), but I just kept telling myself to make my legs turn over, because that's what I need most right now. That's what needs to catch up. The endurance is there. It's there.

My back was still pretty tight. I saw Julie on Tuesday and she figures it is a pinched nerve. She showed me the way it looks in her book and with the skeleton and all, and it seems like my hip is jammed up, keeping the nerve from sliding. There may also be some scar tissue. So I think I will go and see François' chiro. He's right near my house. I got chiro right after Boston, and it felt good for a week. I used to get it all the time, from Janet, when I was in Toronto. Some people are against it (physios and certain massage therapists--it's funny how people take sides on that), but I've had success in the past, so I think that is what I will do. It seems to make sense: something is stuck; it needs to get unstuck. The chiro can do that. The problem is how did it get that way? Julie couldn't figure it out. I think it is just from lots of mileage and from mountain running. I mean, leaning over, running uphill for an hour? Then training 80-100mpw, 2h+ runs...come on. It's an overuse injury, brought on by a weakness in my core, lower right back, glutes, too, probably (not firing as usual). So the chiro will re-set it, and since I'm planning to keep my volume down, I think I should be ok. I hope so because I feel like an old man. This is bordering on chronic pain and I AM NOT THAT OLD YET.

Also: sat in the tub with cold water and ice from the Ultramar. 8min. Not bad. I think that will help the legs. My right calf cramped up on the cool down, and my hams got real tight at the end. All related to the back, of course, but I think the ice will do good. It would do good anyway, so might as well.

And: I met Debardi's mom. François was telling me she is an incredible lady. Was all over the world in the 60s and 70s setting up medical facilities and stuff. Love those New Brunswickers! She's from Bat-hurst.

Next week: two workouts. Wednesday and Friday. Mondays tempos have been good. Did 5x5min with Debardi on the trails on the mountain this week. It felt pretty good. Everything feels real good except my back. I wonder how it'll be with rock climbing? It'll probably do me some good to hang upside down or something. We'll see!

1500 season

I did my first track workout of the summer tonight. It was pretty short and pretty slow, but it was a good re-integration to that sort of thing. 4x400 in 69,72,71,72 with 200 recovery, then 4min, then 4x200 in 32,33,34,32, also with 200 recovery. The first 200 was actually 31.8, so it was nice to see that I still have some wheels. I subscribe to the Steve Boyd theory that the speed is there, and you just have to work on the endurance. That is, if you can run one 200 in 31, then you can run a 1500 that fast, if you work on your endurance. I will probably have to work on the speed end a bit, too, though. Ok, let’s be honest I have to work on it a lot. I think I can get down to doing 200s under 30 pretty soon. Not sure what that will mean for 1500 pace though.

First race is likely to be at McGill on May 30th, a 3000m. Should be a good transition from the marathon, and hopefully I can go much faster than my 9:24 of this winter. My goal for the summer is to run 1500 under 4min. 3:59.6, to be precise—Harold’s outdoor PB. I gotta get something faster than that guy! His 3000 is 8:33, which seems a stretch for the short time-frame I have before I open up, but we’ll see. You never know.

The thing is, this is going to be my last kick at the can, I think. Everyone seems to be in denial about it but me, though. Leslie doesn’t believe it. François just laughed. It’s going to be fun having a coach this summer, and hopefully getting some workouts in with Julien and Debardi, but I can’t see myself training the way I have for the last couple years anymore. Two marathons and two world championships in year and a half is a lot. I need to take a break, at least, from training. Realistically, with law school in the fall, I’ll just run a bit with Concordia, but not really train for anything. Next summer, I’ll see if I want to get back into it, but I don’t know if I want to invest that kind of time anymore.

I spoke with Jay about the running/identity thing. It’s tough to shake it. Part of my identity is that I am a runner. I still will be, I suppose, just not as fast. I will still coach the school and Boreal (until the fall at least). I have always said that coaching gives me just as much, or even more, satisfaction as running does: I’m just so blown away by what Chrissy’s been able to do in two years. Sofiane is going to be a monster in the fall. I am really happy when Laura tells me she feels strong before her marathon. I still have yet to see Claudine qualify for Boston, but man, when she does it is going to be awesome. Maybe this is living vicariously, and also, I know that my contribution to their success is much less than their own, but still seeing them succeed is really great. So I can still keep running as part of me, without having it take over, as Jay put it.

The thing is, after recovering from the marathon, I feel like I’m coming out of a bit of a fog. It may be that it is spring, but I feel like I have so much more energy now that I’m not running two hours a day (duh!). I kind of like having this much energy. It is nice to be able to go to bed late and not feel shattered the next day. It’s nice to be able to have a beer or eat crap once in a while.

The 1500 stuff is fun, and I think that since I’m so far ahead aerobically, I can make the transition, do workouts for 6-8 weeks, and maintain my base with very little mileage. This will let me get some biking and swimming in (for Ste. Agathe in August), and rest the legs a little. The plan is going to look something like this:

Monday: weights, then tempo with Concordia
Tuesday: easy run
Wednesday: weights, then track workout on my own, also a long bike ride in the evening to Boreal.
Thursday: off (long day at Concordia especially after a late night coaching)
Friday: track workout at Etienne-Desmarteau
Saturday: easy run and/or swim with Char and/or bike ride with Sean/Amélie
Sunday: long run (90min max! Haha, that’s not a long run at all!)

So, five or six days or running, no double runs (though some double workouts if you count the weights). It’s almost like normal exercise. Gasp! Ok, not really.

I’m very excited about the weights. I think Liz has put together a good program for me. I was happy to have exceeded her expectations in the rowing test this week. She figured I’d pull 2:30 for 500m, and I managed 1:53. It’s about mental toughness. When I saw I was averaging 1:55 for the first 20 seconds or so, I didn’t want to slow down. If I hadn’t had the average pace there, I might not have done it, but really, two minutes of rowing is not a lot. I have to try to get better every time though, so maybe I should have dogged it a bit! (Maybe I did! I think I can do better.)

I’m going to see Julie on Tuesday about my back. I am going to have to face the music. I probably should have gone a long time ago. Oh well. Hopefully between her and Liz, I’ll get things straightened out. The good news is that it seems to hurt less when I run fast. Not sure why that is.

Bring on the 1500. It’s going to be a fun summer.