Week in Review (2/19 - 2/25)

This week was my recovery week in my three week cycle. I actually completed all workouts according to plan for a change!!!!! I did have to make some adjustments due to bad weather over the weekend. I ended up shifting time from my run to my bike to minimize treadmill time for my "long" run. Had hockey a hockey tournament all week but was able to pull things off despite that.



The Good
Finally - a successful week! Am beginning to see some improvements in my run based on my coaches feedback. Still doesn't seem quite natural as I'm going more from a "swinging leg" stride to a "lifted knee" stride. When I focus on lifting the knee it causes my foot to swing into a much better position for landing flat footed. Still needs lots of work but it's getting there. Foot speed is up as well - though not quite the 90 turnover my coach wants. In time.... One good thing about running on icy roads - it forces you to run more flat-footed.

The Bad
Crashed while running on Tuesday. How does one accomplish this you ask? Two words - black ice. I was running along having a good time and suddenly the world slanted by 90 degrees. Knee and elbow were banged up a bit (of course it had to be the elbow I'm already having trouble with), but was able to dust off and complete the run - though I paid a lot more attention to the pavement after that.

The weather Sunday sucked. Roads were reasonably clear but it started raining (sleet and freezing rain combo) about three miles into the run. Running with the wind was ok but running into the wind was painful because I was only wearing tights. By the end of my run I had to ring the doorbell with my forehead because my fingers wouldn't work right anymore.

The Ugly
Groin pull flared up big on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, to the point where I was considering pitching my Wednesday run. Looking back on my logs I noticed that on days where I didn't stretch as well after the run I got a flare up. Spent some time Tuesday night warming and then stretching so Wednesday was still a go. Seems reasonably under control now - just have to make sure to stretch thoroughly before letting it cool. Elbow flared on Thursday's swim as well. Once I warmed up things seemed to get better, though again I was considering pitching the swim. Seems ok today - will see how it feels this week.