So. First half marathon under keto. Went ok, but not good. Two out of three standard goals were met: 1) Don’t die 2) Finish 3) Don’t walk. At around mile 7, I stopped for about a minute to take down a decayed Pokemon Gym. Again at mile 10 water station, I had to walk for about two minutes. My legs were just plain exhausted.
Finished 2:08 (9:50/mile), which was better than San Juan, but for a mostly downhill race, I should have finished sub 2:00. Afterwards, my left hamstring was nothing but tight, piriformis was sore again, but ankle was ok.
Race itself was pretty fun. It is mostly downhill except for about 3/4 of a mile of noticeable uphill and after about mile 8, long stretch of flat. Oh yeah. There’s like a freakin’ 150 foot elevation over 1/3 of a mile walking up to the starting line. They don’t tell you about that.
I should have done better than 2:08. Fuck me, if I was not on keto I might have gotten under 2 hours.
Last run of the season in 2 months. My plan is basically just maintain 8 miles and under runs until then. There’s no point in training for a full right now. I think I’ll just maintain my stamina, let my legs recover, and work on leg strength this winter. Doubtful that I’ll do 3M in Austin again. Did it twice already, and the race is a clusterfuck at the start. No one every estimates their time right. 99% of the people think they’re faster than they are, so the starting line is a traffic jam. Then there’s me, who underestimates their time. I probably could shave off somewhere between 1-2 minutes if I wasn’t dodging and going around people at the start.
End Austin and 3M Half Marathon rant.
Twenty miles this week, with the longest being 8 miles. Yes, I know this is rushed. Yes, I know I’m violating the 10% rule (don’t run longer, reps, or time more than 10% than what you did last time). Yes, I know this is bad especially considering an injury. Yes, I know 8 miles is a long way away from 13.1 miles.
No difference in how I feel cardio/pulmonary-wise. It’s all lower body muscles that’s the issue right now. Went back to the gym twice, but only for some upper body. I do warm up with a mile at 6-6.5 mph. We’ll see how a half on keto goes.
The Orca Half is sold out. It was going to be my fourth half of the year and third with Orca Running. The only other half they have this year is Poulsboro Half, and that’s the weekend we’re in College Station, Texas for A&M vs. Alabama. I love running, but not at the expense of Texas A&M Football.
17 miles this week. I knew I have to ramp it up because Iron Horse is about two weeks away. Pace was about 10:30 – 11:00. This is not as good as previous years. I’m thinking a combination of keto and piriformis issues is to blame. Hopefully I’ll be sub-10 for Iron Horse, though, due it being a mostly downhill run and be better fat adapted by then.
Again, my issue is muscle and leg fatigue, not cardio/pulmonary. Ankle has improved a ton, and besides some twinginess post runs, is not an issue. I can feel piriformis soreness usually starting around mile 4, and this is causing issues on the left side. I have mild tightness post-run in my lower back, both hips, and pretty darn tight left hamstrings. It’s all fine after post-run stretching, icing, and Hyperice Sphere sessions, but It all ties back to the piriformis.
Longest run left on their schedule is a 12k option for Captain Jack’s in Redmond. I registered for that, but I’m totally bummed. I’m going to have to settle for 3 halves and a 12k.
I’ve started running again, gently coming back for two reasons – the butt muscle issues, keto, and social commitments (ie, happy hours and parties left and right).
The last two weeks were pretty much the same. Two nights of running per week, just shy of 8 miles the first week, then almost 11.5 the second. First week was 3.25 miles then 4.5. Second was 5.1, 2.85, 3.66. Total pace on the runs have been anywhere from 9:30 to 11. No gyms. I won’t be going back for a while.
Stamina-wise, I’ve been fine. There is a bit of oddness, but I think it’s more of the muscle and butt issues, not pulmonary or heart. My legs are just damn tired afterwards. Maybe that’s the keto. I can’t rule it out. I’ve been icing and stretching after runs pretty religiously.
About ten days ago, I was on the incline squat machine when I felt a sharp, sharp pain deep in my left butt. I had to immediately stop and basically limped out. My left butt and hip hurt with each step. The next day, on what was supposed to be my last physical therapy day for my ankle, I told my therapist about this injury, and I’d probably need more sessions to fix this.
She said, “You didn’t tell me you were using those machines. Those things aren’t good.” I was kind of sure I did, but fuck. Great.
Her opinion is basically any leg machine, including abduction and adduction machines, at the gym is bad news. They force your body into a dangerously rigid position. Good form is crucial for protection and effectiveness, but some flexibility is necessary. That’s one of the reasons joints are the way they are.
She poked around, had me move, and I have what appears to be classic piriformis syndrome. I screwed up a muscle deep in my left butt. It directly affects the hip, too, so my rotation movement is all wonky.
So yeah. Her recommendation, and what I’ve been reading online, is at least two weeks of rest. This definitely throws a damper on things. I was about 40% into the marathon training program (about 17-19 miles/week) so now I have to pause that. Side note, the new stride is mostly ok, but I keep hitting a wall with it between miles 3-4. That’s why the leg strengthening. Leg endurance is just not that great to do a full half with this stride right now.
The most immediate problem though, is I have Iron Horse Half in a little over a month. Two weeks will give me just under a month of training, plus it’s supposedly a mostly downhill/flat run. I should be fine.
Finally, my physical therapist, who is also a runner, took a look at my stride on a treadmill. She said it looked fine in terms of pronation. This was nice confirmation of what multiple running shoes sales people have said. Overall, my stride length is ok, but she suggested kicking my legs back more. I have to shuffle less and spend more time in the air. The idea is to move the of impact from strides to more exertion and work by the muscles.
I tried it tonight and guess what? I *flew*. It often did feel like gliding. I only did 3.5 miles because it definitely is more physically taxing on my quads and calves. I started to feel the lactic acid in my quads at around mile three. However, my pace was 9:23/mile. Normally in training runs, I’m right at 10:00/mile. If I can keep practicing this and strengthening my legs, I might break two hours on a half marathon.
A little bit better tonight. 4 and a half miles, and pace was down to 10:00. Still feeling it in my legs, though.
Spent three days this week at the gym. I usually do a mile or two on the treadmill at a 9:00 pace, then cycle through leg machines and upper body. No issues whatsoever in terms of stamina.
Treadmill runs are incredibly boring, but I make myself do them because it gets my legs used to a faster pace.
I knew this was my first keto run, I know I’m not performance fat-adapted, I knew how I felt (good, but not great), but somehow I couldn’t make the connection in my head of what this all meant. I set out to do eight miles on a Sunday night like I usually do.
It was a mess. About a 10:30/mile pace. I kept the new stride, and by mile three I was feeling the lactic acid in my legs. After four and a half miles, I called it. The problem is solely in my leg strength and endurance, not any sort of cardio or pulmonary issues. That’s good, but also incredibly frustrating. My heart is not the limiting factor, but my muscles are. I’m going to have to do more gym work at least for the next couple of weeks, scale down the running, and then inverse it back before Iron Horse.
After San Juan, I did 5-6 miles on the Sunday evenings just to keep things up. In Chicago there was much food and alcohol. I don’t know how much we spent at The Aviary, and I don’t want to know. I did manage to get in four miles around Millennium Park. I slipped back into ketosis pretty quickly this week, and the keto flu was nowhere near as bad as the first time.
The first time was about three or four days of misery and fog. I felt drained mentally and physically. This time, it was just kind of a “Hmm, something’s not quite right” feeling for an afternoon.
I physically still feel a bit off, so I’m not going to try another run till Sunday. I’ll have two months of training under keto before Iron Horse at the end of August, no rest but easier the following week, then ramp it back up for Orca at the end of September.
I’ve been told by my physical therapists I need to take care of my legs and body especially after long runs. No, really. I’ve always *known* this, but like many things, it doesn’t sink in until I’ve been really, really told.
Post runs and non run days, I’m doing PT-assigned stretches and exercises to strengthen my and loosen my legs. After runs, especially right now, it’s icing.
For ankle icing, I got the Elasto Ankle Wrap. If you search for “ankle ice wrap” on Amazon, this is pretty much the only one you’ll find that goes around the entire foot. Some leave either the top, sides, or heel exposed. My ankle problem spreads throughout the whole foot, so this thing has been great.
The most impactful routine, however, is the Hyperice Hypersphere.. An aunt and uncle recommended it. It was a little pricey, but holy cow, it’s worth it. It’s about a five inch wide vibrating ball. I use it at the lowest setting and it’s more than enough. I basically sit in front of the TV with this thing under my calves and hamstrings. It loosens everything up and my legs feel like putty afterwards.
Today was supposed to be total rest, but it was Pokemon Go Community Day, so three-ish miles of fast walking. Ouch.