I took a couple steps in the right direction this past week. First, I got in 42 miles total, which is more than double what I ran each of the previous two weeks and close to as much as I ran during the months of Jan and Feb combined. Second, on Sunday I was able to run for a little over an hour, a mark that I see as somewhat of a threshold. Finally, in spite of the increasing volume, my heel actually felt better as the week went on. I still can't say I'm 100% pain free, but basically the only time I feel it is when I put all my weight on that heel and sort of roll around on it (something I should probably just avoid doing - ha). All that said, I know what some of you might be thinking, so yes, I'm being careful. I know that going from 19 miles to 42 miles was a big jump, so I'm monitoring all systems very carefully.
This coming week I hope to continue my build back to where I need and want to be. I have a plan in place, and since I know I have to be smart about it, it's going to take quite a while to get there. In talking to my coach while I was injured, he and I agreed that I probably jumped into workouts too soon this past fall, so we discussed how to proceed once I got healthy again. My mileage has been mediocre at best since my hamstring injury in early September of 2014, which is a long time to go with no real base work. Furthermore, I'm the type of runner that thrives off mileage. I've tried the low-mileage, high-quality approach, and believe it or not, it will burn me out and get me injured quicker than running 100 miles a week, while not producing as good of results in races. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is what it is, so I have to operate accordingly. We're all an experiment of one, which is part of what keeps things interesting and fun.
Currently my plan is to build for around 3 weeks then drop back for a week and continue to do so until I'm running 70-75 miles a week. Based on where I am now, that's going to take up a good portion, if not all, of the spring season. During this time, I won't do much in the way of structured workouts. As I get stronger and fitter, I'll start to do some up-tempo running and things like progression runs, but nothing any more formal than that. I'll incorporate strides as well as some drills into the mix soon and continue those throughout the process just to wake up my neuromuscular system while I'm building my aerobic system. Once I'm comfortable running 70-75 miles a week, I'll start to add in some more traditional workouts.
Anyway, I'm encouraged for the time being and hopeful that I'm on the comeback trail. I saw over the weekend that 50 year old Masters runner, Sean Wade, ran 14:52 for 5k on the track, an age group world record. After seeing Jamey Yon's 2:34 marathon at age 50 the previous weekend, I'm more convinced than ever that old guys can run fast. It just takes a lot more effort and focus than it once did, something I'm prepared to do. That's all I've got for now. Have a great week!
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