60 min. water running
10 min. WU
Ladder 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 min. hard each followed by 1 min. easy

Water is something like 800 times as dense as air. This quality results in a few things when it comes to water running versus running.

First, the pressure put on the body by the water increases the volume of blood returning to the heart. This allows the heart to pump more blood with each beat. Essentially it's a forced efficiency. The net result is that the heart doesn't have to work as hard even though it is under the exact same "work conditions". This partially explains why I've felt like water running is "easy".

Second, an efficient number of strides per minute on land is 180 strides per minute (elite marathoners will hit around 192). However, the density of the water makes turnover more difficult. I've read that 180 on land equates to about 160 in the water.

Third, the body's natural buoyancy seems to make certain aspects of water running easier. This is just my observation and I don't really know how to explain it much better than that.

The quality of today's workout was better than the prior two workouts. The ladder workout out pretty good. And I focused on keeping my stride count at 160 per minute. I didn't find this to be hugely difficult physically although I was pushing harder than I usually have in the pool. I did find it very challenging mentally. I kept finding myself slipping back into a state of "going through the motions". I'll continue to work on it.

My calf continues to improve. I was imagining getting back out on the road ... maybe sometime this week. As I walked to the car from the pool, I was reminded that it's still too early. The soreness in my calf seems to have "moved". Instead of being squarely in the center of my calf, the focal point is now on the outer edge of the mid-calf. I find this interesting. I'm wondering if this is where the "real" injury is and it's just the last to fully heal. An unrelated theory is that the massage therapist bruised it on Friday .... Who knows?