FortyP's 9 sets of Deadlift per week log

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 8
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, AHR = average heart rate, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation, WC = wind chill

--> THIS IS THE WEEK AN ENFORCEABLE "SHELTER IN PLACE" ORDER WENT INTO EFFECT IN MY AREA <--

Day 1: Easy+ Run, cool, windy, 7.1 mil 53:28
Day 2: Easy+ Run, windy, 7.2 mil 54:41
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: TRK 4 x 400 with equal jogs (average 1:25.6), rest, 4 x 200 with equal jogs (average 41.2); 7 mil total
Day 5: Easy Run, misty, one hill, 6.2 mil 48:37
Day 6: Long Run, misty, windy, 10.3 mil 1:20:03
Day 7: Easy Run, one hill, very windy 16-24mph, 5.1 mil 39:58

Sets of KB rows, push-ups, and some strides here and there

Mileage for the week: ~43

Looks like you were overdoing it a bit on days 1 and 2 there. You're right: I fell into the same trap I have in the past, which is letting myself run at whatever speed I want to, which in my case always leads to overtraining. In the past I've solved this problem by hopping on a treadmill for my recovery days or by finding a well regulated friend with whom to run. Well, those two are completely out of the question at this time in history (I mean yeah, you could run together with someone and use social distance, but who wants to take an avoidable risk?). With my history of sinus infections, nose breathing is also a non-starter.

What did you do on days 5, 6, and 7, then? I basically told myself: "Look, self, you have to slow down or you can't run; it's that simple. There are no treadmills, and half the country is on lockdown, so if you want to run, you're going to have to learn to self-regulate on easy days." It seems to have worked: my paces are significantly slower on those days, and I ended each run feeling pleasantly tired, not fatigued. Good signs.

You're not breaking the law by running outside, are you? You're not asking me a question I'm not supposed to answer, are you? Seriously, no. These "stay at home" orders allow folks to get outside for exercise. And boy are they! It's good to see, honestly.

Any update on the FuelCell Rebel? Fantastic! They are some of the best-fitting and best-performing running shoes I've owned--and by "fit" I don't mean simply the sizing but the ways in which the shoe has been engineered for midfoot / forefoot strikers. The outsole has very good grip, too; I was able to run more tightly and confidently around the curves on the track when I was doing repeats with these shoes. Even though they're lightweight, they're well cushioned and a bit springy; there's energy return there. I'm enjoying them very much.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 9
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, AHR = average heart rate, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation, WC = wind chill

--> THIS IS THE WEEK THE NUMBER OF CONFIRMED CASES INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY IN MY AREA <--

Day 1: Easy Run, windy, 7.8 mil 1:00:10
Day 2: Hilly Run, windy, 1,100 ft. TE, 7.8 mil 1:00:10
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: TRK, very windy 14-24mph, 12 x 200 with equal jogs (41.2 average); 7 mil total
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Long Run, cold, windy 10-14mph, 11.1 mil 1:21:15; 12.2 mil total
Day 7: Easy+ Run, windy, 8.0 mil 1:01:38

Sets of KB rows, push-ups, and some strides here and there

Mileage for the week: ~43

Looks like you're switching to marathon training? I'm not. I just had to adapt my runs this week for the rough weather we've been having. I knew, for instance, that day 5 was going to be impossible, and that day 4 would be a stretch, so I just extended some of the runs earlier in the week and planned on doing the same at the end of the week. Work was kinda crazy this week, too (don't get me wrong: I'm very thankful I have a job right now), so having an extra rest day was helpful.

Also looks like no one--and I mean no one--is going to be racing anytime soon. I know it. All the more reason to rack up some mileage while I can.

Did you really run days 1 and 2 in the same time, to the second? Amazingly, yes. That doesn't happen very often, especially when the courses are so different.

Are you doing some of your runs in the new Cliftons? The Clifton 6? Yes, and they're fantastic shoes--a real return to form for the Clifton line, as many reviewers have said (and that I'm happy to confirm). I highly recommend them for medium to long runs.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 10
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, AHR = average heart rate, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation, WC = wind chill

--> THIS IS THE WEEK I HAD TO ASK PERMISSION TO RUN ON A TRACK (AND, THANKFULLY, GOT IT) <--

Day 1: Easy Run, light rain, very windy 14-24mph, one hill, 7.0 mil 54:42
Day 2: Easy Run, very windy 10-20mph, 300 ft. TE, 9.0 mil 1:09:28; 10.0 mil total
Day 3: Easy+ Run, warm, windy, 8.1 mil 1:01:53
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: TRK, cold, windy, 6 x 400 with equal jogs (1:29.6 average); 7.3 mil total
Day 6: Long Run, very windy 17-25mph, 600 ft. TE, 14.1 mil 1:49:09
Day 7: Easy Run, windy 10-20mph, 7.1 mil 56:10

Sets of KB rows, push-ups, and core exercises here and there throughout the week

Mileage for the week: 53.6

This is definitely beginning to look like marathon training. Don't give me any ideas! Seriously, this is just "mileage in the time of the virus," which a lot of runners are doing (when they're not poaching on social media apps, apparently).

Also, as I mentioned last week, the weather in my area is highly unpredictable, so I have to get miles in when I can. For instance, I had to do the day 7 run at the crack of dawn because the winds were forecast to be in the 40mph range by Noon. Normally I would have waited until later in the day for that run since I'd done a somewhat challenging long run the day before, but I just had to suck it up and get 'er done.

It looks like you took your track session (day 5) a little more easily than in previous weeks. Correct. I'd been doing my track workouts at what Daniels calls "repetitions" pace (R pace), but I scaled this week's session back to "intervals" pace (I pace) for a couple reasons: 1) I knew the long run was coming the next day (couldn't schedule it otherwise with the crazy weather around here), and I didn't want to overdo things; 2) I sensed I was still recovering from the "45 miles in 5 days" runs I'd had from day 6 last week to day 3 this week. So I dialed back just a tad, and it was very much the right thing to do: I ended the workout feeling comfortably tired, not exhausted.

It's probably too much shoe for you, but have you tried the 1080v10? I put about 100 miles on a pair of those, and I find them light-years better than other max-cushioned shoes (Triumph, Glycerin, etc.). Like many people, I had bad experiences with the v8 and v9, so I was wary about the v10, but the Fresh Foam X is springier and livelier than the standard Fresh Foam, to the point where I enjoyed long miles in the 1080v10. The upper, however, didn't work so well for me: I got both runner's toe and new blisters while running in the shoes, which was too bad, as I liked them otherwise.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 11
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, AHR = average heart rate, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation, WC = wind chill

--> THIS IS THE WEEK PEOPLE IN MY AREA STARTED CASUALLY BREAKING THE 'SHELTER IN PLACE' ORDER <--

Day 1: Rest
Day 2: Easy Run, cold, windy, 8.1 mil 1:02:36
Day 3: Easy Run, cold, 12.0 mil 1:31:51
Day 4: Hilly Run, cold, very windy 12-20mph, 510 ft. TE, 8.1 mil 1:02:24
Day 5: TRK, cold, windy, 3 x 800 with 400 jogs in between (2:58 average); 5.1 mil total
Day 6: Long Run, wind at my back, 600 ft. of downhill, 15.4 mil 1:52:03
Day 7: Easy Run, very windy, 330 ft. TE, 6.1 mil 47:21

Sets of KB rows, push-ups, and crunches here and there

Mileage for the week: ~55

When's the last time you ran 50+ miles per week for two weeks in a row? Twelve years ago, more or less. I've had single 50-mile weeks at least three times since logging here on TB, but I've never done two 50-mile weeks in a row during that time, nor in the past decade. Perhaps progress, even at my age (late 40s), is happening.

I gotta say, this week's training is a Pfitzinger week if I ever saw one. True enough: this was basically a Pfitz 55 week, with maybe the influence of a half-power Lydiard base-building week.

What's up with that crazy day 6 long run? You did that far faster than you should have, right? Correct, and I've noted the reasons why: I had a major tailwind (at my back) the whole way; it was gusting up to 25mph at times, which certainly increased my stride length. Also, it was a net downhill by a huge margin. Those two factors together contributed twenty or twenty-five seconds per mile, which made the run too fast.

But wait, you're saying: why too fast? Because my body isn't accustomed to that pace for that distance, the run really beat me up. I was very sore and very tired afterwards; it felt like having completed a race, and recovery took longer than usual. Dumb idea on my part to run both net-downhill and with the wind the whole time. Lesson learned.

Aren't you a Joe Satriani fan? Yes: seen him in concert many times; interviewed him twice; spent some time with him in person; and have tried (with varying degrees of success and failure) to play his compositions on guitar.

His new album Shapeshifting came out last week--what did you think? I've listened to all of it more than once now. Some people will say that it's Satriani "moving in a new direction" or "maturing with age" or some such other pleasantry. Others will laud its more "straightforward" vibes or Satriani's "branching out into new territory." As far as I'm concerned, it's lackluster. Satriani does this every now and then: he releases an album that seems like more of a place-holder than anything else. It's good for what it is--and I don't think anyone other than Satriani could have recorded it, as it has his distinctiveness--but so little of Satriani's immense talent is on display here that it's hard for me to get excited about it.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 12
Body weight: 161 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, AHR = average heart rate, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation, WC = wind chill

--> THIS IS THE WEEK THAT HIGHER-UPS IN MY AREA STARTING SERIOUSLY TALKING ABOUT LIFTING SOME OF THE BANS <--

Day 1: Easy+ Run, windy, 4.1 mil 31:11
Day 2: Easy Run, windy, 300 ft. TE, 8.1 mil 1:03:17
Day 3: Easy Run, windy, 10.0 mil 1:17:25; 11.0 mil total
Day 4: Easy+ Run, 8.1 mil 1:01:21
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Easy+ Run, very windy 14-20mph, 400 ft. TE, 12.1 mil 1:31:08
Day 7: Easy Run, windy, 10.1 mil 1:17:54

Mileage for the week: 53.5

When's the last time you ran 50+ miles per week for three weeks in a row? At least ten years ago--probably closer to twelve years. It's been a while.

I expected you to take day 1 off, though. Yeah, that was a stupid mistake on my part, and my runs on days 2 and 3 really suffered because of it: I felt like crap on those runs, mostly because of fatigue. But I figured that if I could make it to a rest day on day 5 (when the weather was supposed to be downright awful, which it was), I'd be in the clear.

I'm also surprised you ran as far as you did on day 7. Normally I wouldn't, you're right, but it was one of those rare gorgeous days around here, so I took advantage of it.

I'm guessing you took a couple measures this week to make sure you didn't overtrain? All the more important, yes, since I botched day 1 (it would've been much better to rest that day). I did two things to keep the week easier. First, no formal speedwork. Second, I limited the long run to 12 miles. Both of those techniques are common for "easier" weeks in a build-up schedule.

Hmm...you were still in the mid-50s for mileage, though. True, so this coming week I'm going to drop back to ~46 miles (85% of peak mileage, roughly). Doing so should stave off any overtraining and prepare me for some more high mileage weeks.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 13
Body weight: 161 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, AHR = average heart rate, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation, WC = wind chill

--> THIS IS THE WEEK 'BIG BROTHER' STARTED TAKING MY BODY TEMPERATURE BEFORE ALLOWING ME INTO MY OFFICE <--

Day 1: Very Easy SE 3x12: KB-rows (50-lb KB), push-ups, core
Day 2: Hilly Run, 660 ft. TE, very windy 14-20mph, 12.2 mil 1:31:13
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Easy Run, windy, 10.1 mil 1:16:04
Day 5: TRK, very windy 14-20mph; 4x200, 2x400, 2x200, 1x400, with equal jogs in between (avg. 41.0, 1:26); 6.0 mil total
Day 6: Easy+ Run, warm, very windy 14-22mph, one hill, 11.1 mil 1:24:28
Day 7: Easy Run, very windy, 7.0 mil 53:14

Mileage for the week: 46.4

Well, you certainly dialed in that "85% of max mileage" week. All rested up? Not quite. I took the intervals on day 5 a little too hard, probably because I was fighting some nasty winds, especially during the 400s. I have a very hard time judging pace when I'm nearly being blown into the next lane by wind gusts. Ah well; it's the area I live in, so I'm going to have to figure it out at some point.

You haven't mentioned injuries or pain in a while; how's that doing? Oh, something is always sore, more or less, especially at my age. I may be healing from a bone bruise; the symptoms don't really match anything else, and I've dealt with those before.

Does your body weight vary much? I take it almost every morning, under the same conditions, and the number I report above is the weekly average and/or the median (which are almost always the same). I see +/- 1 pound on any given day. Except at Christmas, when all bets are off.

Do you have any sense yet that all this high mileage work is paying off? Not really, and I shouldn't, as it takes a good six weeks on any new program before you're going to see appreciable / tangible / genuine long-term results. Are the longer runs getting easier? Sure. Are the same-speed track intervals going more smoothly? Yeah. Do those indications necessarily translate into faster race times? No. I really won't know for sure until I start sharpening down for a race--and heaven knows when we're going to have one of those again.

He loved Big Brother. Doubleplus ungood.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 14
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation

--> THIS IS THE WEEK A STORE IN MY AREA POSTED GUARDS AT THE DOOR AND REFUSED ENTRY TO ANYONE NOT WEARING A FACE MASK <--

Day 1: Very Easy SE 3x15: rows (with KB 50-lb), push-ups, core
Day 2: Easy Run, very windy 17-24mph, 8.1 mil 1:01:33
Day 3: Easy Run, windy, 8.1 mil 1:02:32
Day 4: Easy Run, windy, 6.1 mil 46:53
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Group Run, hilly 580 ft. TE, 10.1 mil 1:32:40
Day 7: Rest

Mileage for the week: 32

Whoa, a deload week? Yes: recovery week, down week, deloading--whatever you want to call it. Especially if you're my age (late 40s), programming down time is important--every 4 to 6 weeks, I'd say. Both KBlack and JMadd go into the reasons in their respective books, and the principles they write about there apply here, too. I've found that running 60% of recent maximum weekly mileage (+/- 5%) makes for a good recovery week--that is, the right combination of sufficient rest and adequate maintenance.

Any hints about when to program a deload week? I almost always time them according to my work schedule. For instance, this past week was one of the busiest work weeks I will have had all year. Not only was it "crunch time" (which I knew was coming) but I also had a side project to complete (for which I also knew the deadline), so it seemed an obvious time to ease up a bit.

What's the plan for next week? Going back to a Pfitzinger kind of schedule? Depends on the weather, honestly. It's not wise to jump right back into maximum mileage after a down week, but it can be done if conditions allow. I'll shoot for 80-85% (43-46 miles) and see if circumstances will permit otherwise.

Did you hear about the guy who went shopping without a face mask? Any identifiable reference to him would be mortally dangerous.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Block 14: Distance running training
Week 15
Body weight: 161 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation

--> THIS IS THE WEEK I WAS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TO A 'COVID' TEST BEFORE BEING ALLOWED FUTURE ADMITTANCE TO A HOSPITAL <--

Day 1: Easy Run, windy, 8.1 mil 1:01:39
Day 2: Easy+ Run, hilly 550 ft. TE, 12.3 mil 1:31:48
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: TRK, light rain, windy, 1 mile @ 6:11, 2:00 rest, 1 mile @ 6:03; 5 mil total
Day 5: Easy Run, humid, windy, 8.1 mil 1:00:49
Day 6: Group Run, humid, windy, hilly 600 ft. TE, 10.1 mil 1:32:56
Day 7: Easy+ Run, very windy 16-26mph, 8.1 mil 1:02:40

Sets of KB-row (50-lb KB), push-ups, and core throughout the week

Mileage for the week: ~52

That's a bit more mileage than you predicted last week. True, but the weather held most days, and I just found out that I'm going to have to take next week entirely off, so I tried to get in as much as I could without overdoing it.

Those mile repeats (day 4) look a little on the fast side for you. I thought so, too, but I was running in the middle of the lane (not just 1600s, in other words), and I kept my breathing almost entirely to a 2/2 pattern. Neither repeat was all-out, in other words. They may just be an indicator of progress.

Why not reduce the day after the track workout (day 5) and increase the group run, for the same weekly mileage? That's a good strategy for many reasons, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get in more than 10 miles with the group, so I adjusted days 5 and 7 accordingly. Not ideal for recovery (which is important at my age), but good for an "endurance stacking" effect, especially before an extended break.

Hey, I hope your surgery tomorrow goes really well. Thanks! I'm hoping it... Hey, wait a second. How in the world do you know about my procedure?!

All your medical database are belong to us. Why am I not surprised. I guess I better make my time.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Surgery
Week 1
Body weight: 162 lbs
TM = take medicine, TRK = track sinus irrigations, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after sinus rinse, BW = body weight, KB = knosebleed, TE = time to expectorate

--> THIS IS THE WEEK I STARTED SEEING REAL, LIVE PEOPLE DINING IN RESTAURANTS AGAIN IN MY AREA <--

Day 1: **SINUS SURGERY**
Day 2: Experiencing the horror of hydrocodone side effects
Day 3: Feeling beaten down and crushed
Day 4: Ready to chop my own head off
Day 5: RELIEF thanks to a change in medicine
Day 6: Skull-piercing rebound headaches begin
Day 7: Two major blood clots come out: I can breathe through my nose again

Sinus irrigations for the week: 20

Yikes, bro. Yeah. The surgery itself went very well: the ENT who did it knows athletes and was able to give me specific treatment. In terms of the hospital, the anesthesia, and the rest of it, all went well. But the recovery...

What side effects did you experience from the hydrocodone? First, the medicine did nothing to relieve the pressure in my sinuses, which was probably the source of the worst pain in the days following the surgery. I really wish I'd begun taking pseudoephedrine from day 2, which ended up being a MAJOR help from day 5 onwards.

Second, I experienced extremely nasty mood swings while on hydrocodone. I had to force myself not to put my fists through walls several times over those first few days. I can't remember a time in my life when I have experienced that kind of frustration and anger. It was, honestly, a bit scary, for I was aware that I was experiencing these swings, and I seemed helpless to moderate or stop them. Once I dropped the hydrocodone, the mood swings vanished.

How would you do it differently if you had to do it again? I'd forgo any narcotic altogether (they just don't work well for me; I've had bad but not catastrophic experiences with percocet, too) and just request prescription-strength ibuprofen. We athletes tend to have high pain tolerances, and when I switched to high-dose ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine on day 5, I felt a million times better. But then the rebound headaches attacked...

Are those related to the surgery? Probably not: they occur after you stop taking pain-relieving medication that you don't need, and their manifestation seems to support my theory that I didn't need the oxycodone in the first place. The ENT did tell me I might not need it, but I started taking it to treat the pain from the pressure in my sinuses, for which it did nothing.

My theory is that I was actually experiencing vasodilation, which is the cause of one kind of migraine and must be treated by vasoconstriction. I haven't had migraines in a long time, but there was a time in my life when I got them regularly, and pain medicines--even narcotic-based ones--didn't really help. But vasoconstriction medicine did--amazingly so. I will mention this history to my ENT when I see him for the follow-up visit.

When can you start running again after sinus surgery? Knowing my athletic history, my ENT said I might be able to return to running a week after the surgery. Given the setbacks I've had during recovery, I don't know if that will be possible, but I'm eager to try. I'm really looking forward to seeing if I can actually breathe through both sides of my nose now.

I don't think that's how you spell "knosebleed." It's a silent "k," knucklehead.

[FortyPlusRunner]

Recovery from Surgery
Week 1
Body weight: 161 lbs
TM = treadmill, TRK = track workout, HR1 = heart rate 1 minute after stopping, BW = body weight, KB = kettlebell, TE = total elevation

--> THIS IS THE WEEK I WAS "ASKED" TO SUBMIT TO A TEMPERATURE CHECK BEFORE BEING ALLOWED ENTRANCE TO A RESTAURANT <--

Day 1: Rest
Day 2: Easy Run, rain, windy, 5.3 mil 41:14
Day 3: Easy+ Run, humid, 8.1 mil 1:01:09
Day 4: Rest (major fatigue)
Day 5: Easy+ Run, warm, 8.1 mil 1:01:39
Day 6: Easy Run, windy, 10.1 mil 1:17:15
Day 7: Rest (major fatigue)

Mileage for the week: 31.6

You weren't kidding about resuming running a week after sinus surgery! I had my doctor's permission, and I had to monitor my nasal discharge (lovely image, that), but all went well. No bleeding either during or after the run, and the sinus rinses slowly but surely became more normal throughout the week (but they're still far from being completely clear yet; that should take another week or so).

Other than the fatigue (which doesn't surprise me), anything else out of the ordinary? A lot of general body aches that I'm not accustomed to, which are strange. And my quads for some reason have been sore, which they almost never are. Note that I avoided hills entirely this week to keep things as easy as possible.

What's the plan for the next couple weeks? I ran about 60% of max mileage (54) this week in 4 days of running. The goal next week is 70-75% in 5 days of running; the week after that, 80-85% in 6 days. I can take stock at that point and plan from there. It's about to get really hot and really humid here, so taking my time to recover is probably wise.

Anything else strange happen at the restaurant? It was utterly bizarre. I kept expecting someone to come up and ask me what 2 plus 2 equals, or to tell them how many lights I see.