OBJECTIVE
easy run up to 7 mi. to test calf

ACHIEVED
7.18 mi.@ 7:46

5:25 AM 44° 77% 6 mph

I met today's run with eager apprehension. It was quite strange. In some ways, I felt like I was getting ready for a race. My plan was simply to ease my way over 6 or 7 miles to see how I felt. Hoping for no physical mishap along the way. Subconsciously, the plan seemed to be to prove that hadn't lost anything over the past 4 weeks. Chalk one up for the power of the subconscious mind! Not that my fitness was proven, hardly. But my head seemed bent on proving the point ... no matter what.

What does that mean? Well, it means I ran this one too hard. In the end it's fine but I went against my plan. I suspect this is a foreshadowing of things to come. I'm going to be fighting with myself over the next 7 weeks. Rationally trying to keep my irrational side from "proving something" every time I hit the road.

I probably over-assessed how I was "feeling" during this one. Trying to determine what has been lost and if anything was gained during my injury timeout. It seems my cardio is generally okay. I thought this is where I'd drop off. However, my legs felt like lead today. There was no spring in my step at all. What little speed I had trained into my legs seems to have "left the building". It's only one day and maybe I'm reading things wrong but that's what it felt like today.

Happy to be running again.

PRE RUN


POST RUN
weight = 165.5
water, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk

elliptical = 65 minutes

5 min. WU
2 min. hard/2 min. easy
5 min. CD

Good news! Felt fine this morning. Just need to remind myself to ease back into it. "You mean to tell me I can't make up for 3 1/2 lost weeks in one run?"

OBJECTIVE
easy, easy run to test my injured left calf; hopefully get a full loop (3 mi.) if everything feels okay

ACHIEVED
3.01 mi.@ 8:09

7:47 PM 54° 73% 9 mph

After not feeling any issue with my calf over the past three days, I decided it was time for another test. I stopped at Memorial Park on the way home from work. It was a beautiful night and even better, I didn't have any issues with my calf. Not even the slightest niggle. This is surprising to me after Saturday's episode. But I'll take it. Once my calf held up for about a mile, I got caught up in trying to "feel" what I'd lost over the past 25 days. That was basically a stupid exercise but it didn't stop me from trying. I'll know where I'm at soon enough. I'm sure it will become abundantly clear ....

water running 122 minutes

10 min. WU
5 x (10 x (50 sec. all out / 10 sec. rest) w/ 2 min. easy)
12 min. CD

This one seemed a bit overwhelming before I got started. But once I got into it, it was manageable. I had a good workout. Had to remind myself to go "all out" a few times along the way but my stride rate never dropped below 158 per minute and was usually faster. The goal for my stride rate in the water is 156-160.

elliptical 65 min.

10 min. WU
5 x (7 min. hard/3 min. easy)
5 min. CD

Did a really good job with my stride rate. Kept it around 170-180. Saw three people I know at the gym today. One wanted to talk the whole time during the last half of my workout. Still trying to decide if that was counterproductive.

Another day without anything noticeable from my calf. Starting to get ideas ... again ...?

water running 60 minutes

10 min. WU
1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 min. hard / 1 min. easy
10 min. CD

This went pretty well. Had my stride rate up around 150 during the hard intervals (goal = 158 -160). Didn't feel anything in my calf at all. :-)

stationary bike 19 minutes

11 min. WU
8 x 20 sec. all out w/10 sec. rest
4 min. CD

Distance during total 2:40 bursts = slightly less than 1.4 miles (~31 mph avgerage). Not quite as far as Saturday's effort ... surprisingly.

Elliptical 65 minutes

10 min. WU
5 x (7 min. Hard/ 3 min. Easy)
5 min. CD

Kept my stride rate up during the hard intervals (around 170-180 strides per minute). This was my best elliptical session.