Monday, February 24th - Wednesday, February 26th:
Rest. Giving my achilles a chance to feel 100% before starting back up again. I figured a solid of week of no running should help. I'll re-evaluate how I feel on Thursday and decide whether or not to resume easy running then.
Thursday, February 27th:
8:15pm, Treadmill, 1.0% incline. Mizuno Wave Rider 17.
2mi (16:50) (8:25/mi)
Easy shakeout run to test the achilles. Felt a little winded and out of shape after 6 days off, but achilles felt okay. Will see how I feel tomorrow - if all is well, I might shoot for 4 miles and then keep increasing mileage as long as symptoms are okay.
Friday, February 28th:
1:25pm, 21 degrees, 25%, 0-5mph. Neighborhood. New Balance 1260v2.
2mi (16:09) (8:05/mi)
Another very easy shakeout run. I actually thought I was running like 8:45-9:00/mi pace, so I guess that's a good sign I haven't lost much fitness over a week. I was intentionally trying to run super easy to see if it would help loosen up my leg muscles (calves/soleus/hamstrings/quads). I was comfortable for the duration of the run, but my lower soleus felt mildly tender after two miles so I figured I would call it quits there and consider the day a success. I am also incorporating some calf raises with my stretching, which seems to help.
Saturday, March 1st:
9:15am, 25-30 degrees, 50%, 0-5mph. 2x Neighborhood Loop. New Balance 1260v2.
4mi (32:11) (8:03/mi)
So I took Larry's advice and used the lacrosse ball on my plantar fascia in addition to my calves/soleus both last night and this morning and I felt a WORLD of difference on today's run. Felt practically 100% with no symptoms whatsoever. I even opened up the last 100m or so at about 6:30/mi pace and felt strong and smooth. Knock wood, but I think I may be past the worst of it. Still, I missed 6 days of running so I will probably use the first 6 days back to incrementally increase mileage from 2 to 7mi per run before adding some light quality. I am hoping that if things continue progressing nicely by the following week (the week of March 10th) I can resume my regular schedule with slightly adjusted workout paces/volume. I feel blessed to have caught this one relatively early - I will feel more blessed when this damn winter weather goes away! :)
Sunday, March 2nd:
6:45am, 34 degrees, 70%, calm. Kilmer Loop. New Balance 1260v2.
6mi (48:02) (8:00/mi)
Aside from some still mild achilles/soleus symptoms, I feel great. The rest of my body feels really loose and strong. I picked up the pace the last mile (7:36) which actually alleviated the minor symptoms I was feeling. I'll continue to use the lacrosse ball, do my strengthening exercises, and run easy until I feel absolutely 100%. But each day it feels like I am moving in the right direction, which is good.
Weekly Total: 14 miles
I consider this week a great success. I took off the proper amount of time to let healing occur, and I am slowly inching the mileage back up while monitoring symptoms. I know I haven't really lost any fitness - it's just a matter of being patient to let healing happen naturally, and not feel the urge to rush things. I actually feel this little flare-up was just the dose of reality I needed to keep my training in perspective not only for Broad Street, but for the long-term.
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