Well today was the first speed workout in 12 days. I was admitedly nervous going in having no idea how the calf would hold up or where my fitness level was. I had an afternoon meeting in Seattle so I decided to run around Greenlake. I managed to dodge the rain but not the winds. It was quite gusty throughout the run.
Had a good two-mile warmup and then jumped into the workout...a tempo run of 8 miles @ a relatively pedestrian 5:40 pace plus two more miles at 5:20 pace.
The first quarter was in 75 seconds. Oops. First mile was 5:20. Oops. Everything felt surprisingly good although i really only had about 80% lung capacity for some reason. I just couldn't ever seem to get a full deep breath. Anyway, after a brisk first mile, I settled down into the 5:25-5:30 range for the remaining seven miles.
At the start of the 8th mile, my left calf began hurting again to the point that it was impacting my ability to push off on my left leg. The last mile was definitely more work than the previous seven. I made the decision to skip the final two miles to not risk further aggravating a calf that apparently is healed yet.
The good news is I felt great doing the 8 miles from a fitness perspective. Maybe I haven't lost as much as I had feared. However, it was disappointing to have a return of calf issues in the left leg. The cool down was quite tender. I was able to do some good stretching but it's pretty sore. | 