The Gentle Push
Running Files 006
I perused the data I produced since jumping back into running after a year of cycling. Seeing how the three months unfolded, I can’t stop but conclude I’m fortunate and thankful for being capable of running.
I was used to 80, even 90, and 100 km weeks before one too many niggles and life stresses pushed me onto the bike, unbeknownst that the majority of my body’s complaints stemmed from that hellish device of joy.
If regular endurance exercise plays a huge part in one’s physical and mental well-being, the effects of it slipping away aren’t very enjoyable.
That’s why I appreciate my body’s acceptance, even though the last 14 weeks haven’t seen much of the running I knew.
I clocked 39 runs — 23.5 hours or 235 km (146 mi). Knocking on wood, I’ve not picked up any injuries, not even any niggles. All I had to go through was a few weeks of high maintenance while acclimatizing my body to the stresses of running once again.
I’m delighted with how easily I forced the sport back into my life, starting the process with constant fear of not being able to do it any longer.
With my week total up to 3.5 hours or 35 km now, I observe not only positive signs that I’m slowly crawling back to some resemblance of the fitness I once had, but I also gradually relax my fears of not being able to run.
The last four weeks were again careful volume building, giving it a gentle intensity push here and there.
The frustrations of the typical fitness roller coaster met with two realizations and a science tie-in from my cycling inspiration reading list.
Back to building after mild illness and a science aha-moment
When last we spoke, I felt the effects of a mild cold and cut the week short. That was the right call.
A few days of bonus rest readied me for the next four-week running block.
It was a careful week. Firstly because of the mild illness and secondly because I used the time off for a final tweak of my plan.
I finally realized what hadn’t sat right with me about how I calculated volume ratios. Since I didn’t have a four-week baseline when I started, I started by feel and went week-to-week, which is a repainted 10% rule, in the end.
When the four-week average realization hit, I returned to the drawing board. It’s a mild update. But it gives me the confidence to stick to a four-week pattern with one down week in between (I had more down weeks factored in before).
I penciled in 100 minutes as the goal for the week. The block is supposed to get me up to 3.5 hours per week.
I didn’t want to do more than two runs for a week, which I started on a Thursday. The first 30-minute easy plodder was a successful systems test. I turned the long run into a mild progression — fun.
I picked the route along the canal because I had read about a new running course along parts of the bridge-truncated canal paths. Revelation one: there are lights!
The run was unspectacular. I journaled about feeling “sluggish, but not too shabby all around.” I completed the 70 minutes as planned, 35 minutes relaxed, and 35 minutes pushing the pace a bit — my longest run.
Starting to push at new and known locations
The workout returned the following week. I stuck with the short and sweet 3x5 minute format to ease back after the last 3–4 disrupted weeks. The initial plan included the level-up to a 20-minute tempo run.
I found my favorite workout location to date, the promenade behind the mall. Quiet and not too dark, I can loop in various lengths and focus on running without interruptions.
When it was time for the long run, I returned to the bike path, which connects Mülheim and Essen, on which I did many workouts in the past.
That run was a mixed bag. I got more elevation changes than I’ve been used to in recent weeks, which made the plan to squeeze an up-tempo segment into the run rather stupid.
It turned out to be a 40-minute mild tempo effort — as far as heart rate is concerned. But I also underestimated the difference between short-run paces and long-run paces. Building that endurance takes time.
While I’m not happy about that run (despite enjoying big chunks of it), it’s one of the puzzle pieces that will get me somewhere if I keep the consistency.
What’s easy & a springy long-run
If you’ve read my cycling inspirations, you’ve noticed my fascination with sports science. I won’t bore you with too many details, but one of the takeaways from listening to the findings of people like Iñigo San Millán is that what we define as easy might be harder than we may think.
The week was a bit up and down, emotionally and running-wise.
Thirty faster minutes on Tuesday included almost tripping and ripping my shoes to bits over a piece of carelessly discarded metal, being forced onto the bike path by a cyclist on the sidewalk going the wrong direction, and almost being ignored by a driver crossing the sidewalk while leaving a gas station. I love this city.
The 20-minute tempo workout was a delight. I journaled about “accepting legs” and “peaceful-ish streets.”
The long run was weird. I pushed it to Saturday afternoon because of disrupted sleep that week.
It was warm, too warm for this time of year. But I enjoyed a peaceful 90-minute loop with some river views and a decent portion of softer gravel paths.
It’s tricky to pick paces at the moment. But I’m glad I stuck with the plan for that day. It showed me that what some might disregard as a “useless gray zone,” is what I think San Millán sees as the upper end of Zone 2.
Admittedly, I can’t measure lactate or any of the other clever things happening in our bodies as we put it through exercise at specific intensities.
I’ve seen numbers too often (and too easily) that disprove the various heart rate formulas to go by what Garmin (or any other fitness device manufacturer) tries to tell me out of the box.
The talk test is another method mentioned as a way to find one’s easy range. So, instead of enslaving myself to numbers and crawling through these first months, I’ve decided to give this a test.
The run felt relaxed and controlled, and had I run in company, I had managed to speak in complete sentences. That was one of the most enjoyable runs since November, and it brought me to the three-hour mark for the week, just as planned, even though the heart rate was in what my watch declares as zone 4 most of the time. I probably need to find a classification that is a bit truer to life.
Positive signs & the longest week
The final week before the rest week re-introduced the fourth weekly run. I started short and easy, followed with a 20-minute tempo, and recovered with another short plod. The 100-minute long run brought me back to the canal, scouting out an alternative workout spot.
The workout was on point. The easy runs showed lower heart rate numbers than ever during the last three months. The long run disproved the canal idea for workouts. It’s too windy, GPS is almost useless there, and the surface is wobbly.
Apart from that, the trend from the last weekend continued. Positive signs all around, and I’m up to 3.5 hours of running per week. I can’t wait for spring, to be honest. But I also look forward to the next block of four weeks of running.
The next running update follows at the end of March. I’ll return next week with reading recommendations and photography.
