Sunday, April 15, 2007
Blame it on the Rain
Today's Run: 6.49m
Run Time: 1:11:52 (11:04 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 517.8
Thoughts on the Run:
You can blame the rain for me not going to the mountain. I had no desire to trudge through sludge in the cold.
You cannot blame the rain, however, for me not working out. Because I did! I set out to do at least 12 in my neighborhood. I was toying with the idea of doing more just because the hills aren't quite as severe (although I do have my fair share).
I woke up feeling sore and stiff and like I did not want to run. After some breakfast and waking up, I still felt a little "under the weather" but had the energy to run. I was determined to make an effort. The weather was nasty: overcast, in the 40s but closer to 30s with wind chill, slight drizzle and plenty of gusts.
I loaded up and started running. I think my first mistake was assuming that because it was so cold, I wouldn't need as much fluid. I brought plenty, but just wasn't drinking as much. Hydration is such a science ... too much and your stomach sloshes and you have stomach pain, too little and you get dehydrated and lose performance.
The run actually felt phenomenal. After warming up over the first mile our so, I was in a nice rhythm. While it was cold, it wasn't freezing, and I was dressed perfect for the weather. I warmed up but did not get too hot and actually welcomed some of the gusts, when they weren't trying to blow me off the sidewalk into traffic.
I tackled the hills with a steady pace and managed to conquer even the longer ones without compromising my average pace of about 11 minutes for every mile. I like the run near my home because in my mind I can divide it into neighborhoods. I pick up a few miles in my neighborhood, another few in the next neighborhood, then another three, etc. There is a main road and then each subdivision has two entrances so I go into the south entrance, loop through the subdivision, and come out in the north entrance and continue on the main road.
I had just completed about six miles and felt confident I'd end up doing more like 13 or 14. I turned by a library near my house and headed down another road. Here, I'd veer off into the hilliest neighborhood of them all. I was actually looking forward to it, having missed tackling the 800 foot climb at the beginning of my Kennesaw run.
Suddenly I noticed my right calf muscle was aching. I decided I didn't have time for this and that it would go away. I focused on having a nice, consistent stride and form, and pressed on. The ache stayed there, however, and while it wasn't a sharp pain and wasn't getting worse, it wasn't going away. Ironically, it seemed to disappear for a few moments, and then suddenly came back and this time a shooting pain radiated from my calf down to both sides of the ankle of my foot. The pain subsided, but there was still some discomfort..
I didn't press it this time. I know when my body is tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Hey, enough!" The last time I "ran through" some pain, I ended up out of commission for a few weeks. So I stopped and began walking. It was rapidly becoming more stiff, so I called my wife and asked her to pick me up.
She was there in a few minutes. Running in the cold is a catch-22. If you keep running, great. The instant you stop, however, look out. I was drenched in sweat and no longer running, so I began to slowly freeze. Fortunately, my rescue crew arrived and had my seat pre-heated!
We rode home and just that short ride caused my leg to become completely stiff. I could barely walk on it. The pain is by my ankle and in my lower calf. I'm sure it's an issue from me adding so much volume of training ... but I'm also confident I stopped soon enough and didn't push it too hard, so if I rest, I should be able to recover fine.
The reason I feel it's probably a classic case of overtraining is because after cleaning up and having a meal, I felt nauseous. My heart rate hadn't slowed much and it almost felt like I had a fever (we checked it, and I didn't). So, I took about a three hour nap.
Now I feel much better and recovered. My leg is still sore - it's interesting that it is a combination of what feels like simply a strained/sore muscle (my lower calf or soleus) and a stiff/twisted ankle. We'll ice it and see where we go from here. I probably have pushed it a little hard this week and just needed to take a break and catch some rest.
So that's exactly what I'll be doing right now!
Jeremy
Run Time: 1:11:52 (11:04 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 517.8
Thoughts on the Run:
You can blame the rain for me not going to the mountain. I had no desire to trudge through sludge in the cold.
You cannot blame the rain, however, for me not working out. Because I did! I set out to do at least 12 in my neighborhood. I was toying with the idea of doing more just because the hills aren't quite as severe (although I do have my fair share).
I woke up feeling sore and stiff and like I did not want to run. After some breakfast and waking up, I still felt a little "under the weather" but had the energy to run. I was determined to make an effort. The weather was nasty: overcast, in the 40s but closer to 30s with wind chill, slight drizzle and plenty of gusts.
I loaded up and started running. I think my first mistake was assuming that because it was so cold, I wouldn't need as much fluid. I brought plenty, but just wasn't drinking as much. Hydration is such a science ... too much and your stomach sloshes and you have stomach pain, too little and you get dehydrated and lose performance.
The run actually felt phenomenal. After warming up over the first mile our so, I was in a nice rhythm. While it was cold, it wasn't freezing, and I was dressed perfect for the weather. I warmed up but did not get too hot and actually welcomed some of the gusts, when they weren't trying to blow me off the sidewalk into traffic.
I tackled the hills with a steady pace and managed to conquer even the longer ones without compromising my average pace of about 11 minutes for every mile. I like the run near my home because in my mind I can divide it into neighborhoods. I pick up a few miles in my neighborhood, another few in the next neighborhood, then another three, etc. There is a main road and then each subdivision has two entrances so I go into the south entrance, loop through the subdivision, and come out in the north entrance and continue on the main road.
I had just completed about six miles and felt confident I'd end up doing more like 13 or 14. I turned by a library near my house and headed down another road. Here, I'd veer off into the hilliest neighborhood of them all. I was actually looking forward to it, having missed tackling the 800 foot climb at the beginning of my Kennesaw run.
Suddenly I noticed my right calf muscle was aching. I decided I didn't have time for this and that it would go away. I focused on having a nice, consistent stride and form, and pressed on. The ache stayed there, however, and while it wasn't a sharp pain and wasn't getting worse, it wasn't going away. Ironically, it seemed to disappear for a few moments, and then suddenly came back and this time a shooting pain radiated from my calf down to both sides of the ankle of my foot. The pain subsided, but there was still some discomfort..
I didn't press it this time. I know when my body is tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Hey, enough!" The last time I "ran through" some pain, I ended up out of commission for a few weeks. So I stopped and began walking. It was rapidly becoming more stiff, so I called my wife and asked her to pick me up.
She was there in a few minutes. Running in the cold is a catch-22. If you keep running, great. The instant you stop, however, look out. I was drenched in sweat and no longer running, so I began to slowly freeze. Fortunately, my rescue crew arrived and had my seat pre-heated!
We rode home and just that short ride caused my leg to become completely stiff. I could barely walk on it. The pain is by my ankle and in my lower calf. I'm sure it's an issue from me adding so much volume of training ... but I'm also confident I stopped soon enough and didn't push it too hard, so if I rest, I should be able to recover fine.
The reason I feel it's probably a classic case of overtraining is because after cleaning up and having a meal, I felt nauseous. My heart rate hadn't slowed much and it almost felt like I had a fever (we checked it, and I didn't). So, I took about a three hour nap.
Now I feel much better and recovered. My leg is still sore - it's interesting that it is a combination of what feels like simply a strained/sore muscle (my lower calf or soleus) and a stiff/twisted ankle. We'll ice it and see where we go from here. I probably have pushed it a little hard this week and just needed to take a break and catch some rest.
So that's exactly what I'll be doing right now!
Jeremy
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