Bret

AM - 4 miles early in some heavy fog before church - hamstring was very painful this morning - way above a 5-6 on the pain scale.   Very frustrating.

PM - 2 miles on the trail in the Vibrams - the gait change with the "barefoot" shoes is actually significantly less painful in the hamstring.   Slow going of course.   May try to do a little of this every couple of days if it seems to be helpful. 

AM - friends Chris and Karen (who are recently married runners who met and competed at the Barclays race) were house guests with us overnight as the made their way from visting family in Florida and heading to their home in Knoxville.   Chris who has not been training much but has an ultra on his calendar for July in Washington state - was keen to do a run on the trail (Karen is struggling with an injury and opted-out).  Dan and Rosie joined us for 5 miles of interesting conversation about the Barclays race.  

PM - yoga.

AM - just under 4 miles on a muddy Milton trail - rain most of yesterday and forecast for the next two days.  Dan was having more issues with his chronic knee and calf issues, so we cut it a little short.  I was having more hamstring tendon issues.   I did an extra mile as a cool down on the treadmill wearing the vibrams.

PM - yoga at lunchtime 

PM - 2000 meters of indoor rowing; 20 min scenic ride on the Peloton 

AM - pretty severe thunderstorms ahead of a cold front kept me indoors today.   Did 2000 meters of indoor rowing and then 5 miles on the treadmill - started with the first 400 meters barefoot and then switched to shoes.   The shoeless efforts cause me to run more upright and foward for a more mid-foot strike - which helps with the hamstring tendon.

PM - yoga then a 2 mile walk with Finn since he did not get any exercise this morning.   

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and the dogs from his house to the horsetrail roads.   Gimpy on the hamstring at the start, but it loosened some, and the pace was actually ok after the first mile at least looking at the splits after we finished.   2000 meters of indoor rowing after I got home.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn on the trail - good bit cooler with frost this morning.  Had a difficult night's sleep with hamstring tendon discomfort.  Did some stretching/warming of the hamstring before heading out.   Slow going but not as painful as I had expected it to be.  Still at times a 3-4 on the pain scale, but intermittently less.  2000 meters of rowing afterward.

PM - 2 miles on the treadmill in the Vibrams. Felt so much less discomfort in the hamstring with the barefoot gait and with the belt requiring less "drive".  Doing limited time though without shoes to hopefully avoid any bone stress reactions in my feet.  Yoga session afterwards.  
 

AM - 10k on the trail with Dan and the dogs - chilly again this morning.  Right achilles was sore yesterday evening and this morning - I think from the barefoot running.   Hamstring about the same - but no worse.  Noticed I was short .25 miles of 40 for the week, so did 400 meters on the treadmill.

PM - 2000 meters of indoor rowing and then yoga. 

AM - 6 hilly miles before church this morning.   Thought my pace was faster but it would appear that the strength in the left hamstring is not really there yet.   A bit painful to start but manageable for most of the run.   2000 meters of indoor rowing afterwards.  
 

PM - yoga. 

AM - 4.25 miles with Dan and Finn on the Milton trail - colder and the dirt road was full of puddles from the rains yesterday.   Hamstring was a bit better today - could have run futher but Dan was not feeling well.  2000 meters of indoor rowing afterwards. 

PM - 2 miles on the treadmill followed by a yoga session after my workday. 

AM - 5.25 miles from Dan's house with Finn on the horsetrail roads.   Slow first mile but warmed into a better paee - hamstring was tender to begin, but it seems some strength is returning to the tendon.   2000 meters of indoor rowing afterwards. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and Finn on the golf course.  Slower paced today, a little more discomfort in the hamstring, though it is significantly hilly with some sharp ups and downs to aggravate it.   2000 meters of indoor rowing afterward.

PM - lunchtime yoga

AM - 5 miles on the trail early with Dan and Finn - very dark with no moon and the trails were a little wet from some light rain overnight.   Not a very good run - hamstring and achilles were uncomfortable.   2000 meters of indoor rowing afterward.  
 

PM - yoga at lunchtime and then 2 "barefoot" miles on the treadmill during a thunderstorm after work - power went out briefly during the run.   I really wish I could sustain barefoot running without injury - it is really nice to run with no hamstring discomfort due to the difference in gait from running with shoes.  Experience has been that I end up with injuries such as stress fractures in my feet running barefoot.   I am doing it now only a couple times per week and short distances.  Maybe I can gradually build up my bones and tendons and muscles with this gradual approach over time.   

AM - 5 miles in the neighborhood with Finn - colder, flurries and quite windy.   Slow but far less discomfort in the hamstring today for whatever reason.  2000 meters of indoor rowing.   

PM - 1 mile "barefoot" on the treadmill followed by yoga, after my workday. 

AM - 5.25 miles with the guys and the dogs on the trail.  Cold and very windy.  Terrible run for me with the hamstring.  
 

PM - 3 miles "barefoot" on the treadmill at my normal training pace.  No hamstring tendon issues.  Longest barefoot run so far.   2000 meters of indoor rowing and then yoga.  

AM - 6 miles with Finn early before church.   Relatively decent day with the hamstring - quite cold out in the low 20's.  Yoga in the afternoon.  

AM - nearly 6.5 miles on the trail this morning with Dan and the dogs - just below freezing when we headed out, which was around 8:30 with both of us having the day off for MLK.   Finn was off-lead for the second half of the run - as I did on Saturday, and he stayed reasonably close by.   Hamstring was not as good as yesterday but not nearly as bad as Saturday.   2000 meters of indoor rowing afterwards.  

PM - 2 miles of barefoot running on the treadmill - perhaps a little to aggressive - felt something painful in the left achilles at the end of the run - hopefully nothing too serious. Yoga session afterwards. 

AM - a very careful sore mile on the treadmill this morning.  Both calf muscles and achilles were very tender and functioning poorly this morning.  Since it was raining I opted to just jog a bit on the treadmill to get a mile in for the streak and give the legs a little break.  Wore the VaporFly Nike shoes - then did 2000 meters of rowing followed by a yoga session.   Hoping it just needs few days to settle down.  

AM - 3 miles with Finn in a very foggy / misty morning.   Started out just as a walk, but began to jog after about a quarter mile - very gingerly.  Did not feel pleasant, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and though I never got much faster than 10:30 pace - I ended up running more than I thought I would.  The achilles and calf soreness feel like they are likely to subside in a few more days from the very acute discomfort I had from the overly zealous barefoot treadmill session on Monday afternoon.   They are still sore and tender, but much less so than before.   

PM - Dan reached out for an impromtu proposal for midday run; he'd had a procedure in the morning and had not run yet; and I was hoping my legs may be less sore than this morning - so we did a little over 3.25 miles on the trail with dogs and squeezed it in between zoom meetings.   Legs were more improved than this morning - and pace was a little over 9 mins overall, with the last 2 miles in the mid-8's - so I took that as a positive development.  

AM - 3 mile fairly painful (calves / achilles) jog in a light rain with Finn.   Really not feeling all that great about running right now.   I am about 90% sure the calf pain is just extreme soreness versus real injury, which will improve gradually, it is just grinding through the next several days.   The good news is that my hamstring issue is not as noticable and because I am not running very fast, it may be benefiting that recovery.    2000 meters of indoor rowing.  
 

PM - 4.5 miles on the elliptical and then a yoga session.  No pain at all with the elliptical- which is nice - but I am not a big fan of those machines.  

AM - just undert 3.5 miles with Dan and the dogs on the trail.   Much colder today.  Much less calf and achilles discomfort today - plus it was a softer surface.  Literally more than a minute per mile faster pace over yesterday, but still very much a jog.  Happy with some improvement.   2000 meters of indoor rowing afterwards.  

AM - tried to run with Dan and the dogs on the trail, but my calf muscles were really not feeling well so we cut it short; in the last half mile going downhill, something "popped" in my left calf muscle - sharp pain.   Jogged it in.   Did some rowing and then a mile on the peloton bike.  Hopped on the treadmill to test things - and got another mile in.   Planning to only run a mile at the most (solely to keep the streak going) for the next several days and cross train using the elliptical, the bike and some swimming.   

PM - swam 1250 meters at the OneLife gym indoor pool on a free visit.   Not the best set up - as others that I have used in the past.   Only 4 lanes, (fortunately one was open); no towel service, no hot water in the showers, no manual swimsuit spin dryer for my suit; and there was a plastic protuding fastener piece on the pool walls that I slammed my foot into on a flip turn...yes, I am being picky.   Will try two other options nearby until the summer when my neighborhood outdoor pool opens for lap swimming. 

AM - 1 very uncomfortable mile on the treadmill - 2000 meters of indoor rowing and 20 minute peloton workout on the bike.   

PM - 1.5 mile walk with Finn;  ~3.5 miles (30 mins) on the elliptical.   I got into a rhythm on it with a decent pace - felt close to how it feels to run but pain-free.

AM - 1 mile walk with Finn into the neighborhood, and then a jog back along the same route for a 1 mile run.   Although the jog was 12 min pace, it was not really painful - though I kept myself from going any faster as I really want to let the legs recovr; but this was a considerable improvement over yesterday.    2000 meters of indoor rowing followed by a yoga session.   

PM - tried a different gym for indoor pool - swam 1250 yds - pool and gym were nicer but more expensive and further distance from me.   Not sure I am committed to swim on a regular basis yet.   Yoga session after.  

AM - 1 mile walk, 1 mile jog/run a bit faster today - very cold.  2000 meters of indoor rowing followed by a yoga session.

PM - ~ 4 miles or more on the elliptical followed by 1 mile on the treadmill at sub 9 pace.  Still some discomfort but just needed to feel myself running.  

AM - heavy rains - so a short walk on the treadmill and then 1 mile of running - calf muscles are still not quite right but gradually improving.  They overshadow the left hamstring issue at the moment.   2000 meters of indoor rowing followed by a yoga session. 

PM - 1.5 mile walk on the trail with Finn at lunchtime - and then a 30 minute Peloton workout. 

AM - 2 miles on the trail - started off expecting only to jog a mile but with significantly less calf pain (not yet completely gone) I doubled my daily mileage :).   I was careful not to push too much and the avg pace was 10:25 so there is much left to improve, but considered this progress.   Hamstring is no worse, but not noticiably better either.   2100 meters of indoor rowing followed by a yoga session.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan and the dogs on the Milton trail - very easy at 10 min pace, but really no issue with the calf muscles - did not try to push any faster and with the exception of the left hamstring still a bit wonky and slightly painful - this was good progress.  2000 meters of indoor rowing followed by a yoga session. 

AM - 4 miles with Finn on the horsetrail roads. Gravel replenished on part of the road was good to eliminate some of the potholes but not for a smooth ride running.  Actually had a decent run for the first time in forever.   Initial mile was a bit uncomfortable with the left hamstring but after it warmed up my pace was all the way down to low 8 min pace which was a welcome surprise.  Calf issues nearly resolved and though I am not 100% on the left hamstring - I feel like it will very gradually over a few more weeks get to the point of just being a nuisance.  

AM - 4.25 miles in the neighborhood before church with Finn.  First mile was a slow warm-up, but then the remainder of the run was at a more normal pre-injury pace - perhaps with a little too much effort.   2000 meters of indoor rowing - had either a spasm in my upper back shortly after the rowing, or (don't say it) angina.   Sucks getting old.  

AM - raining this morning, so ran on the treadmill at a decent easy pace after warm up; kept the HR below 135 for much of the faster miles which were in the mid 8 min range.  2000 meters of indoor rowing followed by a yoga session.   No real issues to report.   Hamstring is ever so slowly improving; calf muscles are at about 90-95% resolved.   The upper back issue from yesterday seems as if it was a spasm versus angina since there was faint residual achiness there for much of the afternoon.   

My plan for this week is to keep the mileage limited and completely easy even if I feel as though I can go longer or faster.  I do not trust my instincts on how my chasis is going to react to any real volume or intensity.

AM - 3.25 miles with Finn in the neighborhood (Hummingbird run - the map on Strava for the route looks like a hummingbird) - a little creaky to start, but felt the most normal I have felt on a run in nearly 2 months.  Will stay with the plan to keep things low volume and easy/comfortable for this whole week.  2100 meters of rowing followed by a yoga session.