Goals: Build chassis strength and ramp volume carefully in Stockholm
- 4 x Zone 2 runs + 4 x strength sessions + 3 x floor climbing
- Distance: 72.10 km (+31.31 km / 77%)
- Time: 12h 19min (+333 / 82%)
- Ascent: 1184m (+187m / 19%)
- Calories: 7974 (+3474 / 77%)
On Tuesday I had one of those “this feels absolutely amazing” runs that have been rare of late. 16.75km and the calves, which were sore from floor climbing, eased into it as the kilometers passed. Heart rate didn’t run away. I kept pushing moderately up hills and allowed it to go into the 150s and even 160s with ease. Body felt really fresh, no niggles. These are the runs that remind me why I do this.
Wednesday was a different story. More of a slog, and I think the culprit was underfueling the day before. I hadn’t fully committed to a half until the 6km mark, at which point I decided the slight fatigue wasn’t sufficient excuse to not go through with it. The run got easier for a while, but at 12-13km I started to lose form. What’s interesting is that it’s not actually visible in any metric - cardiac cost, pace, cadence, ground contact time all held together. I must have had enough energy to keep it together even while feeling rough. These are the days you need to build the automated mindset that being tired means nothing, that you can go on even if you’re having a slightly off day. Calves were a little tired towards the end and quads got tired the last 10km. Had a short period of left knee discomfort around 10k, but it went away.
I ramped back to 12km on Thursday, not wanting to push too hard this week. Body was still a little more fatigued than normal even though I’d fueled plenty and had solid sleep. Can’t really explain it - I haven’t had a lot of volume and everything else is solid. The fatigue doesn’t show up in cardiac cost or other metrics, which are actually better than they’ve been in a long time. Calves were a lot less sore and the quads didn’t bother me much at all.
The stair climbing continues to be its own experiment. Spent 70 minutes climbing on Friday, 457m of ascent. My legs had opinions by the end.
I wanted to do a half on Saturday but it took a while before I was out the door and I was short on time. Decided to do 14km instead. RPE was definitely 1 to 1.5 points higher out of the gate - I think I went out a little faster than I should have - but it eventually settled back down and the feeling was good. Slight niggle in the left knee inner/mid towards the last 3-4km but didn’t feel much after. I was back in the Hoka Clifton 9s for the first time in a while. They felt amazing.
The chassis build continues. Heavy single-leg calf raises with a 7-10kg backpack, eccentric split squats, good mornings, Copenhagen side planks. All the posterior chain work I should have been doing months ago. The combination of running volume plus stairs plus strength work means my legs are in a constant state of adaptation. Whether this actually translates to being more durable on trail in five weeks remains to be seen, but the theory seems sound.
