Going Long (again) in 2024

So, last Friday I ran in the afternoon, and was thinking to myself that it was a pretty good time to run, at least in the winter months.  A bit warmer.  Light out.  Safer.

Then, that night, Covid hit me hard.  My first run in with it.  Laid me out pretty good.  No running for 8 days.  I'm still testing positive, in fact, and don't feel 100%, but I ran anyway.  9:39 pace.  

Hopefully I've turned the corner on it.  My new orthotics come on Wednesday, and I really need to get my mileage up.

Easy 9:30 pace. Tight hammie right side, and still a bit sore in the right knee. I'll try again tomorrow.

Pretty much the same as yesterday. 9:30 pace.

Lunch time run; 9:16 pace.

I picked up my orthotics the other day; first run in them today.  Doctor showed me how to tape my toe, to allow the nerve damage from the Plank Plate rupture to heal.  6 - 8 weeks of that.  9:27 pace on an icy road in freezing fog.

Mild day with melting everything.  9:25 pace.

So, my training program for the 50 Mile Sulphur Spring Ultra begins now - 24 weeks to race day.  Not a great start to training:

I have not run much at all since my Half Marathon at the end of September.  I've stuggled with injuries - primarily the plank plate rupture, but also a strained hamstring and a sore knee.  I've tranisitioned to wearing Hokas and orthotics - both to help overcome the plank plate issue.  To top it off, I'm still feeling the effects from my first run in with Covid 2 weeks ago.

So, I completed 27 miles this week.  The hamstring is healed, but the right knee still aches when I run.  More stiff than sore.  I'm hoping I can just run through it until it resolves.  I still have that 'bunched up socks' feeling under my left foot, which my podiatrist tells me is nerve damage from the plank plate.  He showed me how to tape it, and I'm doing that now for the next 2 months until it (hopefully) heals.  My runs are labored, even at this very slow 9:30ish pace.  I thought it was primarily due to being out of shape after such a long layoff, but after today's 8 miles, my lungs were burning something awful.  So, I'm pretty sure the layoff doesn't help, but that my primary problem is a post Covid heaviness in my chest.  I'm hoping that just fades away over the next days and/or weeks.  I'm still coughing up phlegm.

All that being said, my first week of training next week is supposed to begin with 34 miles and a 12 mile long run on Saturday.  I'm not going to jump the 7 miles (25%) this week, and I'm not going to go from an 8 mile to a 12 mile long run in a week.  My plan is to increase slightly more than 10%/week until I catch up with the plan.  I think I can do that by week 4, which is a cutback week in training.

I know this is all risky, and opens me up to other injuries.  My hope is that I can rely on the fitness I've banked over many years, and that by keeping my paces ultra slow, and skipping the speedwork for a few months, I can dodge the bullet and pull off this race in May.  And that 50 mile race is really only a springboard event to what I hope will be my next 100 mile race in September.

Very gentle snow falling.  Most of what had been on the ground has melted over the last few days of our 'warm spell'.  Potential for a green Christmas.  Slow and easy 9:14 pace.  Still have that burning in my lungs.

Very easy 9:43 pace in a heavy snow storm.  I would have waited for it to pass, but I had a doctor's appointment to keep.

Got my flu shot, so that should kick in by Christmas.  She listened to my lungs and said there was no sign of pneumonia or asthma, so said the pain in my lungs was likely post Covid inflammation, and that it should resolve on its own.   The good news is, I'm ok to run through it.  She said if it was bad enough to stop me, then I should stop.  She also called my running a 'good vice'.  I laughed and told her I'd never expected my doctor to tell me that my running was a vice.  She replied it was a much better one than drugs or alcohol.  True enough.

Decided to take it to the treadmill today.  I washed my cold weather running clothes last night and forgot to take them out, so the easiest thing was to put on shorts and stay inside.  May as well get used to it - there will be days when I don't have a choice.  10:00/mile pace.

Easy treadmill run; 10:00/mile pace.  I'll take it outside tomorrow for my long run.

Actually felt pretty good.  I didn't cough up a lung when I was done.  And even the knee did not seem to ache as much as it has been.  Hopefully, a trend that will continue.  9:28 pace.

Rained all night.  What little snow we had is gone.  Mild, at just above freezing, and still a light drizzle.  Ran an easy 9:31 pace, but the first two very slow and the last two at around an 8:50 pace.  Knee ached all weekend, but is feeling a bit better this morning. 

Finally felt like I've turned a corner.  Lungs not 100%, but I'm not coughing them up after a run any more.  And my knee felt a LOT better today.  Last night, I watched my favourite online doctor - Dr. Jordan Metzl - talk about runner's knee.  Nothing I didn't really know, but I do know I haven't been foam rolling enough.  Worked my quads and IT band hard - hurt like you wouldn't believe - but it made a difference already.  I'll have to undergo that foam rolling torture every day.  Ran a faster 8:53 pace in cooler temps at just -13C/9F.  Stiff wind.  I didn't feel like an old man when I finished.

Took it to the roads this morning.  9:14 pace.  -3C/27F, with no wind and no snow on the ground.  Just a bit icy in places.

Colder morning at -11C/12F with a bit of wind.  Dark.  Still no snow.  9:08 pace.  Not a lot of traffic today; I think people are taking the day off to make for a longer holiday.

Freezing rain/light snow mix last night.  Thought it would be slippery, but it wasn't actually that bad.  Ran 2 miles on the trails (miles 9 & 10).  Rough, and steep enough to force me to walk sections.  Just like my race will be in May, so good training.  I can't usually run trails this time of the year, but with no snow on the ground that option is there.  9:39 pace.  Oh, and my lungs are MUCH better.  Still not 100%, but I'm not coughing up a lung after my run anymore.

A misty kind of Christmas morning.  Hovering just around freezing.  The first mile of Goodwill Drive was slick, so I really had to watch myself.  9:10 pace.

Amazingly mild and not a flake of snow. Very unique for here this time of the year. Heavy fog. Very little knee pain. 9:15 pace.

Rain today.  Still above freezing.  Mixed in some speedwork.  4 striders all out, and then 400m at 5k pace.  Overall average pace of 9:21.

Long run. 4 on the trails and 10 on the road. A bit icy, so tried to stick to the shoulders. 9:40 pace. Knee is less and less of an issue.

Slow recovery run at 9:20 pace.  First 3 weeks of program complete, and I'm essentially caught up to where I should be, despite my slow, injury caused, start.  Week 4 is a cut back week, with the same 14 mile run to end it.  I'm hopeful going forward; just 21 weeks to go!