Week 2 went significantly better than week 1 (basically because I managed to stay on 2 feet at all times!)  I am still dealing with issues in my right knee and lower back due to my unfortunate run in with a tree root, and then the ground!  At the beginning of the week, my chiropractor did some Graston Technique treatment to help with the tightness in my knee and it helped immediately.  The hematoma in my lower back is still causing significant swelling and muscle tightness.  I’ve never had anything like this before – the swelling is huge, and from what I hear will stick around for quite a while.  Thankfully the pain I was experiencing with every step is gone now.

On Monday I got out for about an hour on my road bike.  I wanted to give my knee another day of rest from the impact of running, but thought a bike ride might help stretch things out.

Tuesday I did my planned 6km run, hoping that the knee would feel better.  It definitely wasn’t 100% but it did feel better.  I made sure to stretch after the run in hopes that it would help to keep loosening it up.

I did a short hill workout on Wednesday as per my plan.  It went OK, but I didn’t have a lot of time to work with so it was shorter than I would have liked.  I plan to spend more time on these type of hill workouts since it makes a big difference come race time.

Thumbs up for hill repeats!

Thursday I did another short 6km run and felt like my knee was continuing to improve.  My back was also feeling better, although the muscle was still super tight after that run.  I assume the swelling gets worse and causes the increased tightness.  I haven’t noticed it anytime but after a run, and I have been able to stretch it out quickly afterwards.

Friday I had planned to do 20km right after work (and from work) on an asphalt path that runs the length of the Niagara River.  Unfortunately this meant running in the direct sunlight, at 4:00PM when it was about 32 degrees celcius!  We have had a very hot, dry summer so I have acclimatized to the heat but this seemed a bit much!  Nevertheless I was determined to get the run in, and tried to adjust my pace accordingly.  It went OK, although I could have used more hydration than my single handheld bottle.

Saturday was my usual hour and a half road ride ending up at my daughter’s soccer game.  I find this is a good way to squeeze in some training time without missing family stuff.  It was a nice morning ride to loosen up the legs between my two long runs of the week.

Sunday was long trail run day.  I was a bit nervous after struggling through my 20km on Friday in the heat.  I was able to get out much earlier in the day and for the first time in a long time, it was cloudy with a light rain falling!  I couldn’t have been happier!  The clouds made it feel much cooler than it has been, and the rain hid the humidity.  I did my 22km as planned on a mix of wide open and technical singletrack trails.  I kept a pace around where I want to be for the Run for the Toad and all in all it felt good.  The lack of sun/heat really helped.  I also tried something new nutrition-wise today.  I carried water in my Salomon Skin Pro 3 pack, but also mixed up a higher-than-normal concentration of GU Brew electrolyte drink.  I carried it in a 237mL soft flask (also from Salomon).  I kept this in one of the accessible hip pockets and drank it throughout the run.  It seemed to work well, and didn’t cause any digestion issues.  Seems like a much more efficient way to carry both water and some electrolytes.

I am pleased with how this week went.  I hit my initial plan of 60km of running (probably my longest distance week ever!) and my injuries seem to be getting better in spite of that.

For week 3 I have a race on Wednesday (our every other week short distance trail race) so I will go easy on Monday/Tuesday.

• Monday – 6km road run
• Tuesday – rest
• Wednesday – race in evening
• Thursday – 6km road run
• Friday – 20km road run
• Saturday – 35km bike
• Sunday – 25km trail run

Hoping my injuries continue to get better and the giant swollen lump in my back starts to recede!  Comments?  Lets hear em!