I was chatting with Shawn about how the day after a "hard workout" you might actually feel really good. I've read that this is because your body is cranking out all sorts of stuff to repair the damage you've done. So you have to be careful not to continue to abuse yourself on this day.
I guess the "hangover" happens on the 2nd day after your "hard workout". Then you are back to normal somewhat, but after that 1st recovery day it doesn't feel so good in comparison.
So I guess my question is how easy do you go following the big workout day? Should it be a day off? Or is it better to have a steady state short activity in the activity the big day was?
How about the 2nd day following?
This week. I did my Hard run Monday. Weights Tues (no legs). Then Cadence Bike Wednesday. I'm thinking I should be able to run strong Thursday. We will soon find out.
Just putting this topic out there because I've never really thought about the "hangover/recovery" too much.
8 comments:
I will let you know how I feel tomorrow. Tonight, per my program, I have to run 3 X 2km under 9:50 per, then 90secs to 2 min rest (4:55 per 1km, last night I ran 6:50 per 1km on the easy run) (translates to just under 8 mins/mile). This is suppose to develop my 10K pace. So, I will let you know how I feel because this should be killer. Tomorrow rest day. Saturday the longest day on my feet, 1hr 45 min run (easy).
I have started to train in km, not miles. I figure the races are in km, not miles, so why should I do all the translating. It is weird, for example: 5k Race - they mark the ground in mile increments, and give you your time in mins/mile, even though the total race is km. This is fine, except that in a 5k (3.1 miles), you get into the mentality of thinking a mile is 33%, even though it is not. So at the two mile mark you see 16 mins on your watch. So you quickly calculate that you should get around a 24 min time. When your time is 24:30, you think how is that. It is because you had that last .1 mile, or about 40 secs extra to run. You understand someone running a lot faster than us, this is not as big of a deal. But @ 10min/mile pace that is an extra minute.
So, I am trying to change my mentality to a faster 5k, ultimately 10K time.
Here's what I can say on this topic: I have never had a hard enough endurance-type workout to make this happen, but have done it many times lifting. If it has been a while since I lifted, and I go nuts at the gym, then the second day is always the worst. This would seem to suggest that damaging yourself further on the first day after isn't the best idea, but I never care. Matt and I have different experiences here, and I hope I don't sound self-aggrandizing, but I never get hurt. The only times I injure myself are when I do something really stupid, like jump out of a tree onto a pile of jumbled roots or smash my head into a rusty fence or something like that. I have never yet had a "sports" injury in my life (knock on wood). So I just do whatever I want the second day, which is nonetheless probably going to be a steady run or bike or something to train the slow-twitchers and neural pathways for endurance.
As far as building strength, damaging your muscle fibers is what you want to do, so as long as you aren't ripping them off the tendon or the tendon off the bone, then I am not too worried about it. The times in my life when I had the fastest and most powerful strength gains were when I was working all day in the junkyard, throwing 55 gallon drums around and hefting 80 pound marine batteries by the hundreds, then going home and lifting weights after that. If your body needs to be able to handle something, it will adapt. I would love to have the time to really push myself into a Eugen Sandow-type shape by working like Conan in his first movie.
So in short (like that ever happens with me) I propose that unless you are going to injure yourself, you should go for the gusto as often as you can. If you feel something twinging or getting ready to do something it shouldn't, take it easy. (Keep in mind this is all coming from the slowest guy in the group.)
Now, to clarify, I did, for me, a big interval run last night, I am toast today and am glad the program says to rest.
I was thinking about the long runs. Tuesday I was out 70 minutes, then Wednesday did 30 minutes. I did have to force myself to stay slow on Wednesday, I felt good and wanted to go hard, but I stayed to the program and ran easy. Last night I went hard.
I see a definate problem in my pacing. My three 2km intervals were 9:26, 10:10, 11:10. I wanted to do 9:50 for each, I averaged 10:15. Heart rate at the end of each interval 172, 166, 166. The last interval I just blew it. I really didn't want to do it, either, it was hot. I started way too slow and couldn't make up the time I lost. Of course the first one, I probably also blew it. On the first one I was 4:16 at the 1km mark. I had to slow down to and still was too fast.
Of all the muscles that hurt, my left forearm is bothering me the most. I tried to warm up the whole body, but I must have not got the circulation going as good in my arms. My legs just feel fatigued.
When I did the CD Training program I wasn't able to move ahead as quickly as the plan wanted me to.
I decided I would make sure to put in the time they wanted me to be moving, for each session. It was often a slower speed.
Then I repeated each week or previous 2 weeks over and over until I had actually completed the entire program as "prescribed". Then I'd move to the next week.
I got there eventually. Not sure if this will apply to your plan. In my case the next week usually had a workout I wouldn't be able to complete.
I believe the just try again in 21 days to complete plan as prescribed. I will continue with this plan. I can get the total time or distance pieces in when they prescribe a qualitative pace. Yesterday was one of four quantative pieces, where I have to run a certain distacnce in a presribed time. The next is an interval day doing 1km instead of two @ 4:45 per. Then a test 5k to be slower than 24 mins but faster than 25 mins(year right), then the final one is at day 19, suppose to be a 10K at desired pace (4:55 per 1km). I have an odd 5.5km race, so I will try to go under 4:50 per 1km.
Got all that. Bottom line, continue with program, try next program cycle to meet goals of each workout.
Craig, is this the "time-to-run" program you posted earlier? I need to get a defined running program too, but I haven't been able to schedule everything as tightly as I would like. So far I've been happy just to run at all. Now that I have this semester figured out, I can start to plot out every inch of my time. Also, how do you measure your km's or miles while you're running? When I'm outside, anywhere but the track, I just try to go by RPE but I always go faster when I have some target times for specified distances. Do you drive them in the car? Paint lines on the road? Google-map it? What is your technique.
Yes - Time to run program I posted earlier.
Car & Google.
I use .6 mile as 1km, then google map it if I can to get close.
Post a Comment