AM - 60 minutes easy, loop from RLTAC to river via BU and back through Brookline. Felt similar to last night's treadmill run, calf stiff more than sore and especially so the first 20 minutes. Picked up the pace the last 20 minutes to test it out and it passed the test. Moving awkwardly at first but the stride smoothed out over time. Milder temps this morning but with a driving westerly wind
PM - 30 minutes on the treadmill, a bit over 4 miles. Started at 7.6 and got up to 9 mph. the worst of the effects of the calf strain appear to be in the past thankfully but the flipside is that the tib anterior muscle is picking up a lot of the slack right now. As a result it's tight as a drum. Stretched out everything well w/o overdoing it.
2/1/08
Fri 2/1 - PM 60 minutes, 7.4 miles on the treadmill
What a difference a day makes, although the next day will be the important one in seeing how well the calf responds. The plan was to use the elliptical but after 8 awkward unproductive minutes on that thing I got off and decided to try running instead. Started very gingerly at 6 mph not expecting to last more than 30 minutes and not planning on going any faster than 7.5 mph. Every 2 minutes the speed went up .1 mph and this gradual increase was crucial in getting the leg loosened up and allowed me to get to 9 mph by the end. Also kept the incline flat instead of the 0.5% to account for wind resistance that has been the standard. The icing continued all day at work, along with some more aggressive compressions. I found a large knot in the plantaris region that has to be from favoring the injured area, which is more laterally located. Working that thing out made a difference.
1/31/08
Thu 1/31 - off, again
Calf is improving, albeit slowly. Another day of icing, and some gentle massage with the stick. Also did some simple leg extensions as a flexibility measure to counteract the deep-seated tightness (which is in both legs) that set the stage for Tuesday's strain.
1/30/08
Wed 1/30 - off
A day spent limping around and applying ice every 60-90 minutes. The only bright side is that the right calf felt better at the end of the day than at the beginning. I'm thinking it will be about a week before I can run again, but run in this case doesn't mean race. No idea when that wil be possible.
Tue 1/29 - PM RLTAC just over 60 minutes incl. 2x800, 1600, 3x800
Unmitigated disaster as I strained my right calf (upper lateral gastroc area) on the last repeat, which was supposed to be another 1600. A possibility I perhaps should have seen coming, right calf had been tight for going on a month now, and lately the area hadn't been responding well to stretching. Needless to say, racing 25 laps in spikes the other night and doing treadmill runs on a slight incline hasn't helped matters. It tightened up during the first two 800s tonight, after the 1600 I did some direct pressure which I thought loosened it up. In fact, before the fateful final rep I was mulling over whether to do a couple of 400s or not, so unaware was I of how vulnerable the area was. Forced to make an acceleration in order to take over pacing duties halfway through the final 1600 while heading into the curve and it just went. Next time I'm in that situation and the outgoing leader doesn't ease up I'll just stay right where I am, thank you. I knew right away it was bad, maybe not just how bad. After some more direct pressure I tried hobbling through a 10 minute cooldown which in hindsight was a mistake. Got home and iced it before bed but getting to sleep was no picnic. Remains to be seen how quickly I can bounce back from this but it looks like my indoor season may well be over.
For what it's worth the numbers were as follows:
2:22.7
2:23.2
4:50.8
2:21.8
2:24.3
2:24 kaput
2.5R after each 800, 4R after the 1600. The pace was difficult but not impossible to manage, had to focus to stay on task during the 1600 while 800s were much easier to get through.
For what it's worth the numbers were as follows:
2:22.7
2:23.2
4:50.8
2:21.8
2:24.3
2:24 kaput
2.5R after each 800, 4R after the 1600. The pace was difficult but not impossible to manage, had to focus to stay on task during the 1600 while 800s were much easier to get through.
1/29/08
Mon 1/28 - PM 44 minutes on the treadmill, 10k
22 minutes, 8.1 to 9.1 mph, short break, then repeat. While it wasn't overly cold outside, by the time I got home I had no interest in going outside and it was treadmill or nothing. Tired all day at work, staying up late Saturday took a day to sink in so I was paying for it today. Stride felt smooth as it always does on the treadmill.
1/27/08
Sun 1/27 - AM 75 minutes easy/medium in Boston
loop from RLTAC, SW corridor to the river via N. Station and then over to Baystate Rd. footbridge then heading back through the Fens. Wind-driven snow was at times intense, made for near white-out conditions and of course less than ideal footing. Moving at recovery speed for the first two thirds of the run, at which point I picked up the pace a bit just to get the thing over with more than anything else. Legs not that sore from yesterday, tomorrow may be another matter.
Sat 1/26 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5k in 15:09
An exercise in mild frustration as the personal olympics just didn't quite go as fast as planned. Smooth, even, and slow. Unable from the get-go to maintain the planned rhythm of 36 sec/lap, which I was hoping to maintain through 4k before winding it up for an heroic finish. After a slow early couple of laps with people sorting themselves out I thought I would be able to get it going but when I did try to push it out a bit the effort pushed back and I found by the first km that the upper limit was just slower than the desired 15 minute pace. Once that became obvious I put my head down and gave up on checking time splits other than at each kilometer. Those splits were as follows:
3:02
3:02.5
3:00.5
3:05 ugh
2:58
the core of the frustration stems from the fact that I know in my bones I could have run a faster 5k three weeks ago at the mini-meet had I run the full distance instead of a 3k time trial effort. That day the 36s required far less effort than the 36-points (and occasional 37s) I was hitting today. There was no taper that week, in fact the day before I ran a 90 minute progression that left me pretty damn tired. However that was also the end of a vacation week during which I was sleeping more and better than I have been since.
As it always is the race was populated mainly by clueless collegians, bless their hearts, who went out over their heads and paid for it. With a few exceptions (incl. the other post-collegiates in my section who beat me) I could sense the people ahead of me sagging right around the halfway mark. As such I'm sure I looked like a million bucks moving through the field even as I was slowing down myself on the fourth km. That drag-ass section coincided with being stuck between a group I had just left behind and the stragglers being shed from the group ahead.
The whole experience left me anxious for a shot at redemption. The next scheduled 5k wasn't until New Englands which is also at the end of a vacation week, but given I'll be on the redeye back from CO two nights before I'm not inclined to put my eggs in that basket. As such I'm changing the planned 3k in two weeks at Valentine to a 5k. Changing my bedtime will be more difficult but imperative nonetheless.
3:02
3:02.5
3:00.5
3:05 ugh
2:58
the core of the frustration stems from the fact that I know in my bones I could have run a faster 5k three weeks ago at the mini-meet had I run the full distance instead of a 3k time trial effort. That day the 36s required far less effort than the 36-points (and occasional 37s) I was hitting today. There was no taper that week, in fact the day before I ran a 90 minute progression that left me pretty damn tired. However that was also the end of a vacation week during which I was sleeping more and better than I have been since.
As it always is the race was populated mainly by clueless collegians, bless their hearts, who went out over their heads and paid for it. With a few exceptions (incl. the other post-collegiates in my section who beat me) I could sense the people ahead of me sagging right around the halfway mark. As such I'm sure I looked like a million bucks moving through the field even as I was slowing down myself on the fourth km. That drag-ass section coincided with being stuck between a group I had just left behind and the stragglers being shed from the group ahead.
The whole experience left me anxious for a shot at redemption. The next scheduled 5k wasn't until New Englands which is also at the end of a vacation week, but given I'll be on the redeye back from CO two nights before I'm not inclined to put my eggs in that basket. As such I'm changing the planned 3k in two weeks at Valentine to a 5k. Changing my bedtime will be more difficult but imperative nonetheless.
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