Time flies quickly. Welcome to the week number 7. If you missed, please check week #6 here.
Skipping Saturday’s run made my Sunday’s run more difficult and longer. So, let us start with that.
Day 1 – Sunday, February 16, 2020
Oh My God! Where do I start with this? There are many things to discuss about this run. I will start off with recovery after the run as it was something I did for the first time after running a long distance.
Recovery – I was researching about the efficient ways to recover after the long run. That’s when I stumbled across this amazing article. I read through this article and found the advantages of ice bath after the long run. I was immediately sold and really wanted to try it out after this run.
Long story short, after finishing the run, I filled the bathtub with cold water and dumped a good amount of ice in it. The moment I stepped my left foot in the water, it sent a wave of cold throughout my body and I immediately took a step back. It was harder than I thought.
I remember taking a couple of breaths before taking a step in the soul cold water. This time, I managed to keep my feet in the water for a couple seconds before getting out of it. This continued for next 2-3 minutes, before I submerged the lower part of my body in this demonic water. I couldn’t last more than 10 seconds in that water and had to repeat it multiple times to take a proper ice bath.
I did not imagine that doing this simple activity would help me tremendously. It worked like a magic and the pain the I felt the last time I ran long distance, was no longer there. It was an Eureka moment for me. I learnt something new, which I am going to repeat after every long run. It works, trust me!
Here’s the picture I took during one of those step-ins in the cold water.
Jogger’s Nipple – It is also called Runner’s Nipple. I had only heard about it and seen it in the famous The Office episode (the one where Michael hits Meredith with his car). They have shown Andy suffering from Nipple Chafing while running the 5K that Michael organizes for the entire office. Instead of boring you with the details, here’s the quick recap of that incident.
Before today’s run, I had only imagined it being experienced by “other people” and not me. I was so dead wrong. There were many reasons I suffered Jogger’s Nipple after this run. I would like to summarize those as
– I ran a long distance (9 miles)
– I wore a Polyester Fabric during this run
– I took a hot water bath immediately after soaking lower body in an ice water
The moment I felt the pain, a little part of me died. It was excruciating and simply unbearable. I cursed myself for wearing that T-shirt. I told myself I would take an extreme precaution before my next long run, which is next Sunday.
I spent the later part of the day scratching the sore area and basically being uncomfortable. I have learnt my lesson.
Also, a huge shout out to this article. It helped me come up with some new techniques to possibly prevent this and if needed, do some damage control.
Run – Talking about my run, I broke a new ground today. This was the most amazing run I ever had, and part of the credit goes to the T-shirt I was wearing. I am in a dilemma now! I must come up with a way to keep wearing that T-shirt (similar cloth) and prevent post run pains such as Jogger’s Nipple.
I don’t know what was different during this run, but, I felt like I could go on for 30 minutes more, but, I didn’t to prevent any injury. I clocked in my best pace for a longer distance in the course of this run.
I finished the 9-mile run in 1 hour 45 minutes 40 seconds. I maintained an average speed of 11.44 minutes per mile.
This is a big improvement over the last run and a significant improvement of 4 minutes than the last 9-mile run I did. My Apple Watch has been my side throughout this journey.
Day 2 – Monday February 17, 2020
I was glad that I was not running on Monday, because I needed a break from Jogger’s Nipple. Yes, it was still paining. It was CrossFit day and our bootcamp workout was not that easy. I went with the heavy weights for most of the movements and barely managed to finish the workout.
Here’s how it looked like. Please note that the workout started with DBB, which stands for Death By Burpees. We did 45 burpees before starting the actual workout. Side note – Burpee is my favorite movement.
Day 3 – Tuesday February 18, 2020
This was the first time I felt skipping the run. I don’t know what was wrong that morning, but, I felt like just laying on my bed, taking a couple more hours of sleep and then go to work. But, this is the moment that tests you and your mental capabilities.
These are the kind of moments that I live for. These are the moments that either make you or break you. If I do not rise above this particular moment, then the 30-days 100 push-ups challenge, Ultramarathon prep, and CrossFit are of no use for me. And, I know I have talked about this in the announcement post, but I always keep this scene from “Brittany Runs a Marathon” at the back of my head, which motivates me to push harder and go beyond.
I am putting that scene here once again! You’re welcome!
Anyway, getting back to the run, though I did not feel like running, that was the case until I stepped at my gym. Seeing many people working out and cracking those burpees motivated me and I started my run (obviously after stretching and some water intake).
It was a good run, especially because I clocked in the best time for a 4-mile run, keeping up with my 9-mile pace.
I finished the 4-mile run in 47 minutes 07 seconds, maintaining an average pace of 11.47 minutes per mile.
Here’s my Apple Watch after this run.
Day 4 – Wednesday February 19, 2020
One more CrossFit day. My session starts at 6 PM and I could barely make it at time due to work. But, I was glad I did come and saw myself through the workout.
At first, the workout looked daunting, but wasn’t at all. I remember not looking at the clock throughout the workout and found out we were done for the day and I was not even that tired. The outstanding part of the workout was I had to do a sled pull with >100 Lb of weights and my trainer standing on top of those weights. It was surreal completing the entire pull and then breaking for the movement. I really liked my don’t give up attitude during those 30+ seconds. Yay for me!
Now, here’s the workout.
Day 5 – Thursday February 20, 2020
Time for a 4-mile Thursday morning run. I underestimated the low temperature as I could not see any snow, but, boy it was cold. I remember taking baby steps to my car to head to the gym. As soon as I got in the car, I blasted off the heater in my car and I was on my way.
I was happy seeing people working out, motivating myself to perform better. As far as the run is concerned, it was nothing new for me to finish a distance of 4 mile now. The only thing that I had in mind before starting the run was to finish it before 48 minutes and I am glad I could do that.
The 4-mile run took 47 minutes 22 seconds at the average pace of 11.50 minutes per mile.
And here’s my Apple Watch
Day 6 – Friday February 21, 2020
A rest day, finally! Seemed like forever.
Day 7 – Saturday February 22, 2020
Last day of the week! This week seemed like forever. I was so ready for Saturday and call it a week.
So, the day started with a run, followed by the interval workout, and the usual Saturday brunch at my favorite restaurant in Northville.
The run was pretty decent. From the start, I did not want to stress myself, therefore, kept a lower pace than usual and 3 miles into the run, my treadmill just stopped working, therefore, I lost a precious 10+ seconds fixing it, before resuming it to the normal speed. I think this was part of the reason, I took more than usual to finish the 4-mile run. I am not complaining though! It was a good run. The only thing could have gone better was starting the run sooner. I got up later than planned, and ended up finishing the run at 8.40 AM, giving myself only 20 minutes before starting the interval workout at my CrossFit gym. I will talk more about it, but first take a look at my Apple Watch after the 4-mile run.
I finished this 4-mile run in 48 minutes 06 seconds with 12.01 minutes/mile pace. I am not worried because of this.
Now, talking about the interval workout, the reason I mentioned I got only 20 minutes between the run and the workout is that 20 minutes into the workout, I started feeling a little dizzy and I had to take a good 5-minutes break to wear off that feeling. My trainer, Jen, recommended drinking more water, which certainly helped. I think because of this, I could not workout to my full potential, but, I think, it happens sometimes and you just have to live with it.
I could not take the picture of the workout, but, it went something like this.
10 minute Assault Bike – team of 3
10 minute AMRAP – individual
– 3 dumbbell crushers
– 6 dumbbell squats
– 9 dumbbell biceps curl
– 12 dumbbell over head walking lunges
10 minute row – team of 3
It was the first minute of the dumbbell crushers when I felt some dizziness, so I had to take a step back, rest, and attack the workout again!
My favorite part of the day and the week came after finishing this interval workout. We went to our usual place for Saturday brunch and this time I ordered an additional side dish of sausages. I was craving for those for a long time. Here’s the picture.
This is it for this week.
If you are interested, here’s the highlight of the week in a single picture.
stochasticity 