Due to the swelling of my right knee from the trail crash yesterday I walked 5 miles as a recovery workout, then iced it.
Tonight I did the truncated hip circuit below, involving those exercises that don't involve weight bearing on a bent knee:
Fire hydrant with extension- right only, 3x20
SLRs, 3 x20, knee locked
Lateral leg lifts, lying on side, 3x20
Clamshells with band, 3 x20
Reverse clamshells (band tied to heavy chair leg), 3x20
Hip adductors with band, 3 x20
Kickouts 20 each at 45 degree angles
Hip hikes, 3x20
Pete Sercel's ultrarunning training blog --my experience with running injury prevention and recovery, and training for the Angeles Crest 100.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Why I wear long pants while trail running
I woke up this morning at 5am to head out for a long run, feeling rested and ready to run having taken yesterday off to juggle kid's sports (one of my kids having had a tournament yesterday).
I decided to run out of Millard to Mt Wilson to avoid the crowds on the Sam Merrill Trail. It was a beautiful crisp morning and I made the summit (11.8 miles) in 2:24. I headed down the Toll Rd to add a few miles and came back up to the summit via the single track- 15 miles in 3:00. Re-filling my bottles I charged down the Mt Wilson Road to Eaton Saddle at a 7 min pace, hit the trail and and flew down to the Mt Lowe railway- so great to be out there! I stopped to snap a couple photos, it was just so pretty:
I continued on, pushing the pace. My left knee which had been a little sore lately seemed to feel better if I pushed, as opposed to slogging and breaking. I just felt terrific.
About a mile down from Markham Saddle I was flying along ...caught my right toe and the next thing I knew I was on the ground: Hands were OK since I was holding hand bottles, but both knees were cut through my long pants and the right knee was bashed pretty hard on a rock. I got up and started limping down; after a dozen or so paces I started running as I still had to get down 8 miles farther to my car. The right knee hurt but I was able to make reasonable time. When I reached the Cape of Good Hope I decided to take the paved road down instead of the Sunset Trail- right knee really wasn't liking this downhill so I opted for the slightly shorter non-technical route.
Here is what it looked like after I cleaned it off at home:
This is why I wear long pants!
I am icing the knee now and hope it settles down quickly as this week my plan is to start the mileage ramp-up for the SD100. The plan going forward is:
Week of May 1: 85 miles
Week of May 8: 100 miles
Week of May 15: 100 miles
Week of May 22: 100 miles
Week of May 29: 80 miles
Race week-light mileage- race Day June 3
As it is I may have to ease up this week as the right knee is bit swollen from the impact.
I decided to run out of Millard to Mt Wilson to avoid the crowds on the Sam Merrill Trail. It was a beautiful crisp morning and I made the summit (11.8 miles) in 2:24. I headed down the Toll Rd to add a few miles and came back up to the summit via the single track- 15 miles in 3:00. Re-filling my bottles I charged down the Mt Wilson Road to Eaton Saddle at a 7 min pace, hit the trail and and flew down to the Mt Lowe railway- so great to be out there! I stopped to snap a couple photos, it was just so pretty:
About a mile down from Markham Saddle I was flying along ...caught my right toe and the next thing I knew I was on the ground: Hands were OK since I was holding hand bottles, but both knees were cut through my long pants and the right knee was bashed pretty hard on a rock. I got up and started limping down; after a dozen or so paces I started running as I still had to get down 8 miles farther to my car. The right knee hurt but I was able to make reasonable time. When I reached the Cape of Good Hope I decided to take the paved road down instead of the Sunset Trail- right knee really wasn't liking this downhill so I opted for the slightly shorter non-technical route.
Here is what it looked like after I cleaned it off at home:
I am icing the knee now and hope it settles down quickly as this week my plan is to start the mileage ramp-up for the SD100. The plan going forward is:
Week of May 1: 85 miles
Week of May 8: 100 miles
Week of May 15: 100 miles
Week of May 22: 100 miles
Week of May 29: 80 miles
Race week-light mileage- race Day June 3
As it is I may have to ease up this week as the right knee is bit swollen from the impact.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
update
Light run, 6.2 mile "runch". Good heat training. Reclaimed shoes worked great.
Hip routines this week:
M: SRLs, glute bridges, kickouts
T: Clamshells, RDLs, kee ups, sitting knee ups
W Stair step ups; dynamic lunges; pullups, pushups, situps
Hip routines this week:
M: SRLs, glute bridges, kickouts
T: Clamshells, RDLs, kee ups, sitting knee ups
W Stair step ups; dynamic lunges; pullups, pushups, situps
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Shoe repair- midsole compression fixed with a caulking gun
I have a collection of shoes with lightly worn outsoles whose midsoles are compressed at the ball of my foot. This is a problem since when this happens I get joint pain on the second and third toes of my right foot. This compression typically occurs between 200-300 miles- earlier in shoes with a softer EVA foam- and considering the cost of running shoes this is no good!
I decided to try fixing it by applying some silicone caulk to fill in the dent in the midsole. The idea is to use caulk to repair the midsole from the inside - as opposed to the old "Shoe-Goo" repairs we used to try to do on our outsoles.
The procedure is to apply a puddle of caulk in the depression, lay an old credit card over it, press down to flatten the silicone, then slide the card off from the side, lifting it out and using it like a putty knife to restore a flat surface in the shoe. Cure 1 day, reinstall the insole and try it.
Here are the first two reclaimed pairs:
Today I ran 10 miles in one of these pairs and it felt great. Tonight I "caulked" two more pairs of Hokas, a pair of Ascend gloves, and another Trailroc 255 in the same manner.
I decided to try fixing it by applying some silicone caulk to fill in the dent in the midsole. The idea is to use caulk to repair the midsole from the inside - as opposed to the old "Shoe-Goo" repairs we used to try to do on our outsoles.
The procedure is to apply a puddle of caulk in the depression, lay an old credit card over it, press down to flatten the silicone, then slide the card off from the side, lifting it out and using it like a putty knife to restore a flat surface in the shoe. Cure 1 day, reinstall the insole and try it.
Here are the first two reclaimed pairs:
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Wuhan China, rest week
Last week I had business in Wuhan, China. I flew out on Friday the 8th of April- that day I ran up Brown Mountain Road and down the Ken Burton Trail to get a few miles in before my midnight flight out. It was a nice run although my left knee was bothering me a bit on the downhill return. The knee has been acting up lately and I think its probably due to compensation for the sore hip muscles on the right.
It was good timing for a rest week and not simply because I was signed up for Leona Divide the following weekend.
When I got to Wuhan on Sunday morning I was pretty stiff so I spent the afternoon and early evening walking all over the area around my hotel, probably 4 hours of walking which I logged as 10 miles.
I was up early on Monday and then off to work; after work I walked over to a park near the hotel and did a hard hip circuit:
The dynamic lunges are deceptively easy but actually are the most effective exercise of the glutes, quads and hamstrings. This exercise, involving taking 10 or 15 strides with each step ending in a deep lunge, entails very little perceived effort but 3 out and backs of 10 or 15 steps always leave me quite sore for a couple of days. The reason I think is that the exercise eccentrically loads the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, and the effort is not perceived because its reflexive: The muscles fire to keep you from hitting the ground. No effort required!
Tuesday I took an easy run from my hotel to Nanhu Lake. It was cool in morning and the lake was lovely:
I posted some of these pictures to Facebook. Interesting how polarized the comments were. Some saw a beautiful morning at the lake (like I had); others saw pollution and provided unsolicited advice that running in such bad air is dangerous. We find what we look for I guess.
Wednesday I walked 4 miles in the morning as a recovery workout.
Thursday I walked couple miles.
Friday I flew home- door to door, it was a 20 hour trip.
Saturday I was entered into the Leona Diovide 50. I bagged it. I was exhausted from the trip and furthermore, it was my son's birthday. Why the heck had I even signed up for this race? I simply wasn't thinking, or rather, was thinking only of myself. Instead I slept in to 9:30am- eleven hours of sleep- then woke and took the family go-cart racing and then berry picking out in Simi Valley. I slept hard again last night, from 10 pm to 10am, and bagged my original plan to run to the Ken Burton to do trail work. My sons need my time more than I needed to run or to do additional trail work.
We spent the mid day climbing the front elm tree with climbing ropes and prussic knots. Now we are taking a rest break and will have some lunch.
It was good timing for a rest week and not simply because I was signed up for Leona Divide the following weekend.
When I got to Wuhan on Sunday morning I was pretty stiff so I spent the afternoon and early evening walking all over the area around my hotel, probably 4 hours of walking which I logged as 10 miles.
I was up early on Monday and then off to work; after work I walked over to a park near the hotel and did a hard hip circuit:
- Stair step ups, 3x20
- Dynamic lunges, 6x17
- kickouts at 45 degree angles, sets of 20
- hip hikes, 3 x 20
- 1-leg glue bridges 3 x15
- Clamshells 3x20
- situps, 140
- pushups, 45
The dynamic lunges are deceptively easy but actually are the most effective exercise of the glutes, quads and hamstrings. This exercise, involving taking 10 or 15 strides with each step ending in a deep lunge, entails very little perceived effort but 3 out and backs of 10 or 15 steps always leave me quite sore for a couple of days. The reason I think is that the exercise eccentrically loads the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, and the effort is not perceived because its reflexive: The muscles fire to keep you from hitting the ground. No effort required!
Tuesday I took an easy run from my hotel to Nanhu Lake. It was cool in morning and the lake was lovely:
I posted some of these pictures to Facebook. Interesting how polarized the comments were. Some saw a beautiful morning at the lake (like I had); others saw pollution and provided unsolicited advice that running in such bad air is dangerous. We find what we look for I guess.
Wednesday I walked 4 miles in the morning as a recovery workout.
Thursday I walked couple miles.
Friday I flew home- door to door, it was a 20 hour trip.
Saturday I was entered into the Leona Diovide 50. I bagged it. I was exhausted from the trip and furthermore, it was my son's birthday. Why the heck had I even signed up for this race? I simply wasn't thinking, or rather, was thinking only of myself. Instead I slept in to 9:30am- eleven hours of sleep- then woke and took the family go-cart racing and then berry picking out in Simi Valley. I slept hard again last night, from 10 pm to 10am, and bagged my original plan to run to the Ken Burton to do trail work. My sons need my time more than I needed to run or to do additional trail work.
We spent the mid day climbing the front elm tree with climbing ropes and prussic knots. Now we are taking a rest break and will have some lunch.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Core day
Ran 6.2 miles at "runch" today. Right hip muscles were tweaked. This is my core day- a quick evening circuit:
Step-ups, 3 x 20 each side
Pull-ups, 27
Dynamic lunges, 6x12
Pushups, 45
Situps, 170
1-leg bridges 3 x15
Clamshells 3x20
Step-ups, 3 x 20 each side
Pull-ups, 27
Dynamic lunges, 6x12
Pushups, 45
Situps, 170
1-leg bridges 3 x15
Clamshells 3x20
Monday, April 4, 2016
Recovery day
Ran a slow 6.2 today as a recovery run from the 46 mile weekend.
Did a light hip circuit tonight- too bushed to do the full circuit.
Clamshells 3 x 20 each side
SLRs, 3x 20 with heavy boots, each side
Lateral SLRs, 3x 20 with heavy boots, each side
Hip hikes, 3 x20, each side
Single leg glute bridges, 3 x 10, each side
Static lunges, 3x30sec, each side
Did a light hip circuit tonight- too bushed to do the full circuit.
Clamshells 3 x 20 each side
SLRs, 3x 20 with heavy boots, each side
Lateral SLRs, 3x 20 with heavy boots, each side
Hip hikes, 3 x20, each side
Single leg glute bridges, 3 x 10, each side
Static lunges, 3x30sec, each side
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Mt Wilson healing run; metabolic efficiency
I got up at 5am this morning to run up Mt. Wilson. I started up the Sam Merrill trail before dawn and hiked to Echo Mtn, then ran up to the Mt Lowe railway and on up to the summit via Markham Saddle. I ran down the Toll Road until I hit 13 miles on my gps, then turned around and ran back up to the summit for water and ran down. Total, 25.94 miles, with about 5100 ft of climb (Garmin Connect says 9000 ft and change but that is not possible).
I kept the pace easy as my glutes were still sore from a heavy hip circuit I did on Wednesday. That, and the fact that the whole set of hip stabilizers on the right is still pretty tender after having been inconsistent with my hip exercise routine over the last few months. I ended the run feeling better than I started it. It was a "healing run".
Another promising result is that I was not hungry through the whole run despite having run on an empty stomach. I had two bottles with about 4 oz of fruit juice in each diluted with water, about 150 calories total; the other bottles I drank were either water or water with fizzy tabs. Ive noticed that early in my training each season I have to eat a lot on my runs but as I get in shape, the need to eat goes away- I attribute this to a transition to primarily fat-burning, i.e., increased metabolic efficiency.
I kept the pace easy as my glutes were still sore from a heavy hip circuit I did on Wednesday. That, and the fact that the whole set of hip stabilizers on the right is still pretty tender after having been inconsistent with my hip exercise routine over the last few months. I ended the run feeling better than I started it. It was a "healing run".
Another promising result is that I was not hungry through the whole run despite having run on an empty stomach. I had two bottles with about 4 oz of fruit juice in each diluted with water, about 150 calories total; the other bottles I drank were either water or water with fizzy tabs. Ive noticed that early in my training each season I have to eat a lot on my runs but as I get in shape, the need to eat goes away- I attribute this to a transition to primarily fat-burning, i.e., increased metabolic efficiency.
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