Thoughts on returning to regular running after a long break

I've run a marathon before. I've done a 21-mile trail race before (and won)... a nice handful of 5Ks and 10Ks and not one, not two, but THREE half marathons. So I guess you could call me a "runner," whatever that means.

But I don't think I'm an endurance runner. Yet.

I still have lofty goals in that department.

Even while I focused on cycling this past June-July, my heart was never 100% in with bike racing - I always thought back to running and made it a point to run at least one or two times a week to maintain the structural fitness of my ligaments/tendons/bone density. Maybe I couldn't get into bike racing because of some combination of never having been on a real cycling "team" or not ever having a coach or not having the full grasp on what structured training for cycling looks like. But my main excuse?: I didn't really like how competitive and unbalanced I felt mentally. The pain train feels great in the moment - and women's cycling specifically has a relatively healthy level of competitiveness (great community, great people, sort of a grassroots movement type of feel) - but for all I become... well, it's hard to describe. It's my feeling that the two different sports bring out different aspects of my personality - and I like the "runner" Andrea better than the "biker" Andrea... so far.

So here I am now. It's time to get back to "runner" Andrea. But it's been about 4 months since the Yosemite Half Marathon. I need to build up my mileage and run frequency again. It's a different challenge than before and here are some thoughts I've had to help orient my training mindset -

1. Don't be overconfident just because you were once able to put in 50mpw.
2. I still feel weak, aerobically. This is a good time to get back into base building.
3. I've lost some structural fitness and hardiness while I wasn't running, so be diligent with injury prevention.
4. Avoid comparing your paces to everyone else!

Last week I threw down 20 mpw, a good baseline amount. But let me tell you - every run just plain sucked. I felt so sluggish and my cadence was low by my standards (170spm). Every time I had a run scheduled for the day, I really did NOT want to run and put it off for as long as my schedule allowed. I forced myself to check off the boxes. 

I think that there must be a period of time when you're returning after a long break where these general feelings of unpleasantness are basically prerequisites to a comeback. We might not expect it because we remember all the good things from when we were in the thick of training and improving, pushing limits, and hitting your goal race with full force. We don't expect running to suck. But suck it must. And then you get past the threshold. And the upward trajectory begins until it starts to undulate again. Such is life.

I'm just starting to get past the threshold of unpleasantness. Today, I unexpectedly felt a spring in my step while running (despite really NOT wanting to run beforehand). My body felt good and my cadence felt like it was returning. But I'm still "slow" at the heart rate I usually train at (an arbitrary HR<=150bpm). Sometimes I see my friends on Strava throwing down all these great runs at a fast pace (for me, that'd be anything below 7:45min/mi). I'm tempted to go faster sometimes.... but then I think back and I know I've proven myself to be "fast" when the situation calls for it. I'm not at the peak of my fitness right now - so why waste runs on trying to whisk up faster paced runs that put me at risk for injury? Trust your training philosophy. Build the mileage base up first and you will soon be putting in some excelente tempo runs and speed workouts. :)

2017 Training/Race Plans

BSIM Training Plan

After weeks and weeks of reading and research, I think I finally have a training strategy in place for Big Sur. There are a couple key components to my training plan:

• Run streak (feetstreak). Run at least one mile a day. Since December 1st, 2016, I have been running at least a mile a day and it was tiring at first but it's become habit now - and I enjoy it!
• Flexibility. I must honor my body and my time commitments - if things get in the way of what I have scheduled, don't stress about it! Be flexible!
• Avoid refined carbohydrates - as much as possible but not strictly.  This one is an obvious one but I don't want to be too strict about it. It would be too stressful to avoid refined carbs entirely. At least not at this point in my life where it's difficult to find time to make my own food!
• Focus on injury prevention and recovery. Be honest with myself and know when I need to take just a mile day or when I can push my running volume. Stretch. Strengthen. Foam roll. Sleep. Eat well!

The periodization of the training plan is rather simple:

1. [MAF] Dec - February (13-15 weeks): MAF intensity (HR <154, ideally <150) for all runs and bike rides
2. [Speedwork (Races)] March 10-25 (3 weeks): 3 races for speedwork
• March 13, 2017 | Reach for A Star 5K (Brisbane, CA) - Registration - proceeds benefit the Brisbane Elementary School District!
• March 18, 2017 | Folsom South Side Trail Run 21-mile (Folsom, CA) - Registration
• March 25, 2017 | Golden Gate Duathlon 5 mile run, 18 mile bike, 2 mile run (El Sobrante, CA) - Registration 
3. [Marathon specific workouts] March 30-April 16 (2 weeks): depending on how I feel, marathon-specific goal pace workouts + reduce volume for taper.
4. [Taper] April 17-29 (2 weeks): Taper @ MAF intensity!

Runstreak Details

The rules of my runstreak are as follows:

1) Run at least one mile every day, ideally two.
2) All forms of running/jogging count, including team sports such as basketball.
3) Hikes of  5 or more miles count as run/endurance activity for that day. Better if I can run a little bit of the way!

Why did I decide to do a runstreak?

1) Running is fun!
2) I wanted to increase my running efficiency by daily reinforcement of the neuromuscular patterns.
3) I wanted to make running a habit.
4) I wanted to build my weekly mileage.
5) If I ran every day since Dec 1, 2016 to the day before the marathon on 4/30/2017, I would have completed a 150 day runstreak (feetstreak). That's a pretty incredible feat! March 10th would be Day 100, on which I plan on blogging once more about the experience.

After BSIM

May 13, 2017 | Yosemite Half Marathon - taking 2 weeks off from running after the marathon then planning on running this half for fun!

May 2017 | Break + Rebuilding (+swimming)

June 2017 | Cycling and Trail Running! (easy running on the raods)

July 8, 2017 | Golden Gate Coastal Trail Marathon - if I'm feeling okay, then this trail run for fun!

July - August | Cycling and Trail Running! (easy running on the roads+swimming)

September, 25 2017 | Santa Cruz Triathlon (sprint or olympic)

October - December | Whate'er I feel like! (ease back into base-building)

January - March 2018 | Base-building!

My ultimate running mecca would be to run the 123rd Boston Marathon in 2019. Boston because duh. And the number 123 because I sort of feel like it's my "angel number." In college, I got that bib number 3 times in a row (old blog post) and, being a teeny bit superstitious, I took it as a sign that I should simplify my life. I took that mindset to heart in the years that followed. Simplification is a very powerful thing - just look at how "simply" running slower has changed my whole mindset and relationship to running and endurance sports. It would definitely give my whole running journey a cherry on top if I ran in the 123rd Boston Marathon. :) :) :)

Resources

[1] Big Book of Endurance Training, Philip Maffetone

[2] Racing Weight, Matt Fitzergald

[3] Healthy Intelligent Training, Keith Livingstone

2 year ACL surgery anniversary! @ UCSF 5K Holiday Classic

It's December already. And that means it's 2 years since ACL reconstruction surgery on my left knee (Dec 17, 2014). These past few years have been a rollercoaster, career-wise, relationship-wise, and in my running journey. This blog has sort of evolved as an outlet for my dreams and thoughts, but most predominantly, things related to an "active lifestyle."

It's crazy to think that I was in crutches two years ago and now people have said I'm "so in shape" or that I'm a "fitness junkie." I don't try to get these labels.. rather, I actively try to avoid them. But I'm fortunate, nonetheless, that my "obsession" (preferably, read: passion) emanates that way.

It's been an interesting fitness/running journey this past two years. A lot of downs... but a lot of ups as well. Let's focus on how amazing the ups have been:

• a job I enjoy that allows me to be flexible with my hours for training
• first road bike
• my first double digit training run, and then the second, and then a weekly thing!
• finishing my first half marathon, a sprint triathlon, and then a second half marathon
• PRing the 5K and 10K distance

But the biggest lessons I learned?

• Consistency is key.
• You don't have to go goal pace all the time!! In fact, you're likely to get injured if you do...

The year ended with an awesome 5K race for the UCSF Diabetes Center (all proceeds go to the Diabetes Center and is completely run by volunteers). The course was USATF certified which is pretty nice, since I know this is an official distance (unlike those Berkeley Half shenanigans!).

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect for this race because I'd done all of my training at MAF intensities up to this point (besides racing).

I did WAY better than expected and felt stronger than I thought I should have by the end. You guys, this is a HUGE personal record, beating my high school cross country time by 30 seconds. At 22:44 (7:19/mi pace), I think it spoke volumes to what LHRT/MAF has done for me. I went out to fast again, but honestly, I also think I could have pushed harder in that second mile. The second mile of a 5K, as it turns out, is a highly mental game. It was even more challenging given that the course has a few gentle hills going around Stow Lake. According to my Garmin/Strava, I blasted through the first mile split at 6:59 then slowed down to 7:31 in the second. I think... I just got lazy. For a 5K, you have to be mentally present for all 20+minutes of the game. Your legs have to be moving fast and your willpower has to be tough. I saw some females pass me and just thought... well, I'm not as fit as her, so I don't need to push myself so hard and ANYWAY, I still have 1.5 miles left to go! I know, WEAK. But despite having raced quite a few races this year, I still feel quite inexperienced, especially in the mental toughness department. In my opinion, LHRT definitely did not prepare me mentally for the second mile, but it did physiologically prepare me for the last. I found a kick in the end and finished strong.

Anyways. DESPITE THAT. Like I said, I blew away my high school PR (formerly 23:15 and even then, I'm not sure if that was a legit time... since there is no record of it online, as hard as I've searched) and the adult PR I set at the Giant Race earlier this year (23:36 @ 7:35/mi). I came in 2nd in my age group (F20-29) and I think 6th(?) overall female in a field of about 106 (22 out of 174 overall M/F). Results posted here: http://www.synergyracetiming.com/ucsf-diabetes-center-miracle-mile-5k/.

All that without intervals or high intensity work. I averaged about 25-30 miles per week with all of my training paces at 9:00+ minutes/mile (many closer to 10:00/mi)! The time is about where I think my road surface MAF was at the time... which was about 9:30/mi. The best part is: NO INJURIES!

I think it's enough proof for me to trust this method for another few weeks. Some day soon, I hope to break the 5K 7:00/mi average pace barrier (21:38)... but there's still 2 months of low intensity miles and base building left! Maybe I'll do a 5K as an official reintroduction to higher intensity work when the time comes.

P.S. I've run 1000km so far in 2016. Isn't that insane???

P.S.S. ALSO, my boyfriend ran his first 5K coming back from clavicle surgery. While the surgery didn't affect his legs, it was his first invasive surgery and it's been taking a lot mentally to get back into a health and fitness regime. He ran it at 8:08 pace which is pretty awesome for only running once a week leading up to it! I'm just glad to have my life partner back on his feet again :).

Crazytown week and pacing experiments

Taper week is driving me crazy!! Since I started running consistently the past month, the thought of taking more than 1 day off from running really gives me the nerves - and I've planned pretty much total rest (brisk walking is aiite) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday... I've never felt so wound up before. I just want to run the race already so I can get back to my regular programming. This week is particularly stressful, too, because of a group project in my physio class and some deadlines at work. Argh!!

Maybe I feel like I didn't train very hard EVEN THOUGH it's probably the most miles I've ever run (or biked) in a single 30 day period. Although I've tested how it felt to run at different pace intensities, I'm still racking my brain because I haven't run at goal half marathon pace for more than 1-mile at a time. Of course, as I described before, there's a reason for that. I've just been building volume and I never intended to take the Berkeley Half seriously anyways. Being competitive old me, competitive with myself, the thought of not giving it my all, even when I feel so strong now (structurally, at least), I'm pressuring myself to perform and prove that my experimentation with high volume actually works.

But anyways...

Since receiving my Garmin Forerunner 235 (as a wonderful wonderful birthday gift from Marvin), I've bought into the theories of low heart rate training. I won't go into to much detail here because the best starting point for anyone would be this article here: "Want Speed? Slow Down!"

The gist of it is I used a very simple formula to find the heart rate I should rarely, if ever, exceed during my runs.

Maximal Aerobic Function HR = 180 - age

For me, my MAF HR is 154bpm but I've been aiming for about 150bpm most days because my breathing rate feels easier and it's also easier to prevent my heart rate from jumping at that effort. I allow for 154 when going up the unavoidable hills and inclines of San Francisco and Daly City routes.

Dr. Phil Maffetone suggests training at this heart rate exclusively for several months but I've mainly tried to keep it at 80-90% of my training. So I've more or less been following an 80/20 or 90/10 rule (80%-90% easy and 10%-20% at moderate-difficult efforts).

I still also have a long way to go in regards to cleaning up my nutrition and fueling habits. But I feel like I'm getting there. :)

After one month, I've noticed a few subjective side effects:

1) I enjoy running/jogging far more -- It's absurd how many days this month I've gotten out of bed excited to get a jog in or sad that it's rest day. I'm no longer tired after every run. I look forward to each run more than I ever have before. I never thought this was possible, given I'm a bit of a masochist and enjoy the feeling of a hard workout. But this method really makes me want to get out of bed in the morning to get a 10 miler in!!

2) I value the rest day and my structural fitness. Sleep and recovery are a lot more important to me, which in turn helps me bounce back from long run days quickly. If there's one most important I've taught myself over the past months, it's that fitness gains don't happen during the workout. They happen after the workout, and most importantly, while you sleep.

3) Slowing down taught me to honor my body and avoid injury and overtraining. It was easier for me to listen to my body and notice twinges and aches before they became full-blown injuries. This allowed me to foam roll, hydrate, stretch, strength train, or do whatever I needed to do to prevent ITBS or my previous knee/arch issues.  My body was able to take prolonged low intensity beatings without tearing apart and I upped my weekly mileage quickly. I also learned when my body needed easy/rest days. For example, after the speed workout I did with NRC, I was noticeably exhausted for 2 days (despite feeling wonderful and fresh the night of the workout). So I did an easy day on the bike and a SUPER easy 5K the second day (~140-144bpm). I also napped during lunch breaks. Because NAPS.

3) My form seemed to improve. By slowing down, I had a lot more time to focus on correct form and cadence. And I felt WAY more efficient as the weeks went by! My average cadence on most training days fell naturally at 176 spm but seems to trend upwards over time on fresh days. (On recovery days, I don't pay attention to cadence as much - mostly because I feel like a slug.) When I tested my race pace intensities, I easily went to 180 spm and, unless fatigued, I don't overstride.

4) Despite the benefits of jogging slow, I was also always worried that my low speeds would make me slower :(... still, I had to proceed  FOR SCIENCE! Since there have been no race performances to reflect any improvements, I can't exactly "trust" the process just yet. I do vehemently believe it has made me a more structurally sound runner, though. And more consistent. I just feel guilty that this has not been a pure Maffetone experiment as I could not let myself do away with speedwork and tempo work.

Anyways... the objective side effects:

The MAF test results

10/13/2016 3 Mile MAF test
3mi MAF test, 9:42(149bpm), 9:39(149bpm), 9:40(149bpm) 54F

11/13/2016 3 Mile MAF Test (monthly check-in and pre-race test)
3mi MAF test, 8:50(149bpm), 9:02(149bpm), 9:20(149bpm) 63F 

After just one month, at the same heart rate, on the same track, in warmer conditions, I ran my the first mile of the test 52 seconds faster!

I had a very weird 1st MAF test in October where I didn't really fade in pace. Normally, you should fade because of cardiac drift and fatigue. I warmed up for 2 miles before starting the test, so I'm unsure what it was - maybe because it was cold or maybe I warmed up too long? IDK.

Until my next test, I'll just be happy with the improvements I've shown in just one month.

The theoretical MAF race correlations:

MAF    5K   5K   HM   marathon

min/mi pace time time time

10:00  7:30 23:19 1:50 3:53

9:00   7:00 21:45 1:42 3:37
8:45   6:52 21:22 1:41 3:34

8:30   6:45 20:58 1:39 3:30

8:00   6:30 20:12 1:33 3:17

7:30   6:00 18:38 1:26 3:02

7:00   5:30 17:05 1:19 2:47

When I started circa a MAF pace of 9:42-10:00, the 5K time and half marathon times seem to correlate well. My 5K on a flat course was 23:36 (Sep 2016) and my HM (~350ft elevation gain) was 1:49:38 (July 2016). 

I'm hoping that my last MAF test was not a fluke because it would be awesome to get a time closer to the MAF prediction. The Berkeley course is tougher with ~550ft of elevation gain but I hope my newfound strength can make up for it.

Another note: my Garmin's race predictor is interesting. According to my Garmin, I have a VO2 max around 49-50 and I'm capable of running a sub-1:40 =_=. Hah. A girl can dream I guess.