M'kay

6.5 miles in 50:37, 7:47/mi, HR 141.  1 mile in 9:09, HR 123 with the dogs.

Knot in lower left calf, some left ankle stiffness, pain in left shoulderblade....yesterday's 24 miler left its mark.  Almost scratched today but I usually do better with active recovery, so off I went.  First two miles very slow (8:46, 8:22) before finally warming up and settling into a nice easy pace.  Pleasant trot afterwards with the dogs.

Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 462.77 miles.

Unscheduled off day today. Left calf definitely not healthy. Deep in the vertical center of my lower leg there is a stiffness/pain that occurs when I move my leg forward while my foot is planted. Pretty much happens just past the 90 degree point. I could probably run today as it seems to get a bit better on warmup but I'm not going to risk further damage....it didn't get any better after yesterday's easy day and I've got too much riding on the next month or so. I'm hoping that its not really serious and just needs an extra day of rest but have broken out the ice and and rolling pin (poor man's "The Stick") just in case. I'd flirted with the idea of cross-training on my recumbent bike instead but decided one day of complete rest won't kill me...plus, I'm not sure if the bike would make it worse. I hope to be back on schedule tomorrow but there's a very real possibility I'll be punting on my Yasso 800s workout.

*******

Boy, I can be a real idiot. I'm glad I married someone clearly smarter than I am to remind me of that fact (politely, of course) periodically.

I bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and got them on Friday evening. I've read (and they even warn you) that you should gradually introduce yourself to them so you can build up any missing leg strength. I've also read that folks tend to get sore calves for a couple of weeks. So Mr. Smart Guy (me) decides to wear them after his long run on Saturday. Not that I did anything crazy, but I did putter around the house for a bit *and* drove out to the barn and walked around out there for about an hour or so. All this, of course, completely escaped my attention in trying to figure out what I'd done to deserve my sore left calf. It didn't even register when I noticed my *right* calf was a bit sore today too. Now granted, some of this started before I got the Vibrams, but I'm sure they made it much worse.  And I distinctly recall saying I wouldn't do anything dumb to mess up my last months training before the marathon.  All of which is why I'm so glad my wife is smarter than I am...

15.76 in 1:57:27, 7:27/mi, HR 154. 30 minutes warmup, 3.87 mi, 7:45/mi, HR 143. 10 x Yasso 800s with 2:50 rest. 30 minutes cooldown, 3.78, 7:55/mi, HR 147.

Woke up with no pain in the calves. A rest day well spent. Set goal of keeping all repeats in the 2:50-2:55 range. Averaged just under 2:55 but missed my target on the last two. First four felt very hard. Five and beyond felt like my body had adjusted but looking at the splits I see that I adjusted.....slower. Leg turnover felt like it was the sticking point for running these faster but that doesn't necessarily make it so. I am having more success mentally focusing on the extreme short term instead of thinking about the rest of the repeats or even the remainder of the lap. Now I just need to not fade so much towards the end.

Adrenaline 8 - 101.84 miles.

9 miles in 1:09:19, 7:42/mi, HR 148.

Stiffness and soreness in left adductor muscles, surely from yesterday's workout.  I feel more beat up than I should for having taken Monday off.  Core workout afterwards.

Asics GT 2120 - 256.68 miles.

9.81 miles in 1:13:20, 7:28/mi, HR 157.  30 minute warmup, 10 x :20 Strides with 1:00 rest, 30 minute cooldown.

Ran on the fast end of easy with 10 sets of Strides in the middle over various terrain.  First half of the Strides felt nice and easy with good form seeming to flow effortlessly.  Last half they seemed to get harder and I had to focus on staying relaxed and in good form.  Warmup and cooldown parts were both an a somewhat aggressive pace. 

This week is a "recovery" week with a race at the end so mileage is going to be lighter than normal.  I'm feeling off.....runs are harder than they should feel and the mysterious ache syndrome is in full effect.  Hope this goes away before Sunday.

Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 472.58 miles.

 

6.5 miles in 50:48, 7:49/mi, HR 150.

Slog today.  Felt like I was crawling as I tried to keep the pace very easy, yet legs still felt heavy.  Didn't get my typical boost mid-way through the run, either.  Gorgeous day in the 60s.  Believe I confirmed that I'm somewhat lactose intolerant yesterday, which unfortunately meant I was up in the middle of the night a few times.  Hope this feeling passes by Sunday.

Adrenaline 8 - 108.34 miles.
 

4 miles in ~ 32 minutes.

Just a warmup today before tomorrow's HM race.  Garmin died out of the blocks.....hibernating the computer has about a 1 in 15 chance of turning it on which lets the battery drain overnight.  Very annoying.  Still feeling a bit sore and beat-up but better rested today.  I'll spend most of this beautiful day (9:30 am and already near 60F) in a car driving to get my race packet.  Then I'll come back and hopefully have time to mow the lawn before it completely takes over the yard.

Asics GT 2120 - 260.68 miles.