Emily's training blog

It was nice and cool outside this morning, but very dark.  I wanted to get my run in early since I will be on a plane most of today.  I've decided that short runs are nice, but my body needs a couple of more miles to really get going. I ran a mile and a half warm-up, followed by 10 x 1 minute on, 1 minute off.  Then, I cooled down another mile and a half.  When I was done with my fartleks, I felt ready to start a workout.  My legs feel good, except for my omnipresent sore calves.  Of course, that might mostly be from the ecentric exercises I did last night.   Well, off to Indianapolis!

I arrived in Indianapolis to find that they are having record high temperatures, hovering around 100 degrees.  With the humidity, the heat index is over 107.  I woke up and went for a run around race time, trying to feel out what the temperature would feel like.  It was about 75 degrees at 7 in the morning.  It was definitely warm while I ran, but seemed manageable.  I jogged through downtown Indianapolis until I found the canal road.  I ran back and forth on the canal road for half an hour, and then jogged back to my hotel. 

Later in the day I met the other athletes.  We went for a course tour.  The course is flat and shaded, which is nice.  There is about a 4 mile section of straight running with no turns, and then back a block over, which will mentally be a little tough.  After the course tour,  the race held a dinner and fashion show of running apparel.   I concentrated on hydrating well through the day.

So, today was a disaster.  I knew that the heat and humidity was going to be a factor, so I wanted to forget about trying to hit a goal time, and run conservatively.  Everyone's finishing times were about 4-5 minutes off their personal bests, so the weather definitely played a role. 

I warmed up 15 minutes easy, and then headed over to the starting line.  I did some strides, and then we were off.  I tucked in at 6 minute mile pace for the first three miles.  The next three miles I had dropped to 6:20 pace, but seemed to be holding steady.  We were all getting spread out at this point.   At mile 4, my achilles started hurting, but I kept pressing on.  Over the next four miles, I started experiencing shooting pains up my right hamstring.  I couldn't tell if it was cramping, or if it was a referred pain based on how I was landing on my achilles.  It started getting worse in miles 8-9.  At this point I knew the race was not happening for me anymore.  I limp-jogged my way to the medical tent at mile 10, where they offered me a packet of mustard . . . not helpful!  I realized that I wasn't going to get much help, or a ride to the finish, so I decided to jog easy to the end.  It didn't matter how slow I went, the shooting pains continued.  That was the longest three miles ever.  I went to the medical tent at the finish line, where they iced my achilles, which was throbbing pretty good at this point.  Later in the evening, the shooting pains came back, running from my hamstring up into my hip.

So, the heat may have been a factor, but what I ultimately realized was that if my achilles can't make it through a half marathon, then the marathon is starting to seem out of the question.  Part of me wants to forge on through, but I feel like I'm setting myself up for disaster.  The injury is always in my mind, and I keep having to back off my training in order not to aggravate it . . . which means I'm not where I want to be fitness-wise . . . which leads to no confidence when it comes to races. 

My initial instinct is to finally take the time to heal up, and start the re-building process.  That means Olympic Trials in the marathon are not likely to happen.  This is obviously a huge disappointment, but I've been so miserable through this whole process, that it's almost a relief to hit this point.  More than my physical limitations, I am not in the right mindset to tackle the marathon.  I've put so much importance on qualifying, that I'm not enjoying running . . . especially on an injury.  It may be time to get all healed up.

Back to running.  I ran a few times last week.  The first time I ran 3 miles, a couple of days later, 4 , and Saturday 5.5.  I'd like to say that my achilles is completely healed, but it still gets pretty sore.  New shoes and a stiffer heel lift seem to keep most of the impact off of it. 

I feel a bit stiff and awkward, like my body forgot how to run.   I'm sure I'll smooth out after a while.   I ran out 4800S to the river trail, up at Bullion to 1300W, to 5400S and home.   This is definitely the best time of the year to run!  It is so gorgeous outside. 

So, I don't have any immediate plans.  I'll probably stick to easy running for a while.  If I want to maintain top 3 on the LDR circuit, I need to run the Beat the Heat 5k on Oct.16th.  I know I shouldn't care, but the 500-750 dollars that I will win tempts me too much.  It won't be a great race though.  But, really, all I have to do is run it to get enough points. 

I slept in this morning, so after I dropped Cole off at pre-school, I hit the club.  I need to make good use of the daycare.   I ran 7 miles on the treadmill.  I had only planned on 45 minutes of running, but because I'm anal about hitting exact mileage when I am on the treadmill, I ran the extra 2:10.  I ran my usual progression run, starting at 8.5 mph, and increasing every five minutes.  It's not the most exciting run, but the treadmill does protect my calves.

Today was another exciting treadmill day.  It was the same drill as yesterday, but I started slower (8.0 mph) and increased every half mile.  I even managed 6 minute mile pace for the last minute of the run.  I plan on running outside tomorrow.