I am happy to report that I was able to pry the x-box controller out of my fingers and actually start working on my list of things to do. I spent most of the weekend honing my gardening/plant identifying skills. I ripped out some EVER green bushes that were no longer green. Go figure. I now have a nice 7’ x 8’ patch of dirt that I have to figure out what to do with.
In addition to my green thumb, I started re-finishing our kitchen chairs. For the last year, our table has been mahogany, while the chairs have remained brown. The thought of removing varnish/stain from 6 chairs – with lots of rungs and tight places – is not appealing, but I can’t put it off any longer.
Since this is a running blog, I’ll share a rule that I came up recently that deals with how long to wait after a race, before doing another hard workout. I’ve heard of the day for every mile in the race, but that seems like over-kill to me. My “rule” is to take the number of kilometers that you raced and divide that in half. Don't do any hard workouts for that length of time; for a marathon 42/2 = 21 days. I think it works for any race distance.
Quote of the day:
“The music is played in smoky bars at 11:30 or midnight. It would be easier if I were into symphonies.” – Bob Kempainen on his liking for postpunk, alternative music
The heat sucked. Even for 5km.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm going to somewhat disagree with you on the no workout days for every 2km raced. And disagree on both sides of your recommendation ... If by workout you mean tempo run, anything slower than about 10 mile race pace I think you can do those workouts with an easy day for each 2 miles raced.
On the other side of the coin, if by workout you mean VO2 max intervals, I think the mile a day rule is sensible. Too many intervals without the aerobic mileage in between can screw people up. In any case, the difference between a day for every mile and a day for every 2km comes down to about half a day for even a 10km race, so the disagreement is not huge.
Marathons? I've had great races 5 and 6 weeks after marathons, sometimes after just one actual workout. Though I do strides after day 14. The key, I think, to the successful post-marathon transition is to just get your mileage up again even if you're not doing workouts. Pfitzinger's suggestions are pretty useful.
Hey Zeke-
ReplyDeleteMy name is Justin and I'm new to the running blog community, as I just started mine a couple weeks ago. I've been looking at other running blogs for ideas on how to format mine, and I noticed the cool picture you have at the top of yours. I have a couple of pictures in mind for the top of mine, but I don't have any idea how to get it there....is it something in the html code?
Anyway, I also thought this would be a good start in making some running friends from across the country. I can relate to you on the injury bug, I'm almost all the way back from a calf injury, and I can also relate with the heat. I'm from Michigan and it's been hot here too!
Evan, I was talking about VO2 workouts. This mainly came to my mind after reading marathon reports one week and track workouts the next. Obviously everyone is different. I just know that wouldn't work for me. I agree that getting mileage back up is more important.
ReplyDeleteSusan, thanks for "showing me yours." Growing conditions are probably a little different between Texas and Minnesota. I love the white Iris.
Justin, welcome to the wonderful world of running blogs. You may be in luck with formatting your heading. The wonderful and talented Susan, who commented right before you, helped me (and many other bloggers) out. If you're nice to her, she may help you as well.
I hope your calf is ready to roll soon. If you're in Michigan, you're probably getting the weather we had yesterday. I don't know about you but May 28th is too early for 95 degrees.