Summer of 2020 – Week 2
Northern Virginia entered Phase 2 of COVID-19 re-opening on Friday, which sparked hope about life becoming closer to normal. But after my tempo run on Thursday, I couldn’t put weigh on my right foot and worried that this training cycle was over before it really began.
Training Schedule
June 7th - June 13th
Sunday: Medium Run. The lesser of 120 minutes or 25% of weekly mileage
Monday: Easy Run. 6 miles + strides
Tuesday: Interval Run. 8 x 200m R pace w/200m recovery jog
Wednesday: Easy Run. 4 miles
Thursday: Easy Run. 5 miles + strides
Friday: Tempo Run. 2 x 2-miles @ T pace w/2-min. rests + 4 x 200m R pace w/200m recovery jog
Saturday: Easy Run. 5 miles + strides
Total: 45 Miles
Notes. I couldn’t finish the 200m repeats after Thursday’s tempo workout.
Workouts
Long Run
The week before, I thought I should be training around VDOT 39/40 in the Daniels’ Running Formula. According to those tables, I’ve been running
my long runs too fast. Maybe it’s time to actually follow a training plan
and stay around 9:30 to 10:30 pace.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Washington, D.C. but I carried a handheld water bottle because I wouldn’t pass any fountains.
I ran the same route as the week before – starting on the Arlington
Boulevard Trail heading downhill to Rosslyn, Virginia. Along the way, I listened to a timely This American Life episode about the lack of sports. I miss racing!
My paces were all over the place – sub-9:00 on some downhills but around 10:00 in flat areas.
In Rosslyn, I cut over to the Custis Trail and then the Mount Vernon Trail. Leaving the Roosevelt Island area, I passed a fellow running-blogger, which made running feel more normal.
I left the trail at Crystal City and slowed down even more – over 10:15 pace. The final uphill through my neighborhood was still tough even though this run was so slow.
Overall pace=9:52.
Interval Run
This week, the Daniels plan prescribed sets of 200m. Based on last week’s workout, my goal was to run them in the 0:50 to 0:54-second range.
The night before, I probably got 10 hours of sleep total so I was out the door by 7 a.m.
When I got to the Wakefield High School track, my boyfriend – who is also a runner – was there but he only stayed for about 10 minutes of my workout. The track wasn’t very crowded and I was free to run in Lane 1. My first few repetitions were slow. I realized 200m is slightly longer than 0.12 miles, which explained why the times. The pace of my recovery jogs were also slower, though.
As the workout went on, my legs just wouldn’t turn over no matter how much I urged them. 10 repetitions felt like plenty.
| Distance | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
200m |
0:54 |
0:53 |
0:54 |
0:53 |
0:54 |
|
|
Set 6 |
Set 7 |
Set 8 |
Set 9 |
Set 10 |
|
200m |
0:55 |
0:54 |
0:55 |
0:57 |
0:54 |
Tempo Run
I was looking forward to lengthening my tempo run from last week to 2-miles and working on my speed endurance.
The night before, I wore CEP compression socks to bed and didn’t think they’d helped as much as after the long run.
It was already 70 degrees when I left the house.
I ran down to the Four Mile Run Trail for my warm-up and then headed east towards the Mount Vernon Trail. At the turn-around near Crystal City, I saw a “Black Lives Matter” stencil on the ground and smiled.
During the last 2-mile segment, my right foot ached. I told myself, “Tempo runs are supposed to hurt!” I finished the repetition but after just two lackluster 200m sprints, I couldn’t continue. I sat on a bench and massaged my heel and then managed a cool-down shuffle home.
By that afternoon, I could barely walk – putting any weight on my right foot sent pain shooting up my heel. I finished the workout, but at what cost?
| Distance | Set 1 | Set 2 | 200m @ R pace |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2 miles @ T pace |
8:33 |
8:31 |
0:58, 0:62 |
Cross-Training
News. “Arlington Gyms Prepare for Reopening with Precautions,” ArlNow. Hooray!? I’m anxious to return to the gym and start a weight training regime but am not sure I’m ready to go back to a large gym. I am a member of two gyms – one national gym and a smaller one. In a letter to members, the gym communicated that it is reducing capacity by 30%, doing health screening for visitors, spacing out equipment, and removing items with porous surfaces.
Health
Injuries. Plantar Fasciitis. After my long run on Sunday, my right foot was so sore that I took 2 x 400 ml of ibuprofen and wore CEP compression socks until the next morning. Throughout the week, I dealt with the tell-tale pain when I stepped out of bed every morning. But after Thursday’s workout, I could barely walk. I clearly have plantar fasciitis or even something more severe like a stress fracture.
Clothing
When I packed up my townhouse, I purged a few running gear items so I have an excuse to buy new ones!
Shorts. Oiselle Toolbelt Roga Shorts. This short and the Summer Roga Short have become my new favorites. The cut and fabric is comfortable and it has a roomy back pocket. Unfortunately, the website doesn’t keep details on previous purchases and I cut the tags out of the shorts long ago, so I wasn’t sure what size I should purchase. I bought a size 4 and a size 6, and returned the smaller pair. Price: $62.
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. “Episode 237 – Powdered Feet (Alison Desir)“, Pace the Nation. The guest is the founder of Harlem Run. Recently, she penned an article titled, “Ahmaud Arbery and the Whiteness in the Running Community“. She has a frank dialogue with the hosts about how the running community is a reflection of the larger culture (22:30 mark). She quotes a hip-hop artist who said, “White supremacy is not the shark, it’s the water.”
Racing Schedule
Runner rankings. RunWashington’s DMV Distance Derby. I didn’t run any segments this week, but will try to do one in June.
My best times:
Teddy Roosevelt Island. 10:08 (7:38 pace) on May 12, 2020.
Custis Climb – Key Bridge to Glebe. 26:10 (8:55 pace) on May 21, 2020
Next race: ?
