View Workout (Joe Uhan)

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PRE + Spfd + Fairmount/Campus

October 16, 2013 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: amazing: dry, cool, sunny...incredible colors

Comments:
Pretty good day of work, though I felt tired. Been doing a lot of the same shit this week: working hip and trunk stuff I learned last weekend.

My boss is amazing. He hired a fucking physics PhD student (Cooper, who's a cool dude) to run the technology, so whenever I need to record someone's gait, he's there and will have it ready within 5 minutes.

Even better, he is very generous in recording me whenever I want! I wanted to recheck stuff since the class, now that I'm trying to change my trunk/hip angle. I'm also trying to figure out why the fuck my damn hamstrings are so fucking tight, especially the left.

What I thought:
- Landing too narrow
- Trunk L
- Overstriding

So I hopped on. Take #1, I was just getting the trunk forward and hips back. Side plane looked GREAT: foot beneath trunk, minimal quad loading.

The bad news: the trunk was crazy-left! Fuck! This was at 8mph; I was tested at 7mph last week, and it didn't show. I've been running about 8.5 outdoors. My L elbow was supz wide, too - not SWIVZ, but not clean.

Take #2: I tried to get a stronger plant with my right leg. Minimal improvement in the trunk. F!

So...I guess it's back to the tape! Ugh.

Biked home, got the run gear on, and headed out. No allergy meds today, though there might be some residual Zyrtek in the system.

The focus:

- Trunk forward (*pretending I'm dead-lifting!)
- Pawback

Later, I added:

- Clean "recovery" (Salazar-style)

Felt very mediocre. Ran maybe 7:10ish pace the whole run, but butting up against the 150 barrier (averaged 147...but only captured the last half...so many low 140s). WAY less tightness in the left hamstring, but still somewhat stiff...

The tape was a big help: I could feel myself "falling" L, and it helped keep me neutral. Very soon I was getting some tightness in my R abs. Then, in the last 3K or so was getting really sore and tight in the R glut/upper ham. Not that this is great, but I'm glad I'm feeling a "shift" back to the R. Way less L leg loading, which was good.

Still not sure why the damn hamstrings are so tight. It could be due to over-stride, but as of today's vid, I'm not. OR, it could be due to being too "long" behind (and the hamstrings having to work to swing the leg through), so that's why I was working on that shortened recovery. It's counter-intuitive, but I think it's the way to go.

Did some DEADLIFTS (45lb bar) at lunch, because that is the precise required run alignment: namely when the bar is at the "crotch" level: slight knee bend, neutral trunk forward, but back. So mid run, every few minutes or so, I'd drop my hands to the "pretend bar" at my waist band to make it make sure I was there. It was effective.

Some thoughts:

- I'm 98% sure I'm not going to do the triathlon on Sunday. I just don't feel like A.) I want to spend the $$, B.) I want to spend the energy, and C.) I'm ready (either in my swimming OR my run stride).

- I'm <50/50 for doing Autumn Leaves. If I can't run ten miles under 7:00 pace without going to threshold, clearly I have work to do - both in fitness and in my stride. The hamstring tightness, though, is far more troubling. It sucks. Let's see what happens this next few days.

In good news:

- Going out for a beverage with Kimber tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it. It's another event in my theme of "ambiguous, zero-expectation hang-out experience". This is clearly NOT a date (ugh, fuck dates). But, I do feel like she likes me a little bit. B-)

Man, she's got her shit together: Master's Degree, fucking faculty at the U of O, and an elite runner who made steeple finals...at age 24??? Damn, girl!

I've been a little so-so on her, because she's a little quiet/reserved, and she's not quite as much of a looker as I'd normally be into. BUT...she came it to see my boss yesterday...was lookin' pretty damn good in those BUN HUGZ! Not quite as good as Jordyn, but she's cuter...and unlikely to be lesbian. :-P

Soo....I guess we'll see..."Expect nothing, and anything seems everything."