Mon: 6.45 km, 5:28/km, 141 avg HR, shakeout run from long run previous day that I slowed down throughout to keep HR down
Tue: rest day - planned, dr appt (see previous post)
Wed: 7.39 km, 5:30/km, 143 avg HR, my favorite weather to run in - it was snowing lightly and maybe 1/2-1 inch covered the ground
Thu: 8.1 km, 5:23/km, 139 avg HR, had an acupuncture appt a couple hours before the run
Fri: rest day - planned, took a rest from back/neck stretches and strengthening for the night to heal/recovery
Sat: 6.51 km, 5:14/km, 146 avg HR, set out for a slow run and felt good so ended up being a little faster/harder effort than anticipated
Sun: 13.68 km, 5:07/km, 158 avg HR, hilly (strength building) fartlek run with fastest mile @ 7:49
Weekly totals: 5 runs, 42.13 km (26.18 miles), 3:43:31 total time
2011 totals: 12 runs, 103.19 km (64.12 miles), 9:07:15 total time
It was a week of firsts for me, in a good way! Plenty to laugh at and smile about regarding the experiences I had.
This week represented my first time this year, as young as the year is, that I ran 5 times in one week (second time since returning to running on Nov. 5th I believe). Sunday's run also represented the longest I had run since Nov. 5th, both in terms of distance and time. Thursday was the first time I ever experienced acupuncture. This week was the first time I felt significant improvement physically, enough so that for a brief moment I was encouraged regarding my future ability to run. This whole week made me smile, a bunch!
Acupuncture is a trip! After a brief conversation concerning my "current physical state" and a few adjustments (the doc was a chiropractor as well), he started "throwing darts" as he put it. We focused on the two sites of ongoing soreness/pain: my lower back, specifically left side, and my left calf. I have no idea how many needles he used, all I felt was a tingling sensation. After inserting the needles, he left me for about 6-7 minutes. Upon returning, I felt a few more tingling sensations (couldn't see what he was doing), so I wasn't sure if he was taking out some of the needles are putting more in (see explanation below). Then, he left me for another 6-7 minutes. During this time, I noticed that my body felt heavy and I felt "mashed" into the chiropractor table. Finally, he came in to remove the needles. It was at this point that I recognized the needles felt the same coming out as going in, which is why I couldn't tell what he did halfway through the treatment.
As I was leaving, he then informed me that he focused on sedative points. AH HA! Now I understood why I felt like I was "mashed".
This being my first experience, I have nothing to compare it to. I don't know how well it worked. I can tell you that now, four days later, the same soreness/pain persists. I will probably try another appointment, but I will go to a place recommended by a friend. This will allow me to compare the visits.
One thing I was told at the beginning of the appointment was that the talus bone in both of my feet was out of alignment which causes a flatfoot. Maybe that explains the ongoing "tightness" I have in my ankles. I'm not sure how much I should believe everything I'm told. A guy I work with compared me to a car that is taken into a couple different mechanics...all of them find something new and different that is wrong with me and could contribute to my various ailments. For certain I will ask my doc about this tomorrow at my appointment.
I continue to be dumbfounded by the data. Specifically, look at Thursday above. It was the second consecutive day of running, my pace was faster, the run was longer and still my heart rate was lower than the day before. I'm not looking for day to day variances; there are just too many contributing factors. I'm just "geeking out" on the analysis of the information. The purpose of the data is to determine if my fitness is improving over time. As of yet, I don't see any marked improvement when reviewing the data for 2011, and I don't expect to. In my opinion, I'm not running enough or at paces to see any distinguishable fitness gains. And, that is fine with me...I've got nothing but time.
One other moment of clarity I had this week (these come few and far between, so I was very excited!!!) was the outcome of my rest day on Friday. I have been wearing my halo (to strengthen my neck muscles and correct my forward head posture) every night and performing my exercises twice a day as instructed. So, in my understanding of recovery and improvement, I took Friday night off of everything. Saturday was the first morning I can remember in a long time not waking up with back pain. The reason for my soreness/pain could be based on the fact I am overusing these muscles and a day off every now and then is beneficial. On the other hand, maybe I'm dead wrong.
As with training, everything is trial and error. Maybe one thing works one time and not the other. Maybe one thing does not work as well as another. I figure I'll just go with what I think works best...and I can always change my mind :) I am an experiment of one!
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