7/12/2009

I hit 109.7 equivalent miles composed of 62.7 miles of running and 141 miles of biking (47 equivalent miles) to a plan of 115 miles. I had one great workout and then the week went to crap. That is not exactly how I planned the week, but I had what I think was a close call with an injury this week and I took a very conservative approach. On my Thursday morning run, the first run after my workout, I felt a tightening of my soleus muscle about 5 miles in. I think that it was the beginning of a "Grade 1" calf strain according to this web site. I can feel some tenderness where the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles meet on the anterior side of the back of the leg when I push on it but there is no pain to speak of when I run on it. I do not want to lose a month or more like last summer so I replaced all my runs with rides for three days and I am going to split my mileage 50/50 for the next week to let my leg rest up. I was planning on taking an easy recovery week after this upcoming week but I will move it up a week. I was able to run 7 miles on Sunday with no pain (although, I was aware that my calf was not 100%) but did not push my luck by going further. I have been doing a lot of light stretching and calf raises, I wrap my lower leg in an ACE bandage at night (I find this speeds the recovery process quite a bit) and take some Advil. I should be icing but have a hard time finding the time. I am also doing some massage with the Stick and a foam roller. Hopefully I caught it early and have it contained. Overall, it may be a blessing in disguise - I had planned on supplementing my running with a lot of riding to prevent injuries like this and I have not been doing any cycling at all. I have blamed that on the weather and time, but it is really because I hate cycling and I think that I was getting over confident with my running because things have been going so well for a couple months now. This was a good wake-up call to get me back to basics and smarten up. For the remainder of the summer I am going to continue base building split between running and cycling (max out at 80 miles/week of running). I do not race again for almost 2 months so I don't think it matters how I get the miles in.

Monday:

• AM - 10 mi (70:34) Easy run at work.
  
• PM - 6 mi (42:09) Stopped by the Groton Town Forest again. Easy run.
  

Tuesday:

• AM - 10.5 mi (71:25) This was supposed to be an easy run but turned out to be a fast run and one of the scariest runs I have ever had. When I headed out it was a little overcast, but sunny. About 5 miles into the run the sky started turning dark and the rain started. About 5 minutes later I heard the thunder and could see the lightning. Then there was a huge boom and a bright flash right next to me and the rain turned from a light drizzle to a torrential downpour. I was scared for my life so I ducked into a barn that I was passing by and hid in there with the ducks and chickens for about 20 minutes until the lightning passed by. I could not believe how hard the rain was coming down and how ferocious the thunder and lightning was. When there was a break I headed out and hauled my ass back to work at about 5:30 pace (so much for the easy run) and just beat the next wave of the storm as it swept through. Not a fun time!
  
• PM - 5 mi - I was a little gun-shy tonight so I went to the gym and rode on the indoor bike. I rode 15 miles in 43:33 (~20.7mph average).

Wednesday:

• AM - 5.2 mi (39:01) Easy run before workout - very slow.
  
• PM - 14 mi () 5 mi w/up, 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m @ 10k pace w/ 200m rest after the first 400 and the 800's and 400m after the other repeats. followed by a 3 mile cool down. I was really tired from the last couple days so I just eased into the workout very slowly. My splits were: 80 (81), 2:35 (76), 3:57 (1:54), 5:13 (2:08), 5:08 (2:18), 3:50 (2:11), 2:26 (1:27), 68. The total workout was 6.375 miles and took 38:18 which is almost exactly 6:00 min/mile pace. Get lots of rest.
  

Thursday:

• AM - 10 mi (73:09) I slept for 11 hours last night! I felt rested but my legs still felt a bit tired so I took it really easy on this run. I felt good for the first 5 miles and then I felt a pain in my right soleus that reminded me of the calf strains I got 3 times last summer. I finished the run and tried not to push off too hard on my right foot so that I did not aggravate it. I think that this is probably a minor strain so I am going to do more cycling for the next couple of days and see how it goes.
  
• PM - 7 equivalent miles - I cycled 21 miles in 62:45 on the stationary bike at the gym. Just knocking out the second workout. My calf did not bother me at all.
  

Friday:

• AM: 39 miles on the bike in 1:56 and change (20.3 mph average). This was a pretty long ride and gives me about 13 equivalent miles. I felt good riding but my neck and butt are feeling a bit sore.
  
• PM: 12 mile ride in 34ish minutes (20.7 mph average) - I needed to get in a couple more miles so this give me 4 equivalent miles.
  

Saturday: 30 mile ride in 1:32ish (18.4mph average) for 10 equivalent miles. This ride sucked big time. I had to start at 6:30AM and I did a pretty hilly coarse. My legs were just fried and I am really surprised that I made the entire ride. I almost cut it short at 20 miles.

Sunday: 7 mi (50:56) + 24 miles on bike in 69:02 (total of 15 equivalent miles) - I wanted to test out my leg and see how things were progressing after 3 days off from running. I did not feel any pain, per se, but I could feel something in my calf. I think I may have averted disaster and just need to be cautious coming back so that it does not develop into a full blown injury.