0
1 votes
Back On The Wagon
Posted by
Caterpillar
,
28 November 2011
·
155 views
have completed my first 30km long run since the Melbourne Marathon, 7 weeks ago, and 6 months to go until the Williamstown Marathon.
Have recently re-calculated my minimum and maximum HR for the Pfitzinger training zones, and uploaded them to my garmin. My actual max HR is a few beats higher than that predicted from my age, so my new training zones have slightly higher HR ranges respectively, in the order of around 2bpm. Given I try to stick to the upper range of the set training zone, I expect my training effort will be higher, and maybe, just maybe, I'll be training faster as well.
Have noticed that the training zones for a given run entail running at a constant cardiac effort throughout. The problem is that I usually slow down in the latter part of the run due to progressive increasing musculoskeletal fatigue and general tiredness, so to maintain a consistent cardiac effort, viz a viz, the same HR throughout, I'm forced to slow down in the latter half of a training run. Have changed this now, so, for a long run, have broken it up into 7 sections on the garmin training zones, with progressively increasing HR zones, which better simulates a race, in that cardiac effort starts low, and progressively increases throughout the run. Hopefully this will translate to a more consistent pace throughout the training run.
My runners are giving me grief. Have managed to maintain a consistent increase in my cadence to around 93 (186 steps per minute), compared to 91-92 previously. As a result, I think I'm striking more on my mid foot, and there's greater impact on the forefoot on the right, especially with respect to push off. There is a definite assymetry with respect to push off; it feels like the left foot is dragging behind. I don't think my heel striking is as bad as it used to be, but with all the impact shifted forward, the forefoot cushioning feels insufficient, and is impacting on my quads and ITB. My upper adductors are also giving me grief, and the left calf is still tightening up in parts.
I'm also noticing that the faster I'm training, the more I'm landing mid foot, and really don't need a heavily cushioned heel. If anything, a heavy heel is more likely to make me land on my heel. Training in newish runners with the orthotic on the left is causing discomfort on the side of my forefoot, around the 5th metatarsal, which makes me think that the orthotic makes me impact on the outer side of my foot, which after a while causes problems.
On top of that, the runners I use for my recovery run are getting on, and have almost hit 500km at which time they get thrown out.
My current main runners are the 2150s and the Kayanos, but I want to try out a few different pairs next year. Those on my short list include the Mizuno Inspire, ASICS Nimbus, ASICS Fortitude, and Nike Triaxx. The nimbus is the odd one out, as it's more of a neutral shoe, but if I wear them with the orthotics I hope the forefoot cushioning will work in my favour. The Fortitude is also similar, and is also designed to accommodate orthotics, and hopefully has enough cushioning. Have placed an order for the Mizuno Inspires, which has very thick cushioning in the front and the rear.
It's going to be a slow process of trial and error, and sometimes it takes a few hundred kilometres to decide whether a running shoe suits. I initially hated the Saucony Omni because they were stiff and heavy, but they loosened up after 100km and they provide great cushioning, but with a very heavy heel as well. That said, when my legs are especially sore, I'll use them for a few days.
So far, am still relatively slow in my training, for a given HR. Looking back at the last 12 months, I was at my quickest in July this year, before that nasty virus took hold, and I hope to eventually get back to that level before the next race. My weight has crept up around 2kg unfortunately, and will need to be very vigilant. My problem is opportunistic eating, and the other half buys junk such as doughnuts and such in full view. It's the equivalent of an alcoholic being told to be abstinent, but they live in a house where other people drink.
Not easy.
Have recently re-calculated my minimum and maximum HR for the Pfitzinger training zones, and uploaded them to my garmin. My actual max HR is a few beats higher than that predicted from my age, so my new training zones have slightly higher HR ranges respectively, in the order of around 2bpm. Given I try to stick to the upper range of the set training zone, I expect my training effort will be higher, and maybe, just maybe, I'll be training faster as well.
Have noticed that the training zones for a given run entail running at a constant cardiac effort throughout. The problem is that I usually slow down in the latter part of the run due to progressive increasing musculoskeletal fatigue and general tiredness, so to maintain a consistent cardiac effort, viz a viz, the same HR throughout, I'm forced to slow down in the latter half of a training run. Have changed this now, so, for a long run, have broken it up into 7 sections on the garmin training zones, with progressively increasing HR zones, which better simulates a race, in that cardiac effort starts low, and progressively increases throughout the run. Hopefully this will translate to a more consistent pace throughout the training run.
My runners are giving me grief. Have managed to maintain a consistent increase in my cadence to around 93 (186 steps per minute), compared to 91-92 previously. As a result, I think I'm striking more on my mid foot, and there's greater impact on the forefoot on the right, especially with respect to push off. There is a definite assymetry with respect to push off; it feels like the left foot is dragging behind. I don't think my heel striking is as bad as it used to be, but with all the impact shifted forward, the forefoot cushioning feels insufficient, and is impacting on my quads and ITB. My upper adductors are also giving me grief, and the left calf is still tightening up in parts.
I'm also noticing that the faster I'm training, the more I'm landing mid foot, and really don't need a heavily cushioned heel. If anything, a heavy heel is more likely to make me land on my heel. Training in newish runners with the orthotic on the left is causing discomfort on the side of my forefoot, around the 5th metatarsal, which makes me think that the orthotic makes me impact on the outer side of my foot, which after a while causes problems.
On top of that, the runners I use for my recovery run are getting on, and have almost hit 500km at which time they get thrown out.
My current main runners are the 2150s and the Kayanos, but I want to try out a few different pairs next year. Those on my short list include the Mizuno Inspire, ASICS Nimbus, ASICS Fortitude, and Nike Triaxx. The nimbus is the odd one out, as it's more of a neutral shoe, but if I wear them with the orthotics I hope the forefoot cushioning will work in my favour. The Fortitude is also similar, and is also designed to accommodate orthotics, and hopefully has enough cushioning. Have placed an order for the Mizuno Inspires, which has very thick cushioning in the front and the rear.
It's going to be a slow process of trial and error, and sometimes it takes a few hundred kilometres to decide whether a running shoe suits. I initially hated the Saucony Omni because they were stiff and heavy, but they loosened up after 100km and they provide great cushioning, but with a very heavy heel as well. That said, when my legs are especially sore, I'll use them for a few days.
So far, am still relatively slow in my training, for a given HR. Looking back at the last 12 months, I was at my quickest in July this year, before that nasty virus took hold, and I hope to eventually get back to that level before the next race. My weight has crept up around 2kg unfortunately, and will need to be very vigilant. My problem is opportunistic eating, and the other half buys junk such as doughnuts and such in full view. It's the equivalent of an alcoholic being told to be abstinent, but they live in a house where other people drink.
Not easy.
