Sat 2/2 - double, 90 minutes total

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.