Fall and beyond

The Olympic Trials are two days away, and I am sad to confirm that I will not be running the 10km this year. While my fitness is coming back quickly after the femoral stress fracture, I am forcing myself to keep the intensity low while my muscles and bones catch up to my cardio strength in an attempt to break the injury cycle. Skipping the Olympic Trials when I have the qualifying time was an extremely difficult decision, but if I want to continue my running career, I must be painfully patient through the summer and early fall. With last year's performance in the USA Track and Field Champs, I know my track career still has legs, and I expect to be competing in Eugene in 2017.

I am on track to be in great shape for a fall marathon. I don't know exactly which marathon yet, but a race in the mid to late fall will allow enough time for me to ramp up slowly and be in peak fitness.

There is not much to report in terms of training, but I have posted my last two weeks below. I am continuing with my lifting routines, but I do plan on easing up in the near future as workouts become more intense. I feel like I have returned to my football days with the Olympic lifts, but the goal now is to simply load the bones and muscles without impact to ease my transition back. I have also started using a new product called Tune to measure my footstrike, cadence, distance, speed, etc. in an attempt to learn about some of my deficiencies as I move forward with strength training. I am still in my initial 4 week analysis period, but I am confident that I will be able to use the data to stay healthy through the fall.

I am looking forward to heading down to Eugene to cheer, and I am especially looking forward to hanging out at the Brooks house and providing support to all the Brooks athletes competing in the trials! Good luck to everyone in the 10km, and I look forward to vying for a spot in 2020.

Last 2 weeks training:

Monday off, 90 minutes aqua jogging
Tuesday 60 min + strides
Wednesday 25 min warm up, 4 mile tempo @ 19:30ish, 15 min cool down, 45 minutes elliptical + lifting
Thursday 60 min, 45 minutes elliptical
Friday 30 min + 10 X 30-40 second hills, 60 minutes aqua jogging +lifting
Saturday off
Sunday 75 min, 45 minutes aqua jogging
Monday 45 min + strides, 45 minutes elliiptical
Tuesday 70 min including Fartlek: (5, 4, 3, 4, 3, 2)w/ half rest, 40 minutes elliptical + lifting
Wednesday 60 min, 60 minutes aqua jogging
Thursday off
Friday 60 min + strides + lifting

Healthy and training

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but there hasn't been much to write about since my last injury. After the string of bone injuries, I have been taking the come-back much slower this time around, and so far everything is progressing well. With the Olympic Trials 10km approaching quickly, I have not made a decision on whether or not I will compete as I do not want to push myself to over-train with a solid date on the calendar. I will take it one week at a time.

From the femoral fracture in February which kept me from the Olympic Marathon Trials, I took two weeks on crutches, four weeks with no exercise, and a total of 10 weeks before returning to the Alter-G. The return to ground running has been painstakingly slow, but I am doing everything I can do break the cycle. Over the same span, I have checked bone density, met with an endocrinologist, and have been pushing my limits on strength training. I have always been proactive with general strength work, but my routine has now included heavier leg lifts such as dead lift and multiple forms of squats. The goal is to load the bones and muscles a much as possible without the pounding of running to help ease the transition. I am hoping the strength training, supplements, and slow return to running will have me on pace for a summer/fall racing plan.

One of the more challenging aspects to this come back is the effort to take off days at the first sign of trouble. This meant taking three days off last week with some very mild quad tightness. It was certainly over-cautious, but that will have to be my state of mind for the next several months. When training increases, tightness and soreness are bound to occur, and it will take serious patience and focus to ease my way through without incurring another injury.

I will return to my usual weekly training log within the next week or two, and below you will see my running progression since day one. This has been supplemented with pool, elliptical, and some additional Alter-G in an effort to get 1:30-2:00 of cardio 6 days per week. I will be posting again shortly with a more detailed 2016 race plan. Thanks again for reading, and it's great to be back at it!


3:30: 15 minutes Alter-G @ 65%
4/1: 20 minutes Alter-G @65%, last 5 @ 70%
4/2: 20 minutes Alter - G @ 65%, last 5 @ 70%
4/4: 20 minutes Alter-G @ 65%, 5 @ 70%, 5 @75%
4/5: 15 minutes Alter-G @ 65%, 10 @ 70%, 5 @ 75%
4/7: 20 minutes Alter-G @ 70%, 5 @75%, 5 @ 80%
4/8: 15 minutes Alter-G @ 70, 10 @ 75%, 5 @ 80%
4/9: 10 minutes Alter-G @ 70%, 10@75%, 10@80%
4/11: 20 minutes Alter-G @ 70, 10 @ 75%, 10@80%
4/12: 20 minutes Alter-G @ 70, 10 @ 75%, 10@80%
4/13: 10 minutes Alter-G @ 70%, 20 @ 80%, 10@85%
4/14: 20 minutes Alter-G @ 75%, 10@80%, 10@85%
4/16: 20 minutes Alter-G, 10 minutes soft ground
4/17: 15 minutes Alter-G @ 80-85%, 15 minutes soft ground
4/19: 25 minutes ground
4/20: 25 minutes ground
4/21: 30 minutes ground
4/23: 30 minutes ground
4/24: 30 minutes ground
4/25: 35 minutes ground
4/26: 30 minutes Alter-G @ 80%
4/28: 35 minutes ground
4/29: 40 minutes ground
4/30: 35 minutes Alter-G @ 80%
5/1: 40 minutes ground
5/3: 40 minutes ground
5/4: 40 minutes ground
5/5: 35 minutes ground + strides
5/7: 50 minutes ground
5/8: 40 minutes + strides
5/9: 45 minutes
5/10: 50 minutes
5/12: 30 minutes + 8 x 200 meter hills
5/13: 45 minutes
5/14: 50 minutes + strides
5/15: 55 minutes
5/17: 35 minutes + 8 x 200 meter hills
5/18: 45 minutes
5/19: Fartlek: 6 x 3 minutes on, 1 minute off
5/21: 60 minutes
5/23: 60 minutes
5/24: 10 x 200 meter hills (65 min total running)
5/25: 45 minutes
5/26: 55 minutes + strides
5/27: Fartlek: 3 x (1 min, 2, 3)
Quad tightness - 3 days off
6/1: 35 minutes
6/2: 40 minutes