Perfect weather in Sewanee, 70º, partly sunny, calm winds. I wanted to do a 3x300m w/ 3 min rest and I got 100m before the end of the workout and felt something in my ham. I unfortunately irritated the strain. Very disappointing considering how it had been going.
Hoka trainers on
stretches, drill, bands, 100m
100m - 15.30
2x300, 200 w/ 3 min rest - 48.82, 49.12, 32.50
4x35yd 120 lb sled pushes
I was definitely on pace to run all 3 300s in under 50, about 2 sec faster than my previous set but I felt the ham again, 100m before the end of the workout. Very puzzling since I wasn't running any faster than I had in my previous 2. Maybe just let my stride out too much, very disappointing and a setback. Now a June 3 race is probably out. I'll probably need to return to the hill and sled next workout. I thought I was being cautious but not enough I guess. My ham felt fine today, not sore but tight... same way it felt when I initially injured it. The trial run 100m in 15.30, I felt the injury a little, more so than in my previous warmup. That should have been a clue. But the first 2 300s were good, no issues. Then, 100m before the end, I felt it. And this evening it's sore again. Really sucks. I was just starting to get back in shape and was hoping to do 400m race pace as soon as Mon. Guess it won't be for at least another 2 weeks. But I was still able to push the sled. Still able to run hills. And I know my off day workouts will help this a lot, especially the RDLs, Nordics. Maybe since I biked up the mountain instead of my off day workout made the difference? Who knows.
141.2 lbs after workout. At least I can still train hard, even though my speed is hampered. Lately, I found out an old friend died this week and another is dying of a rare disease. Both my age. So, I'm thankful for what I can do.
Cycling uses the hamstrings more than you would think, so yes I think it could have contributed. At least in the sense that it was fatigued. When strained, any other activity that fatigues it will add risk when running fast. Until fully healthy you might want to run every 3rd day, day 1 run, day 2 non running training, day 3 rest. I think with the extra rest day you could incorporate some cycling for general fitness.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you slid your foot forward to use your mid foot instead of the ball of your foot that changes many things. You are effectively farther away from the pedals with the foot more forward with respect to the hips, will engage the hams more and differently. Especially if riding up hill. Ideally you would lower and bring forward your seat to compensate.
DeleteProbably good advice about running every third day, but this is mid training season and I'm worried about losing fitness, since I'm still not where I was in early March. I do bike climbs for 2 reasons, as a strength workout and to burn calories. It's the closest thing I do to 'traditional cardio' which really isn't a big part of my training and can do without if I can do everything else. On the other hand, I did a lot of bike climbs in the off season and in my most successful seasons, particularly early season, fall/winter.
DeleteBack on my cycling soapbox, sorry. I get that you have marks for your climb and that it provides a good workout. But climbing is more stressful on the body and is one dimensional for development. Climbing requires/develops strength to weight where flats develops strength momentum/absolute strength. (I combine muscular strength and aerobic capacity in this one strength term). With climbing as soon as you stop pedaling you stop and roll backwards quickly. On flats you slow gradually. So that makes for big differences in force or torque curves over the ROM. In climbing it means you have to apply a lot of force at the top of the pedal stroke when all your joints are in the most vulnerable positions. This is compounded by (typically) lower cadence so force per stroke on average is higher. Flats is a momentum and strength game where cadence is typically higher and peak force is later in the stroke when the joints are at less acute angles. Only riding uphill not only limits cycling development but increases risk of wear and tear chronic injuries. If you just want to supplement your track workouts a flat or mostly flat road ride at 95 rpm cadence would work fine. The higher cadence will reduce force per stroke and force will be applied when your joints are more relaxed reducing joint stress. It may allow you to use your pedals and cleats and then you can work on pulling over the top engaging hip flexors allowing less force to be applied on the downstroke taking pressure off the foot. It would probably take some time to get your pedaling efficiency up so at first it may seem like a shitty work out but with some time and focus you will develop cycling specific CNS and your power output will go up quite a bit as well as the training effectiveness. It will also translate to better climbing.
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