Training Log Archive: Wyatt

100x each ankle balance/rotate
10e hip flexor standing kick + slow drops
10e eccentric hamstring bridge drops
+ 4 normal active stretches

to/around the 5 mile loop

Event: DVOA Elk Neck State Park
 

Event: NYC Half Marathon
 

While Angelica did the NYC 1/2 Mar., I had the kids at Elk Neck. Waking up real early so I could run hard on pavement at 1:30pm in Malvern on the way home didn't happen, so I thought maybe I could unofficially jog Brown.

And then Magnus & Jenni were there, Jenni just finishing Green, and Magnus about to start Green with a sore shoulder. So I was tempted, and so I taped the ankle well, it felt reasonably strong on some figure-8-in-grass warm ups, so I upgraded my plan to an official run of Green, thinking it might be a little below pace, but hopefully just on the downhills - and running Green vs. an also recovering Magnus, and an always fast Jenni was too tempting, so I was off!

Great to be able to race an orienteering course again, 3 weeks after the heaviest-swelling ankle injury I've ever had.

Technically, it was a great run. The really open woods were excellent for seeing the terrain forms far ahead - shapes of re-entrants were esp. helpful. Two biggest errors were a 10 sec. out and back (20 sec penalty) where I'd cut though the woods to a trail when I'd originally planned to go around, and I didn't compensate for how little I'd have to stay on that trail, and another leg actually perhaps 2 in a row) near the end where I hadn't realized how high up a re-entrant a control was, and I came in too low.

Physically, tape was good to provide stability and confidence, but I hadn't taped tight enough (or otherwise wasn't ready) to run downhills hard. Hard running on rooty trails was almost full speed, if nerve-wracking to watch so close, as were all uphills and most flats in the forest. Downhills in the forest were very tentative, with time lost to carefully small-stepping the way down, more slowly the steeper it was. And the more deadfall-strewn flats and side hills were also tentative, fearing a bad landing on the far side of something - though Spring conditons of good ground visibility helped. I'm clearly still away from the foolhardy confidence needed. We'll try stronger taping next weekend (plus another week of strengthening...)

Following Oriana on White, where she moved along fairly well, but unfortunately skipped # 3. (37:xx for 1.9km, but so windy trails that AJ's win was 24 min.)

Green - Splits

VF Misery & Joy, then over to the row-home fire with the kids. First time I can recall ever watching firefighters battle a house fire live...

3 minutes of figure 8 loops for the ankle, in an otherwise easy bit of running

1 mile competition with the kids. Gave AJ, Remi & Manish a 2 minute head start, and Oriana & Lucas a 4 minute head start.

Beat them all, and I shouldn't have beaten Manish & AJ at least, if they hadn't be slacking and talking until they noticed how quickly I was gaining on them.

Manish ran an 8:10 (chased me well after i passed him with 300m to go), AJ & Remi 9-something. Lucas 11-something, Oriana 12-something.

100m dash - Manish & Remi were up for this a few minutes after their mile, so I raced them, pushing just hard enough to finish a step ahead of Manish. Remi was a second behind. 18.52

zig-zaggy run back home

Covering the 3-4km circle 1/8th between E and SE - even with most of it already covered, and me driving to the start, it took this long... With Tom for the most adventurous backyard crossing (lots of signs in a semi-secluded canyon in a suburban area.)

Ankle taped, but was fine, despite plenty of hills. Tom was really sore/achy by the end, I was just starting to get sore

Loops w/Aj and some tag w/Multi

Tag w/Oriana

100e ankle twists w/balance (foot/ankle)
10e standing eccentric hip flexor drops (hip flexor)
10e eccentric bridge hamstring drops (hamstrings)

1 day in a row of these 3 strengthening areas

Hilly loop w/Magnus & Jenni, who were moving well (my L3 pace up hills, and still talking...), then to Wilson Park for 2x3 minutes of figure 8's around the basketball free-throw circles - seems a very good workout for the ankle and was able to push pretty hard by the end, and then a 3:05 800m that was surprisingly hard cardio work (ankle was fine...) I've apparently lost some fitness.

Ankle was taped

Noon run (23 min, 3.74km) alone (long run scratched as I spent all morning catching up on AP log entries instead of running...)

3pm run w/AJ to VFMS track where he/we did ~5x100, and 2x200 mixed w/other stuff - getting joined by the VFMS 7th/8th grade track team at the end - apparently VFMS track is 3-4(:30) pm M-Fr. until the Valley Forge Relays (attended several times by Karen Williams just a few years ago... ;) on May 18th.

Then some 7pm running with Oriana, 1km in 8 minutes on grass, then chasing her on a scooter for a bit.

2x The set of 100 R-ankle rotations, balance on L-foot, 1x the opposite. Did the same thing 2 days ago, 1 each side....

Ankle rehab plan.
-- Every day do the standing balance x100 twists. Move to doing so on wobble pad when capable (1-3 weeks?) and transition to x50 + the cup move version.
-- During every day's run, tape the ankle (front x1 and top x2, and double+ if going in terrain) to allow bumpier terrain choices, and add in some range-of-motion, then-strength zig-zags on flat to rougher terrain, as ankle permits.