Not Yet

Calf still troublesome. Waiting it out. See you next week.

Update

Seems as if checking in here has become a weekly thing at best. I'm OK with that for now. The running has been sporadic and labored this week as the right calf issue crept back into the picture. Monday I rested but the following day I picked up the pace on a planned 6-miler and felt a twinge that has made things challenging since. Tried to run each day since, some days made it a few miles, others not. Like today, I shut it down after a mere 1/2-mile not because of the severity of the discomfort per se, but more that it just seems a less active approach to recovering from this will be called for. I've dwelled enough in my own head on this topic all week, and feel there are better ways to spend my energy than to further ruminate on it here. I'll try running again on Wednesday and play it by ear.

Fear of Distance

I have this fear of long runs. Maybe I'm not alone. But for whatever reason I've never been able to head out on a run greater than half-marathon distance with full confidence. (For the record, I guess I consider anything much beyond 13.1 miles to be "long," considering that past that threshold glycogen depletion tends to come into play).

Like today, for example, I tucked my metro pass into my garb "just in case something goes awry." But the thing is that in general, things go off without a hitch and all the fears turn out to be spooks, those little demons that haunt us from their shoulder perches. I don't know what exactly it is I'm afraid of, maybe injury, maybe the "pain" of longer runs, or maybe just being humbled. But then again, perhaps bringing a backup option is not really a bad idea. Or, I ask myself, does the fact that I have doubts indicate I'm not being completely honest with myself? Whatever the answer, I'm sure to justify my actions somehow, regardless of whether or not something bad actually does happen. And I guess there's no sense in trying to pick apart a fear which is really probably quite normal.

So now that I've got that out of my system, (and thank you, I feel quite better), I'll report the run of the day. Planned 14 miles, a true tour of some of the best multi-use paths around, starting and ending at my doorstep. Weather was nice, sun was out, and the running went pretty well to the extent that I tacked on an extra mile at the end to bring me closer to the 2-hour mark. Part of the hesitation going into it was the right calf issue that came on my radar a little over a week ago. Not sure what's causing it, and it's hard to pinpoint a movement that irritates it beyond general running. I describe it as a cramp, but who knows. The two times it felt like it was getting irritated today I stopped, stretched, and moved on. That happened at the 20 and 40 min mark, but it felt better for the latter half. Something to keep my eye on, and I'll continue to stretch and massage the area until I'm sure it's cleared up.

I feel good about the run today, like things continue to come together with my training. The long miles today give me free pass for a rest day tomorrow, which I'll cash in at the gym with some light cross training. 15 and a quarter miles, 1:58:30.

Nonlinearity

I'm back! The left shin was somewhat sore until Wednesday afternoon, so I decided to try an easy run Thursday morning. 6 miles (51:00) on the treadmill before work and things felt fine after an initial period of hesitation that lasted about 10 minutes. It's strange, almost like the stiffness just melted away as my legs warmed up.

The other days this week I stayed busy with some lifting and cross, and some cycling. I netted over 110 miles from Sunday to Thursday on the bike and man it felt good.

This morning I swung by Rock Creek at sunrise for a jaunt around the park. The trails are covered in about an inch of white stuff from Tuesday night's storm. Made traction challenging in some spots but otherwise it was fine. Legs actually felt great and I remember a distinct feeling of relief that this shin issue seems to be passing. Just needed a few days off I guess, although I'm wondering if I overreacted. I guess it's probably good for me anyway and I'm glad to be erring on the conservative side unlike some years past. After winding up and down some trails the route ends up on the Valley Trail, which is a great relief after hustling up and down the hills for the previous 5 miles. It's about 3 miles of mostly flat trail along the creek, and today I wound up more or less naturally falling into a tempo effort. This felt great and everything was gravy after the run. Calling it an 8 mile effort, 58 minutes. Looks like it was just a case of the back-to-work blues.

It's been suggested to me before and I've noted over the past few months that this process (training) is nonlinear. This jives with what I sense to be an undulating, although ultimately rising, path. Curves and dips, mini-progressions, then you wind up on higher ground. Although sometimes it's easy to focus too intently on the setbacks, which many times (actually every time, in my experience so far) turn out to be minor in the greater scheme of things.

Substitution

So, there we have it. Back to the slog and I can barely get in a post here per week. This was a particularly tough week, readjusting to the hustle of work and other obligations. One highlight in particular is that I tried the run-commute to work on Tuesday, running the route I sometimes take on my bike. It's about 6 miles, a mostly steady uphill all the way. It was a nice change of pace but I kind of missed having a short bike ride to warm up my legs prior to running. Haven't decided if it's something I'll pursue or not.

I managed about 37 miles for the week in 5 runs, which seems to be where I am for now in terms of mileage. I got a cramp in my right calf that started Tuesday morning and stuck around for a couple days. It went away by Friday, but not without hampering my outlook for the remainder of the week. My legs have felt generally crappy all week and now I've noticed some more pronounced pain in my left shin. This started pretty low grade but gradually progressed past the point of general soreness. I had shin splints only once before, back in 2002 when I first started running for real, and this feels similar. Thinking I can shift gears, wait it out, and hope it clears up promptly.

Today, instead of heading out for a longer run, I hopped on the bike for a cold and very windy figure-8 loop around town. Stuck to multi-use trails mostly. While I was moving like molasses in that wind out there today, my legs felt pretty good. Didn't stop my watch for traffic lights or the single pee break, netted me 34 miles in 2:20. While I'd rather be running these days, it was nice to be on the bike for a change. Glad I'm able to make the substitution.

Go With It

Today's run just kind of came together serendipitously. I'd thought about mapping out a 13-mile route somewhere near my parents' house in West Chester, but my dad suggested we try the Laurels Preserve out in horse country. I didn't know what to expect and the only map I could find of the place didn't have mileage indicated on it. So we agreed to play it by ear, run our separate runs, and meet up at the car after about an hour and forty minutes. That gave me plenty of time to cover 13 miles at a conservative pace.

Turns out it's a great place to run and I'm not sure how this place eluded me all through high school and beyond. When I started out from the parking lot, another runner went off just in front of me at a similar pace. My best guess is that I was doing about 7:30 per mile to start, which felt comfortable. I got to the end of the main trail in 16:26, and doing some quick math estimated that the stretch was just under 2-1/4 miles long. The other runner took off up a side trail onto some private property and I decided to turn around and run back toward the parking area. When I split the time at the parking lot in 15:11, I realized I'd just set myself up for a decent challenge. Just run out and back two more times, and I'd have covered my 13 miles and some change. I hit the third 2-1/4 mile split comfortably in 14:52 and accepted the dare I'd subconsciously given myself to try and run each split a little faster than the previous. The long and short of it goes that my paces went 7:30-6:54-6:45-6:37-6:35-6:46. By mile 10 or so I was feeling noticeably sluggish, but I didn't slow down as much as it felt like I did. The last split was mostly a struggle as I'd lost most of the strength to maintain my pace up hills (it was a slightly undulating course) and I lost the focus to float on the downs. I rounded the 6 splits off with a 1/2-mile cool down out to Rt. 82 and back for a total of 13.7 miles in 1:35:13. This was definitely a challenge toward the end but for the most part I surprised myself with some pep I haven't felt in a while.

Mapping the route the best I could confirms my hunch on the distance. So, an all around good Sunday morning outing. Perfect temperatures (mid-40s) although a bit muddy, and great workout. Things rarely come together like this and when they do, I'm glad to take them without question.

Starting Easy

No carefully crafted post for the first day of the year. I have a marathon looming on the barely visible horizon. The last three months of 2010 were a period of growth, some reacquaintance and even some forgetting. I'm in a good place right now, mentally, physically, and other ways. A place where the intimidation of an upcoming race just balances with the desire and confidence to get there. I'm not thinking of finishing times yet, but I will eventually, because I'm certain I can at least cross the line (the finish, that is). I have until June, roughly 5 months, to get into marathon shape. In tandem is the hope and motivation to stretch this process beyond the June 18 benchmark, and caress it back into a lifestyle. So for now, only feeling resolved really to continue in the direction I'm headed.

Got in some cross and lifting today instead of a run. Felt right and it leaves me well-rested for tomorrow's longer run.