Week 10: Review

The knee injury last week persisted throughout most of this week as well, so I didn't risk heading out for any runs. It was significantly better on Friday, however, so I figured that it was safe to do a bit of cycling to keep up my fitness without the impact that running generally has. This worked out well, and for a few hours after the ride (and lots of stretches) the pain was completely gone, so I did the same thing on both Saturday and Sunday (30km for each ride).

On Saturday's ride, I actually pushed myself a little harder than I normally do in order to get my heart rate up into the region where I typically run. I managed to sustain a steady pace of about 32km/h (equating to about 260w) for the duration of the ride, which is higher than the ~29km/h (~210w) that I normally do. While it was a bit hard for the first 10km or so, after I got warmed up it was actually quite comfortable. With that said, I did stay away from the sprints that I usually do near the end of a cycling workout as I didn't want to push the knee too far - but other than that it was a good session.

Weekly Totals:
Running: 0.0km (0.0mi)
Walking: 0.0km (0.0mi)
Cycling: 90.0km (55.9mi)
Total: 90.0km (55.9mi)

Year to Date:
Running: 601.6km (373.8mi)
Walking: 123.6km (76.8mi)
Cycling: 755.0km (469.1mi)
Total: 1391.2km (864.5mi)

At this point, the knee is feeling much better and I'm getting to the point where I can get back to my running routine. Naturally, the plan for this week is in flux as it will depend on how well things go - but given the improvement over the last few days, I'm optimistic that I'll be able to get back on track. I should be okay for the marathon, as there are still eight weeks left, but I'll have to see about Around the Bay as it's only three weeks out. Next Sunday's Achilles 5K was supposed to be my first run of the year, however at this point I don't think that will be feasible.

With that said, the tentative schedule for the week is to start out with a short walk on Monday to test the waters. If that goes well, I'll do an easy 4 mile run on Tuesday and then build from there. Naturally, I'll be mixing in some cycling and I might also try adding some swimming this week, as it's likely the best way to regain any lost fitness without risking re-injury.

Upcoming Week:
Mon 7K Walk
Tue 4mi (6.4K) Recovery + 1mi (1.6K) Walk
Wed 30K Cycle + 6mi (9.7K) Recovery
Thurs 5mi (8K) Recovery + Swim (?)
Fri 50K Cycle
Sat 8mi (12.9K) GA + 30K Cycle
Sun 14mi (29.0K) LSD

Either way, I'll try to make a few more posts during the week to outline my progress through the recovery.