Saturday, January 9, 2016

Training recap: 1/4-1/10

Week 5:

Monday 1/4--Easy 5@5 this morning with Jess in her 'hood to start off the week.  I was a bit tired from my triathlon at Lifetime Fitness the day before, and Jess was feeling a bit off herself, so we kept this one relaxed for both of us.  The rain held off and we got the miles done.  Overall pace: 8:59.

I felt exhausted on Monday evening (lack of sleep on Sunday night plus back to work on Monday AM) so I chose to skip Power Train this week.  Good choice overall!

Tuesday 1/5--rest day (I did go to physical therapy today)

Wednesday 1/6: First specific speed workout since March!  Met Tamara, Jon and Allison L. for 6 miles starting at the rec center.  

Horrible selfie LOL!

2 miles warm-up, followed by 3 miles at a 7:45-7:55 pace, and a mile cool-down.  I wanted this first tempo run to be at a bit slower of a pace (my PR half marathon was at sub-7:40 overall pace, so my tempo pace technically should be a bit faster).  The three miles were 7:52, 7:51, and 7:38 (downhill for most of last mile).  I felt great during this run.  Mile 2 was quite hilly, but I felt strong!  No heel pain till we finished, and ice as well as stretching throughout the day helped that. Overall pace: 8:22.

Thursday 1/7--
AM: Recovery run with Allison S.  We met early so we could get in the 5 miles and then have a quick Starbucks date.  Love my runs with this mama!  Overall pace:9:20. Felt great as well during this run.

Couldn't stop laughing!
PM: 30 minutes on the trainer (no clue about pace/distance as I don't have my speed monitor yet), plus 5 minutes of pedal drills that my friend Tracey recommended.  Physical therapy after the ride.  

Friday 1/8: rest day

Saturday 1/9--14 miles on tap today as we continue to build up miles.  There were no less than ELEVEN of us at the run today!  Such a big, fun group of ladies.  

The last 7... we really did start with 11!
The support from these women is nothing short of phenomenal.  Tried super hard to keep the pace at around 9:00/mile, and was pretty successful (overall pace 8:58).  But... and this one's a big but... 

I'm hurt. Again.  I'm praying hard that it's nothing, but my heart is saying it's not.  My left outer calf started to feel tight at around mile 9.  I could feel it continue to get tighter.  By around mile 10.5 it was actually starting to hurt.  I didn't know what to do.  We were doing an out-and-back... I had to either walk or run to the car; I couldn't just stop.  The others ran ahead (they actually had no clue my calf was bugging me--I didn't say anything, and they typically speed up towards the end anyway).  Megan S. stayed back with me as she wanted to keep her pace at 9:00/mile as well.  We stopped twice--once for her to have a potty break (I stretched and massaged my calf), and once for me to stretch again.  Neither of those stops helped.  Truth be told, I probably shouldn't have ran the final 3 miles.  I could feel my leg with every single step and it didn't feel good at all.  I begged Megan to entertain me with stories about meeting her husband, her kids, etc.  This helped me make it through till we were done.  

Since I've been home, I've iced three times and stretched and rolled a bit. Not sure what I should be doing.  Dr. Google says I have a soleus strain.  I know my body pretty well at this point, and I'm fairly confident with my diagnosing skills, especially when it comes to calf issues.  All I know is that it hurts.  I am positive I couldn't run to save my life right now, as walking is uncomfortable.  

Bet you're all wondering about my plans, huh?  Day by day, that's how I'll be taking this one.  I can't get lost in the enormity of the situation... this is why I am doing a 20-week plan, so that a week or two off won't affect my training too much.  I'm hoping that's all it is.  Please, if you're a praying person, send one upstairs right now?  I've worked hard to be smart leading up to and within this training cycle, and for things to go downhill right now... I just don't want to think about it.

Total running miles for the week: 30 
Total cross-training workouts: 1 (definitely not doing anything tomorrow)


3 comments:

  1. Just catching up on things. WTF, Marcie?! What are they [docs] missing? I seriously hope you get answers and they don't just beat around the bush on this one. Stopping what I'm doing right now to pray for answers and healing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lisa... I just don't get it myself. I feel like I've done everything the "right" way. Maybe I'm just not meant to be a runner.

      Delete
    2. Stop it! You can still be a runner. Even if full marathons end up not being the safest option for you, you can still excel at many other race distances. Plus, you have a good thing going for you with the tris.

      Delete