Lloyd P.

Minimalist Runner

[doublel79]

June 2022. A lot more walking than running, as my right knee still pains me post run. I have learned to do squats and have been advised to try bridges as well. It makes sense that any weakness in other areas of the body will overload my knees, and that makes the most sense to me. Another insight that popped into my head was that overall body strength work will be more beneficial than focused squats and bridges. Granted, I put a bit more emphasis on squats and bridges, but I am adding pushups, planks and weights to my workouts. Overall strength = overall strong running makes perfect sense to me. Longest walk last month was through the East Village and Stuyvesant Park, through Alphabet City and Stuy Town back up to Madison Square. I was showing Stokely my favorite neighborhoods in Manhattan, but he fell asleep lol. There's always next time. Cool throwback on my last long run of 2021, an out and back on the OCA Trail from van Cortlandt Golf Course to Hastings and back. It was a hot one! Especially with no shade along Yonkers Ave. #backtorunning #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel #trailrunning #familybonding #monthlyrecap https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfg_FMirgqh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Here's to my little guy. You're growing so fast, crawling everywhere and exploring your curiosities. You warm me up every morning when you smile and reach for me when you wake up. We always have fun whenever we spend time together. You have such a deep personality, it's amazing to see the behaviors you got from me and your mommy, and how you learn from your daily experiences. Mommy and I are deeply thankful daily for you being in our lives, an integral part of our family. We love you Stokely! Happy 10 months! ♥️♥️♥️ #teamphillipsSSL https://www.instagram.com/p/CfIZsz7r52x/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

May 2022. After my run on May 1, my right knee was in a lot of pain for most of the remainder of the month, prohibiting me to run again and giving me a lot of pain walking after sitting for any period of time. I discovered the power of frequent squat workouts, which helped ease up the pain, got me back to walking pain free and gave me a chance to run again. I closed out the month with 20 minutes on the treadmill, and it felt good. I followed it up the next day with a road run that also felt great on June 1, which was followed up with my knee tightening up again and giving me pain. This time around it healed up faster. Three days instead of three weeks. I'm gonna keep squatting (exercising, not living in abandoned buildings lol). Lots of tracked walks has been my sweet spot since last year. Strava has a monthly 50K (31.1 mile) walking challenge which I have been consistent in completing. Hoping to get my running up by the end of the summer! #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel https://www.instagram.com/p/CeYmUNALeYO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Instead of a week by week for the meat of this almost finished May, I will give you a monthly-ish summary. After my last run on May 1, my right knee was in a lot of pain. It stayed with that pain for the following two weeks, so I couldn't run and walking was a bit difficult, mostly when getting up after sitting for a while. I had to think about this recovery strength work. I found a bunch of workouts which were cool, but I was looking for a workout more direct. I stumbled upon an article on Medium from a lady who was recovering from ACL surgery. Her PTs had her do squats, and she stuck with it daily for months and has recovered great, not needing a cane to walk and being able to walk and run pretty well. Strengthening tendons and ligaments like squats will do in your knees seems to be the right way to go. So I started out trying bodyweight squats, sometimes squats while holding Stokely (he likes it, he starts giggling) at least three times a week, preferably daily but sometimes that won't happen. I'm feeling so much better on my second week, so I'm getting ready to give some running a try again. I might hit the treadmill first before getting out on the roads. Let's see 🤞🏼. #backtorunning #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #kneerecovery https://www.instagram.com/p/CeHYSXNP7P1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

9 months later.... Stokely is healthy, happy, strong, very curious, and the cutest member of the Phillips family 😁. Crawling everywhere, standing for multiple seconds at a time unassisted, and very loud and vocal. We are expecting those teeth to start peeking out soon 🦷🦷🦷 and I want to hear what he's thinking. I love to hear "da da", but am looking forward to hearing many many many "why?" questions lol #teamphillipsSSL https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6lmw5vdg1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

My first road run in months at the end of April had me feeling inspired and highly motivated to drop the treadmill completely and hit the streets. Two days later, I got out on a Sunday morning. With no warmup, it was a really tough first mile. I stuck with it and eventually warmed up, keeping it low and slow. My right knee had a soreness that I, as always, stubbornly pushed through for 4 miles. The pain sunk into my knee hard for the following week, especially after sitting for any period of time, I was reduced to a limp until I moved enough to walk regularly. As you can guess, it was no running for the rest of the week. Or the following week. The pain has finally let up where I can stand after sitting and walk regularly. Strength training is the moral of the story. The older I get, the strength and mobility I must work on to keep running. If it's something else, I will share what I have learned. Let's get ready for Summer running! #backtorunning #Strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel #strengthwork #running #kneepain #mobility #flexibility https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdnncg7LPej/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

A couple of weeks ago, I was a guest on a podcast! This was my first podcast interview ever, and it was a nice conversation with Alexie @alexie.tv , the host of his "Tell It Like It Is" podcast. We discussed a lot of things, from how I became a DJ, how I started out in the restaurant industry, how I met my wife, race, religion, running, and more. There is a part 1 and part 2 both up on YouTube, link in my bio. #tellitlikeitis #podcast #youtube #doubleL #djing #cooking #restaurantindustry #running #trailrunning #ultrarunning https://www.instagram.com/p/CdgbDbDLcdS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Happy first Mother's Day to the rock and anchor of our family, my wife @samomoore . Her love for Stokely is unlimited and she shows daily that she is the Mother-of-the-year. I am hoping my Daddy duties are helping you get some much needed rest today! We are thankful for your love and thoughtfulness, and we love you! 💕💕 Lots of ❤️❤️, Lloyd and Stokely #teamphillipsSSL #mothersday https://www.instagram.com/p/CdTycSJPqJd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

April 2022. Less mileage than March, with a zero-run week mid-month. I finally got outside for a run on the 30th, and have heightened optimism about my training through the rest of Spring and into Summer. Last year, 2021 was my first without running the Marathon distance (26.2 miles/42.2K) since my first year of serious running, 2015. My farthest distance was 20 miles, which speaks of all of the physical pain I was dealing with on the run. Will I run 26.2 this year? Maybe. It all depends on how my fitness rebuilds. #throwback to April 2021, I was holding steady at 125.4 miles for the month, with over 6,000 feet of total climbing. I spent a lot of time in the back hills of Van Cortlandt, my favorite place to be, climbing the hills. #returntorunning #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes https://www.instagram.com/p/CdPAHErrYqN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Final week of April. Only two runs with my body still adjusting to the new work schedule. This was the week, I got out for my first outdoor road run since August 19, 2021! I went down to the gym as usual, but there were a lot of people in there. My first thought was to go back upstairs and wait for about 30 minutes, then try again. But then my brain chimed in another thought, "Get your ass outside! The weather is nice and here is your opportunity!" I took that opportunity and went a little over 10K on a sunny afternoon in the mid 50s. It's good to be back. #returntorunning #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes https://www.instagram.com/p/CdLF97YLKrk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

In my new blog post, I am logging my journey towards getting back to running regularly. 2021 was an injury-riddled year for me, but then I took my planned break when Stokely was born in August. I didn't have a comeback plan, just hoped for the best. One thing that is true is that it is very difficult. I'm sharing and will share with periodic updates what is and is not working for me. Please have a read! Link in bio. #returntorunning #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel #trailrunning https://www.instagram.com/p/CdHa5LIrWEq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Week 3, April 2022. New work schedule adjustment had my sleep way off, so it was zero runs for the week. Stokely turned 8 months, and we were trying to take a new family photo. Stokely thought otherwise lol. I think it is a nice pic. #backtorunning #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel #teamphillipsSSL https://www.instagram.com/p/CdF7_w-LoRt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

HOW TO RETURN TO RUNNING AFTER TAKING A BREAK (LIVE guide).

HOW TO RETURN TO RUNNING AFTER TAKING A BREAK (LIVE guide).

Trail running feels better with a sore knee. Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Van Cortlandt Park, May 2021 Taking a break from running is not easy, although necessary at times. Reasons include injury recovery,  a planned off-season after a serious training block, family matters (not the TV show), and many more. Breaks can be of varying lengths, from a few weeks to months. The longer the break, the…

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[doublel79]

Mid April It was a 4 run week, but mostly tired mornings kept me to 20 minutes on the hamster wheel (read: treadmill). 20 minutes > nothing. #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #backtorunning https://www.instagram.com/p/CdDYy3GOMPt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

In the first full week of April, I got in four runs, a nice step up. I changed up my speed workout, because although my go-to workout is fun, I need to change that up and bring some variety to keep my legs from getting comfortable. I went over my past training logs and was reminded of all the fartlek workouts I learned from Coach Brad Hudson's books. I adapted a workout for the treadmill. TREADMILL FARTLEK WORKOUT: -5 min warmup -10 × 2 min "on", with 1 min recoveries -3 min cooldown *"on" = my hypothetical 10K race pace. Hypothetical because I have to reestablish that pace with outdoor road running (e.g. training for and running a 10K race.) I pushed it up to 9-10mph on the "on" segments and kept recoveries at 7mph. Incline 0.5%. #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel #backtorunning https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc-qVQ2rqSA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Month of March training summary about four weeks late. Super light mileage on a treadmill, nothing much else to say but I'm slowly ramping up my running volume to maintain health. I've gained some considerable weight since August, and have some things I need to manage according to my yearly physical. Not a health crisis, but could end up being if I choose to stay idle, sitting around passively and eating the same amount of calories I ate while running 100 - 200 miles per month. I like to show Stokely how I cook sometimes. Here I was showing him my vegan pasta Bolognese. About 5 minutes in he was over it lol. Here's to the continued buildup to regular running! #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6buA5Lo-W/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doublel79]

Continuing my training review of my return to running. Only two runs during the final week of March/beginning of April, with one speed workout, the same one I did the previous week (warmup, 3× 3 min, 2 min, 1 min on w/equal recoveries, cool down). When finding consistency setting or resetting habits, it is helpful to find the tricks and hacks that work. Life doesn't stop happening, which is great because that means you are alive. That doesn't mean that things are easy when handed to you. You always have to make lemonade. I heard this Dolly Parton quote recently which is very relevant, (paraphrased) "If you want to see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." #strava #garmin #altrarunning #xeroshoes #humagel https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc2eyngr_2X/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=