Going Long (again) in 2024

Day One of my 24 week training plan, leading up to Coach D's Backyard Ultra in May.  It's an interesting Backyard, in that it only goes for 24 hours, while following the Backyard format.  So, everyone who finishes the 100 miles 'wins'.

I figure it will be a good training exercise for the Bush Bitches Backyard here in Sudbury in October.  In that one, I really do want to push myself to see how far I can go.

I'm signed up for the 30K Around The Bay in Hamilton in March.  It's the oldest race in North America (older than Boston) and I've always wanted to run it.  It will give me an excuse to do a bit more speedwork this winter.

And last night, I signed up for the 50K Pick Your Poison trail run in April.  It sells out quickly.  Registration opened last night at 8pm, and all the events are already sold out this morning.

So, that's my racing plans for next year.  All are basically focussed on the October Backyard, which is my main goal.

9:03 pace today in a light snowfall.

Light snow, and getting cooler at -9C/15F; 8:47 pace.

This morning we are being hit with some significant snow.  That, coupled with the fact that I'm doing my speedwork on Wednesdays, led me to choose the treadmill today.  It's hard to get a good speed workout done in these types of conditions.  And it would be very unsafe running the roads today, as the drivers have yet to adjust to winter conditions.

4 x 800 @ 7:03 pace with 800 recoveries.

A cold morning at -13C/8F.  Good thing the wind was light.  Tomorrow's long run is predicted to be even colder.  I may have to wear a face covering.  9:25 pace.

Another cold morning at -12C/11F; fortunately, not as cold as initially predicted.  A light snow falling.  The roads are all snow packed and rutted.  9:14 pace.

Nasty out there. Frigid cold, snow and driving wind. Near zero visibility at times. Lots of snow on the roads, and trying to run in the tire ruts not terribly helpful. My right calf has been sore from my strength training, and running in these conditions was not helpful. 9:48 pace.

Quite mild today. Just above the freezing mark. Very sore right calf. Had to really slow down and almost walked at one point. Will have to work on that today. 9:39 pace.

Was scheduled to run 7 miles with speedwork, so hit the treadmill for it.  However, that right calf is really screaming at me, and I ended up going just 5 miles with a run/walk routine.  Frustrating.  But I have tomorrow scheduled off, and I'm hoping the rest day will make a difference. 

Frigid morning at just -17C/2F.  I shortened the run by 1 mile because of that very tight right calf.  No matter what I do, I can't seem to get it to release.  9:54 pace.

Very cold morning at -18C/0F.  Slight wind, clear skies, nearly full moon, which was stunning as it was setting. 

Supposed to run 14 miles, but that right calf is still extremely tight, so decided to take it one mile at a time.  Ended up having to walk small portions, but am happy I managed the 7 miles I did.  11:00/mile pace.

I think the calf is slightly better and, if I'm not mistaken, the tightness has dropped lower into the soleus.  Not sure if that's good, bad or indifferent.

My working theory as to cause is my switch to the treadmill and the corresponding switch to indoor running shoes.  My Hokas are zero heel to toe drop, whereas the Sauconys are what - 9mm give or take?  I think that may have been part of the problem.  I'll stick to just the Hokas for the time being and then experiment with switching later, once the tightness is gone.

Took me a long time to warm up after the run; the chill went deep into me.

Easy run on a mild morning. Slight rain falling. Mixed in some walking as my calf is still sore/tight. 10:19 pace.

Still mild, but icy patches on the road. Nearly slipped at one point. Still have the right calf tightness and had to walk briefly twice to manage. 9:45 pace.

I was hoping for better, as the calf felt fine to begin.  But I could only pull off 2 miles at a 10:19 pace before it became clear things were not going well.  I'm going to take the next couple days off, and might even take all of next week off.  I need this to heal!

It has been a bad few weeks, at least in terms of running. After my 2 miles of pain ten days ago, I decided to rest, and hopefully heal.

That's when my sciatic nerve became an issue. I'm not sure if that is the cause of my calf pain, but it sure caused a lot of back, groin and piriformis pain. I was in agony Christmas Eve and day, and into boxing day.

So, I have been stretching every day and trying to get everything to loosen up. Today, it's just lower back pain, and I tried this two mile run as a test.

It went decently enough, except that I felt some tightness in that right calf at around mile 1.75. Not happy about that.

Pushed it a bit further today, with the .7 intended to round up to the nearest mile for the year.  Still felt tightness in that right calf, but the slower pace (10:18/mile) seemed to keep it from getting worse.  

Slept better last night, as the back pain continues to subside.  I can't take my regular Vitamin i (ibuprofin) because I had a major case of heart burn (hiatus hernia, maybe?) on boxing day morning and it was suggested that the NSAIDs are a part of that.  Not sure, but cut them out for now anyway.

Just turned 59.  Getting old sucks!  I'm not too concerned about the back, but that right calf continues to be an issue of concern, because I don't have a clue what might be causing it.  I'm hoping to get my mileage back up, because I need to if I want to run my Spring events.