Training Overview #7 – Week of July 22 thru 28, 2019: Not the Week I Planned but the Week I got

Overview:

Pulaski County Park, Nancy, Kentucky - Great trails for riding and running

Not much to say this week as really did not train much.  That said I should more correctly say I did not do active training since in my book rest is part of training.  When you can learn, and it is still hard for me, that rest is part of training it can be easier to rest instead of having feelings of guilt about not seemingly doing anything.  Rest, be it planned or not, is integral to growth and progress more often done intentionally to allow recuperation but also – as with this week with me – instituted to allow healing when injured.

While I think it is important to plan ahead and have a pretty good idea of what you want to do I also firmly believe you have to be open to change up your plan when needed.  Such was this week as I had two spells in which my hamstring tightened and hurt enough to affect my running.  This actually started last week after 6 miles of a 9 mile run then this week it cropped up at 3 miles of a 5 miler and lastly at a mile into a run.  All this to say I then decided to take the rest of the week off from running, rode a little Saturday, and also take the next week off from running to see how things progress.  One thing I am trying to be better at is taking time off sooner than latter as it seems when I postpose the rest I simply get lower and lower mileage till I am forced to rest and then I can look back and see how futile it was to try and run through the injury.

I have found that as I turn 60, next month, I have to be more intentional about resting injuries than I was when younger.  Often when I was younger I was able to run through injuries and simply reduce mileage but not so as I have gotten older.  I found this so with my Plantar Fasciitis that took a long time to get rid of, close to two years, but when I took two months off straight it was dealt with quickly.

Based on this starting this past Wednesday with the 2 mile run I had to walk one mile of I took the rest of the week off from running and will take the upcoming week of.  That said I did ride some shorter trail rides on my gravel bike this week and while I cold feel my hamstring did not get any stress on it.  Also, as I have a century coming up this weekend and the Kentucky Gravel Championships the week after I will focus more on riding this week.  On the days I would have run I am going to do some stretching and body weight exercises to work on my hamstrings.

One thing I have found is that while I have always been quad dominant riding accentuates that so in many ways exacerbates my hamstring weakness so that needs to be a focus of what I do.  One issue with cross training can be imbalances even when it would seem to work to make us more balance.  In my case I have always had stronger quads from playing soccer when younger and just being how I am built.  I have avoided hamstring issues in the past but as I get older the weakness shows itself more and thus needs to be dealt with.

Diet Notes:

Nothing much on the diet front as I continue to work to keep carbs low in my diet but often fail.  The good side is I have found that being diligent to how I need to eat for the most part overcomes the times a stray.  Bottom line is the foundation for what I try and eat is to minimize process foods and that side of things has been successful.

Also, this week I got my first batch of SFuels Race formula and look forward to trying it out at this week’s century and then the gravel championships the following week.  The change from the regular SFuels I use for training is that the race formula has carbs added so that there can be a flow of carbs at a level that my fat adaption works well with.  More on this next week after I try the drink at Bourbon and Bluegrass Century in Owensboro Kentucky

Overview of Weeks Runs and Rides:

• Monday: Run –  5 miles 
• Tuesday: Ride –  40.94 Miles 
• Wednesday: Run –  2 Miles 
• Thursday:  Rest Day 
• Friday: Rest Day
• Saturday: Ride #1 –  6.84  Miles
• Saturday: Ride #2 -  8.87 Miles
• Sunday: Run –  Rest Day 

Totals:

• Running Miles –  7.0
• Riding Miles –  56.6
• Total Time –  5.10

Conclusions:

Not the week I wanted but the week I got – thus the plan is to rest up this week and just ride and then see how things feel next week with running and if I need one more week off so be it as it will not hurt anything since I can still ride.  Also, I am not simply going to vegetate on days I do not run but do more stretching and body weight exercises on the days I would have run

As always if you have comments or questions feel free to comment below.

Last Week's Overview #6