Rhett

First run of 2021...and first run in a while. 
 

I've been rehabbing a lower ab strain I got a couple weeks before the Thanksgiving Day half marathon I ran. I only have run once since that race and that was a bad idea. I've done a lot of walking and other cross training over that month+. 
 

Today I did a very easy 5 mile trail run. I still felt some soreness but am feeling pretty good about 6 hours later. I'd say it's about 90%. I hope I'm able to gradually work back into running without reagrivating it. 

I woke up and the ab felt pretty good but I decided to give it a rest after my first run yesterday, so I cross trained. 
Core. 10 minutes jump rope. Lower body. 2 miles weighted vest TM walk. 30 minutes bike trainer. 

20 weeks

Weekly Review

It's the first week of the year and time to think about what 2021 has in store. My big race for 2021 is a 50 miler I have planned on May 22nd which is the day of my 50th birthday. Registration doesn't open until January 15th, so I'm still hoping to get in. I am also planning on running the local half marathon at the end of March. Also I am registered for the Big Bear Marathon in early November which I didn't get to run last year because it was canceled. Finally I am considering doing a triathlon in Palm Springs in October. All of these races I'm hoping to do with Blake.  That is way more than I usually do in a year, but post 2020 I'm just excited to race again. 
 

Last week I continued a lot of cross training in an effort to heal my ab strain. It seems to be improving. I even did 1 run nice and slow. Afterwards I had slight discomfort but not bad. I plan on building my running up slowly and continuing a lot of cross training. 

138 days

AM.  3 easy slow miles.  My calves were a little sore for some reason, maybe the jumping rope or calf raises.  Lower ab felt pretty good, only the mildest of discomfort.

PM. Core. 10 minutes jump rope. 1 mile weighted vest TM walk. Lower body. Hot tub. Foam rolling.

137 days

AM. 3 miles easy. No calf tightness today.  Lower ab is getting close to 100%, at least running at an easy pace.

Lunch. 2 mile weighted vest walk. 

136 Days

3 easy miles a bit faster today.  Unfortunately my body already is revolting against my training.  On the second mile, my right glute tightened up but I was able to run through it.  Now it is sore if I stretch my hammy.  With 0.17 miles left my left calf tightened up so I walked that last little bit.  I can tell it is a bit wonky but not bad.  I may not be running tomorrow. 

135 days 

AM

Both my hammy and my calf were very sore all day yesterday, more than I thought they would be. I good nights sleep helped though and while the are both tender to walk on the pain is gone. I'm pretty sure I couldn't run on either so I rode the bike trainer this morning for 30 minutes which didn't aggravate either. 
 

PM

Hot tub. Foam roller. Light stretching. Already feeling a little better. Far from 100% though. The Not sure what tomorrow will bring. 

134 days 
 

Yesterday I was trying to figure out what I was going to do today with my calf and hammy still on the mend. I had planned on an 8 mile trail run before the injuries, so I decided to still do it as a hike with my 20 lbs vest. I loved it!  So much so that I think I am going to incorporate long hikes wearing the weighted vest into my training going forward.  First off, I know I'm going to be hiking a decent amount of the 50 miler. Second, just getting used to time on my feet is really important since the race will be an all day affair. Finally it gave me a chance to play with my nutrition since it takes a lot longer to hike than run. 
 

After the hike I did some core work and light stretching then sat in the hot tub for 30 minutes. I'll probably do some foam rolling later today. My calf and hammy let me know they weren't ready to run but I don't feel like the hike cause any delay in recovery. 
 

Next Friday is registration for the Jemez Mountains 50!

133 days

The hammy was a bit more sore this morning after the fast long hike yesterday so I went on a nice easy walk with Doone this morning which was about 2 miles. Then I did some foam rolling followed by core work and finally 1 hour on the bike trainer. My calf feels great although I haven't attempted to run on it. The hammy is sore but I could probably do easy running on it. Luckily tomorrow is Sunday so I'll have another day to rest it. 
 

Oh and as part of my core work I usually do one set uf pull ups to burn out. I did 15 today! That's the most I've done in one set in years. 

19 weeks 

Weekly Report 

I was all excited to get started on my training for the Jemez 50 miler this week. I planned on running 3 miles each morning with a longer run on Friday and doing cross training in the evenings. It was all going great until day 3 when I strained my right upper hammy and my left calf both on the same run. Now that is impressive. I don't think I've ever gotten the double injury on the same run and especially when it was only a 3 mile run at an easy pace. After thinking about it, my upper hammy was probably tight from doing straight leg dead lifts and then when it started bothering me I probably compensated weirdly and caused the calf injury near the end of my run. Anyways, that completely altered my training for the rest of the week and I walked and cross trained instead of running. I did realize that long power hikes are probably very beneficial for 50 mile mountain trail prep, so I will probably keep that as part of my training going forward. 
 

This week I am hoping to do 4 miles each day with a longer hike/run later in the week. Tomorrow morning I will see if my injuries have healed enough to go through with that plan. Here's hoping. 

131 days

AM.  I woke up a bit before my alarm this moring and felt really good, so I got ready and decided to go downstairs and run on the TM so I could play it safe with my injuries.  I built slowly into running and never ran fast but was starting to get into a nice rhythm as I hit two miles then Doone came in and said Tally was on the phone, so I stopped to talk with her.  We talked for about 45 minutes and my muscles got cold to and my time was running out so I decided to walk one more mile on the TM before calling it a morning and getting ready for work.  

I only got in 3 miles instead of 4, one of which was walking, but I got to talk with Tally and I didn't aggrivate any of my injuries!  I could tell that my left calf did not want me to push it much and I still have some issues with the right hammy, but at least I ran!!!and walked. :)

PM.  Core work while watching the college football national championship, then moved to the bike trainer for 30 minutes.  Alabama sure wooped Ohio St.

130 days

AM.  4 miles nice and slow on the TM.  My hamstring is getting close to normal.  My calf is still being a bit fussy but definitely improving. I was pretty excited that I made it 4 miles.

Lunch. Morning patients ran long so only had time for 1 mile walk. I opted to go without the weighted vest in hopes of healing. 

129 days

AM. As expected I woke up with some tightness in my lower left calf so I went with my plan to skip today's run.  Instead I did core then 40 minutes on the bike trainer.  I probably could have run, but I really want to do a long hike/run on Friday so I decided it was best to skip this morning's run. Tonight I may do some weighted vest walking on the TM though.

128 days

AM. Last night I decided rest would be best so I didn't do anything.  This morning I was feeling pretty strong and energetic but my left calf was still off a bit.  I warmed up extra and did some mild active stretching and then ran on the TM slowly.  It doesn't hurt to run on, but there is just this little sense of tightness that I don't like so I kept it slow and finished at 4 miles.  Now to see how it feels tonight before I decide what to do tomorrow.

PM. Calf was a bit wonky all day so I just sat in the hot tub tonight and did some foam rolling. Tomorrow I'm going to adjust my plan from mountain repeats up and down Crossman Peak to a long power hike wearing my 20 lbs vest which will still have some vert. I think that will be easier on my calf and still get my some time on my feet. 

127 days 
 

AM. I got up and loaded my pack for a 3 hour effort, put it on along with my 20 lbs vest and headed out the door without much of a plan except to hike trails.  As I walked from my house to the trail I looked up and saw the ridge line of the mountain that peaks at table top and wondered if there was a way to start at the very south of the ridge and end up at table top where the ridge like stops ata cliff. I was actually able to find a way to do it and most of it on some sort of trail albeit scetchy in places. It was slow going in some spots so I wouldn't slip and die but it was really fun and my goal of time on my feet was accomplished.  I ended up totaling 10.3 miles in 3 hours 15 minutes with 2000 feet elevation gain. My calf held up well although it's still not quite right and everything else felt great. 

126 days 

Yesterday afternoon and evening I was marveling at how good my calf felt and this morning it felt great too so I embarked on an easy trail run. As I slowly ran over to the trail I was getting excited that my calf wasn't hurting and then before I even finished the first mile it tighten up again and I was relegated to a nice hike/jog for the rest of the run. It was slow but it was nice being out on the trails for a second day in a row. After returning home I hopped on the bike trainer for 40 minutes and then did my core work. I did 16 pull-ups in one set!  Maybe I can work up to 20. 
Unfortunately my calf is sore to even walk on. I'll get the day off tomorrow on Sunday though. 

18 week 

Weekly Report 

Its been a week of battling my left calf injury and the injury won. Saturday morning it was feeling so good I figured I could run normally on it again. Well, I was wrong and reinjured it during the run and now it feels worse than when the injury first happened. All that being said I'm surprised I was able to get it n 27 miles of kinda running/weighted vest walking/hiking this week along with some cycling and core work. 
 

To get over this stupid injury, I'm going to have to quit trying to run on it for the whole upcoming week. I am still going to try and get 5 miles weighted vest walking in each day with a longer trail hike on Friday. I'll also do the bike trainer, core, and lower body weights minus calves. Then, next week hopefully I'll be running without injury for the first time since November. 

124 days

AM. My calf was a bit sore still when I got up this morning, reconfirming my decision not to run this week.  I did some core work followed by 40 minutes on the bike trainer.

PM. I went to a church soccer night with my boys tonight. I love playing soccer even more than I love running, but I used all my will power and just walked while they played soccer so I wouldn't injure my calf again. I found a nice steep hill to walk up and down and got in 3 miles while they played soccer. Walking hills is a good aerobic workout. 

123 days

AM. 3 mile weighted vest walk going up and down a steep hill near my house.  Calf felt perfect and still does.  Is it only Tuesday? I still have 6 more days until I run again. :(

Lunch: 2 mile walk

PM: Core. Lower body. 30 minutes bike trainer.  Hot tub.

122 days

AM.  5 mile weighted vest walk this morning.  Calf is doing great.  It is so tempting to try and run but I know I need to be good.  I can do it!

121 days

AM. I thought about doing another weighted vest walk this morning, but I didn't want to take any chances on aggrivating my calf because I am refereeing my first high school soccer game tonight and I will neeed to be able to run.  Fortunately I am the assistant referee so it won't be as much running as the head ref.  I think I'm going to be fine, but I won't know until I have to sprint down the sideline to keep up with a play.  Anyways, I decided to do core work and then did the bike trainer for 30 minutes and followed that up with some time in the hot tub which is always feels great in the morning. I'll try and remember to run my GPS watch during the game tonight to see how far I run.

PM. Assistant soccer ref. 2 miles of easy sprints over 40 minutes. One team was way better than the other so not a ton of back and forth. My calf held up pretty well but by the end I was glad it was over. Any more and I may have injured myself again. Hopefully it feels ok in the morning. The I got rubbed after. 

120 days

I was a bit worried about my calf this morning when I got up after reffing the soccer game last night. I could feel a little something there when I got out of bed but no pain, so I proceeded with my plan for the day. I gathered all my gear and fuel and put it in my pack and drove to the base of Crossman Peak. It was an unusual day in Havasu... cloudy, windy, and cool. Within the first quarter mile of climbing I was hiking in the clouds with very little visibility. From the base to the top it is 1.77 miles and around 1700 feet elevation gain, so it is pretty steep the whole way. I power hiked up using my trekking poles and kinda ran down slowly. I did it 3 times totally a bit under 11 miles.

My calf seemed to hold up the whole way. I'm reffing another soccer game tomorrow, so hopefully it feels good tomorrow. 

119 days

AM. I haven't done the Saturday morning rides with the group the last couple months because I hate riding in the dark. The sun is starting to come up earlier now so it was only dark for the first tiny bit today. First day back and we did a climbing day and after having climbed Crossman Peak 3 times yesterday my legs were already tired. It didn't take too many climbs before my legs were completely fried but I pushed on as best I could. We ended up doing 32 miles with a bit 2700 feet of climbing. Also I forgot my gels so I rode without much fuel, just the sports drink I had in my one bottle. I definitely had a bit of a bonk today. 
 

Lunch. After getting home from the ride I quickly showered and ate then headed off to Kingman to ref a high school soccer game. When I got there my quads were pretty sore. Luckily I was the assistant and one team dominated the other 11-1 so there wasn't a lot of running down the sideline to keep up with play. The times I did though my calf was good and my quads ached. I only ran 1.5 miles doing the game which I am grateful for. 

17 weeks 

Weekly Review 

My decision to quit running for the week was definitely the right call. My calf feels great today and I'm hoping that as I resume running this coming week, I will be over it. Although I didn't do any traditional running this week I still managed to cover 27 miles walking, hiking, weighted vest hiking, refereeing, and downhill jogging. The crazy thing is, I feel like I got in a serious week of training and my quads are still a bit sore from the back to back mountain hiking/jogging with the hard bike ride yesterday. I also got in core work 3 times this week and ride the bike trainer twice. I'd really like to squeeze in some swimming but the only time I seem to have available is early in the morning and it is so hard for me mentally to swim when it is dark and cold outside. 
 

This week was supposed to be a recovery week after my first 3 weeks of building miles. Instead I'm back to the beginning so I'm hoping to run 3 miles a day with a long run on Friday and maybe some weighted vest hiking on Saturday. Of course I'll try and squeeze in 3 core workouts, a couple lower body weights, and some cycling as well.

117 days

AM. I did a nice easy but hilly 3 mile run this morning.  I was able to run the whole way without my calf quitting on me, but I did slow down a few times because it was feeling off.  

PM. Core. 
Looks like tomorrow will be a snow day!

116 days

Snow Day!

I know what you are thinking. A snow day in the middle of the Mohave desert at 500 feet elevation? Well not exactly. I work in our Kingman office on Tuesdays and Kingman is at about 3000 feet and it snowed hard enough to close down all the roads this morning, so we closed the office for the day. There was snow on the mountains surrounding Havasu though which is very rare.

After getting some work done that I’ve been procrastinating, I did some core core work then headed out on the trails with no real plan but to run easy and have fun. I found a new trail and was enjoying the run when I stepped on a rock wrong coming down a steep decent and sprained my ankle. It hurt real bad at first but I walked it off and finished the last mile of my run gingerly. I’ve sprained my ankles many times so they don’t swell too much anymore when I do it, but it aches pretty good right now. I’m sure it will be sore for a few day but I should be able to run on it still.

115 days

AM. This morning my calf felt the best it has since I hurt it, but my ankle was a bit painful from spraining it yesterday. Maybe that is why I didn't notice the calf. Anyways, I kept it short and easy yet hilly this morning for 3 miles.

PM. 1 mile TM walk. Lower body. Core. 30 minutes bike trainer. 

114 days

AM. 3 more easy but hilly miles.  Calf is close to the point where I don't need to worry about it anymore, but not quite 100%. I have another high school soccer game to ref tonight as the assistant again.  Saturday I get to be center ref!

PM. Assistant referee. 2 miles +. Good thing my calf is on the up and up because tonight's game was a nice competitive back and forth game. Looking at my data it looks like I got in about 15 sprints. It's like getting paid to do your sprint work and getting to watch a soccer match at the same time!

113 days 

My goal today was to get about 4 hours on my feet. I'm not in good enough shape right now to run for 4 straight hours so I took a route that required some very technical hiking that is not runnable. It was a rare cloudy drizzley morning in Havasu for the first hour of my adventure which made the rocks slippery but I managed to do ok. Then then sun finally came out as I was getting to a more runable part of my run. I was enjoying running when all the sudden I hit a rock and went flying shoulder first into a big rock. The side of my head glanced off it first. I'm lucky I didn't slam my head right into it. I laid there for a few seconds and tried to get up but everything hurt to bad. So I laid there a little longer and finally forced myself up and tried to walk it off. The outside of my knee hit something too and I couldn't walk normal at first but it gradually got better and I got back to running. I finished my run right about 4 hours and covered 19 miles with about 2800 elevation gain and a bunch of scrapes and bruises. I posted a picture on Strava. It doesn't look good and it feels worse. I did enjoy the adventure though. 

112 days

I was still feeling beat up from yesterday's fall when I awoke his morning, so I passed on the Saturday morning group ride. We had a young men's breakfast at my house at 9:00 and I would have been pushing it to get back in time for that anyway. I finally decided I was feeling good enough to ride in the afternoon and headed out around 3. I ended up getting in a solid ride of 33 miles and averaged 18 mph. 

16 weeks 

Weekly Review 

I've all already done my first 4 week cycle of training and all I feel like I've done is dealt with injuries. Hopefully I've put the injuries behind me and can now focus on running. This past week I think I can say I am over the calf injury. Unfortunately the lower ab thing which I researched and is called pubalgia has come back a little. It's not as bad as it was and with some stretching and specific exercises hopefully it won't get bad again. 
 

This past week was a recovery week but I ended up running 37 miles which is the most I've done so far this year. I didn't feel like I pushed anything fast though. I also cycled twice, did core work 3 times and lower body work once. 

Blake told my about some Oregon Project exercises specifically for runners that I will try out this week. I also hope to get in 5 easy miles per day plus a long trail adventure on Friday. I'm going skiing with Cade so that will take the place of my Saturday bike ride. Should be a fun week!