So just based on the raw numbers, you'd think I didn't improve all that much. My heart rate is still entirely too high for my pace. My watch is still giving me long recovery period suggestions and saying my effort is basically maxing out. So in that sense, I haven't improved at all. The question then becomes, did I not solve the root problem and thus didn't get any better; OR, am I just out of shape now? I am definitely leaning toward the out of shape answer.
While my watch stats are coming out similar, I can tell you with certainty, my body feels LIGHT YEARS different when I am out there running. When I was struggling before, each run felt like a monumental effort. My legs were heavy and had no spring. My energy levels were zapped. The last two miles of six mile runs were torture. Afterward, my legs would feel sore and weak for days. Just walking up the stairs burned. I don't remember my cardio being the main hurdle, although I'm sure it wasn't great. My body just felt like garbage.
Compare that to after the break. My body feels fine! It feels like it would during normal times. The runs are no longer a monumental effort that leaves me drained. The main problem these first few runs back seems to be my cardio. It is labored. The 10:30 pace feels harder than it should, not because of my legs not having spring, but because I'm breathing way too hard for the effort. Basically, I haven't had a good cardio effort since Zena. I was slogging around due to my legs. I then took two weeks off. I basically didn't have a decent cardio workout for six weeks. So now that I'm back, I'm just frankly out of shape.
The biggest thing leading me to this conclusion is the way my body feels after a run. It feels fine. It feels normal again. My muscles aren't dead. My legs don't burn with any effort the next day. Miles five and six yesterday felt no more difficult than the previous miles. I finished the run and still had a spring in my step. I'm not sore today. So while my watch is telling me not much has changed, I know a lot has changed. I'm not going to rush back into anything, just in case I'm still finishing up some healing of some sort, but I think I'm in shape to run again. I'm not going to push it, just two four mile runs during the week, and then one longer run on the weekend.
Also, I am ignoring the old 80/20 method (aka "run slower to get faster") for now. I believe deeply in that once you are in shape. But if you're out of shape... it'll take six months pussy footing around with your heart rate to even get partially back to where you were. When I first started running, it was simple. Three times a week, three miles. Fast as I could go. When you are running low mileage, it works. I think that'll get me into shape a lot quicker. Once I am somewhat back to my normal shape, where a 10:30 pace is an easier effort, I can go back to that motto. For now, I need to push my cardio a bit in low mileage to get my speed back. It wasn't that long ago I was in pretty decent shape. I'm thinking it should come back with some sustained effort.
So that's the update! I definitely feel much better and my struggles now seem to be a result of poor cardio due to the time off. I'll keep monitoring things as I go though!
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