Monday, June 18, 2007

SMART training

NOT!!!

Saturday's run was a lot of things but SMART was not one of them. I've been training pretty well the last few weeks, regaining some of my base, mixing in some short intervals, trail running, and tempo runs, gaining fitness and easing back into longer runs of 8 or 9 miles. In my opinion, I was right where I needed to be going into the weekend.

A prudent long run for this weekend would have been 8-10 miles. Instead, I got greedy and I'm still paying for it on Monday. You've heard the expression, "biting off more than he can chew?" Well, that kind of describes the BIG BITE I decided to take off when I signed up for a 13 miler with Bill on Saturday. The good news is that Bill introduced me to the Kingwood running scene. Except for the over-abundance of concrete, Kingwood is quite a runner's paradise. Miles and miles of greenbelts along lakes, rivers, golf courses, and through thick woods made for an enjoyable run, at least for the first 8 or so miles.

Like I said, a good, safe progression for me would have been a solid 9 or 10 miles, maybe 11 if I'm really pushing it. And sure enough, by 9 miles, I was done. So, one more mile would have been just fine. But, we were doing one of those out and back commitment runs. There were no shortcuts. Once we ran out ~7, we had not choice but to run back 7. The first 8 miles or so went very well. We ran strong and steady despite the heat and humidity and managed to avoid any walk breaks whatsoever. Miles 8-9 were starting to get real tough. By mile 10-11, it was all I could do to run a mile and then walk for good quarter or more. Miles 12-13.8 were mostly walking with an occasional "ok, when we get up to that tree, we're going try and run for a little while" thrown in for good measure.

The bad news is I can still feel it in my right knee. The pain I've felt since the run is not like the "good" pains I've had before. Still, I'm not convinced it's an injury. I think I just overdid it a bit and my weakest link is feeling it. There's been marked improvement from Sunday to today and I am hoping Tuesday morning finds me completely mended. Lesson learned!!!

Thanks Bill for the good run!!! Let's just be SMARTer next time. :)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Vic,
Make a plan and stick to it. It's your body and you have to live with the pain. Your plan should be based on your marathon goal and only you know what that is. Plan and then execute.
Steve

Steve Bezner said...

Sounds like a cross training day is in order.

Unknown said...

Wow, I am impressed! We all have to live and learn, sometimes we do that the hard way and pay for it with aches and pains. :-) Here's to a quick recovery...I agree with Steve B on the cross training for today!

J~Mom said...

I am guilty of several of those overuse injuries. Rest and ice. :>)

Pat said...

good post, if not a good decision on the mileage. I like your blog, because your honest about your decisions.

I'm sure you'll have a great rest of the week.

Pat

Humble Runner said...

Want my dumbass 2-cents?

I think it was a heat and humidity thing, not so much a distance thing,

Anonymous said...

Uh, update? It's Thursday? How have you executed your plan this week?