Been "off" for two days - traveling for work and decided to just take the time and rest. I've been running on a regular basis (nearly every day) for three weeks. I'm following a plan from a running coach named Barry Pollack who trains triathletes and elite runners. Barry's rule is that running short and frequent is the best way to improve run fitness and avoid injury. I've been doing runs of 10, 15, 17 minutes and a "long run" (yes, it actually felt long) of 21 minutes last weekend. It's hard to tell if I am doing much for injury-prevention because before I started this plan I had a little case of Plantar Facitis (long, thick tendon running along the bottom of the foot that attaches to the heel). Rarely hurts during a run but then later in the day my heel flares up and it hurts pretty bad.
On the bike front things are progressing. I've increased my threshold intervals to the 12-14 minute range. Tomorrow is the big day - the dreaded 2 X 20 minute FTP test. Goal is to go as hard as possible for two 20 minute segments and then take the average watts. This will become the new baseline for threshold training.
Pain at/near the fracture site is nearly gone. Bone is amazing. When it heals it heals and there's no retraining or balance between stress and rest. When I am out running I rarely feel any pain near the fracture...but the rest of the tendons and ligaments in my foot are the limiter. I'm still afraid of uneven ground, rocks in the road, manholes, etc. It's going to be interesting to see how I deal with this in the winter. I've had thoughts of using the dreaded treadmill on snowy/icy mornings so that I limit my exposure to dangerous terrain.
That's it for now. New TT bike is fun and fast!
