Every Race is an Adventure!

I was planning to run this morning, but when I got up my left calf was very stiff and sore. I tried to loosen it up a little, but finally decided to wait and see how I felt at noon and maybe do a few miles on the treadmill in the fitness center at work. I tried a little jogging in the hallway around noon. It was a tough call, but there was enough pain that I decided to hold off one more day.

I went out to run at the normal 5:45am this morning and found I was alone. I ran the first part of Monday's run and the last part of Tuesday's run for a total of 4 miles.

I wore the compression sleeve on my left calf. I've been gently massaging my calf multiple times a day and it's feeling better, but it is still sore.

It felt good to run this morning. I averaged about 8:00/mi for the 3.25 level miles and took the hill quite a bit slower.

I ran the hills with Larry this morning. We didn't push real hard but maintained a good pace. My calf (in sleeve) felt okay, but it is still sore enough that I'm reluctant to push it very hard. I really enjoyed the run. On the last stretch toward home I was once again in my "happy place"...running strong on a beautiful morning in good company.

I had to take my wife to the airport in the morning so I couldn't run. I was hoping to get in a few miles in the evening, but with chores and playing Mr. Mom it didn't work out. I'm treating this as sort of a recovery week anyway. Maybe the day off will help my sore calf.

I decided to put in a few miles at marathon pace this morning. I had to get out a little early so I could help the kids get off to school.

I warmed up for the half mile over to the school then ran the neighborhood 5K course. I average about 7:30/mi and felt pretty strong.

My left calf was still sore in one spot (lower calf, upper achilles) when I massaged it before the run. I wore the compression sleeve. I felt strong and felt no pain in the calf during the run. I'm looking forward to the 20 miler tomorrow morning.

It's taken me five days to actually get to logging this run. I guess I've been trying to forget it...although I've also been busy from dawn to dark (on my "vacation") working on projects and trying to run the household while Karen's been gone for a week. She got back last night so I'm back at work. Thank goodness.

Anyway, Saturday's planned 20 miler with Kerry and Verdon started off well, but didn't end so well. This is the third time I've done this run this season, so I wasn't too concerned about it, which may have contributed to my difficulties.

I managed to stay with Kerry the 10 miles up to Trefoil, but it felt much harder than I expected. By the time I reached the top I knew there was some pain ahead of me on the trip back down.

Part way down South Fork I realized there was no way I was going to stay with Kerry all the way back. I had two painful blisters on my left foot (little toe, and ball of foot) and my legs felt completely drained of energy. I decided to push down to Vivian and then allow (force) Kerry to go on without me, which I did.

After some water and a rest at Vivian I tried to continue on. It hurt too much to walk so I started running slowly. I stopped at Nunn's Park again for water. At that point I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to aggravate the blisters further and my legs felt like they were ready to start cramping. I decided to call my son who came and gave me a ride to my car at the mouth of the canyon.

It was pretty demoralizing. I've attributed my poor performance to two factors. First, I blame the blisters on a poor choice of socks. They felt a little rough and worn when I put them on, but I foolishly ignored the discomfort. The shoes are also pretty new and I may not have had the left one tightened properly.

As for the complete lack of energy, I attribute that to two days of hard labor in the sun going up and down ladders combined with inadequate nourishment. I also lost one of my eGel packets early in the run which could have helped me at Vivian. I had an eFuel waiting for me at the car and after drinking it I felt fine and even headed to do some quick shopping before heading home. I recovered pretty quickly as soon as I got some nourishment.

I guess we have good days and bad days running. This was definitely not a good one, but perhaps one I can learn from.