A Very Rough Start

I took essentially the entire winter off from running, for the first time in decades, trying to get old injuries under control. Every now and then, I'd go for a 2-3 mile jog and come back saying, "Now my (choose one: plantar fascia, gluteus medius, tensor fascia latae, peroneals, hip adductors) hurt" and I'd start working on a new issue.

I said that once the weather improved - and we never get two consecutive days below zero after Valentine's Day here, regardless of what people say - I'd start training again. It's been a brutal February.

On Tuesday, I did repeats of the Ohio Street "snake" hill, which I intend to use for MVO2 repeats when in shape (at 0.4345 miles and 174 feet of climb, it approximates well to 1000m on a track). I ran as easily as I could and had difficulty managing 7 repeats at any pace - last year, I did as many as 20 nearly 3 minutes per mile faster.

Thursday, I went to the Ramsey Street hill, which I also intend to use for lactic acid tolerance repeats later (0.2156 miles, 117 feet climb - very close to 1/3 mile on a track). There was a large patch of ice, so I went carefully, and quit when I saw this:

I thought my maximal heart rate was 180 (it was 184 in 2008), so this was a true maximal effort, though it was a slow jog. Seven repeats, a bit over 3 miles, in more than 37 minutes. Last year, also in February, I did 25 repeats, a minute per mile faster and at a heart rate 20 beats per minute slower.

That's not starting from zero. That's starting from negative ten. With luck, I'll improve quickly, but it will take a long time before I can race. On the plus side, nothing hurts - and I haven't been able to say that in longer than I can remember.