Sometimes I sit at my desk to write my blog and begin by looking
at the weekly blog pictures – it helps me remember the good and the tough
moments. And, then there are moments
like I just had – moments when I realize I did not take a day to rest, this
week. Yet – I feel pretty good. In fact, I feel a lot better this morning
than I did all day yesterday when I worried I would be a mess on my Sunday
workout with Matt. So – here are the
deets…
On Monday I woke up and my right leg was not in a good
place. The outside of my calf was all
kinds of sore and tender to the touch. I
went out for an easy spin that morning and it didn’t seem to be bothered on the
bike, but any time I walked – especially down stairs – I was in a bit of
pain. I wracked my brain for a couple of
hours trying to figure out what I might have done on my awesome trail run the
morning prior that would have left me with this pain. Then, it dawned on me – I rolled my right
ankle about a mile into the trail run and didn’t think much of it. Well, that was the catalyst, for sure. And, as the day went on, the pain seemed to
only increase.
I went to my weekly massage appointment with Lisa on Monday
evening and told her about the tightness and the mild pain. She worked on the area delicately before
saying, “yeah, you’ve strained you peroneus longus and DEFINITELY should take a
little time off of running. “ Trying not to seem stressed about it, I assured
her I would let it heal. And, that
evening, I emailed Matt to say that our morning run was off and that I intended
to swim instead.
And, I did just that.
Frustrated by the pain in my leg, I swam like a fish – working on my
form and speed. After 2000 meters, I
glanced at my watch and was pleased with my time – approx. 49 minutes, and 2
minutes faster than I was even a few months ago.
By the time I got to work on Tuesday morning, I realized the
peroneus injury was sticking around – so much so that I refrained from wearing
heals – and attempted to do very little walking around campus.
Wednesday morning I got up for my morning ride and noticed
that the leg was feeling marginally better, so out the door I went, hoping for
the best.
The stars were evidently aligned, as nothing seemed to
really bother me on the ride. I was
moving faster than usual and hitting the hills as if they were hard, but not
debilitating. And, as I pulled back into
my driveway 19 miles later, I had pulled another personal record: 18.3 AVS . This was huge, considering the best I had
EVER done on the same route was 17.9, and I’d only managed that once. So, 18.3 had me jumping for joy
(figuratively, since I didn’t want to hurt the leg).
By Wednesday afternoon, the leg was feeling a lot better, so
at 8pm that night I sent Matt a little email letting him know I’d be running in
the morning with him.
And, so we hit the trailhead. Matt stayed behind me the entire 4 mile run – it occurred to me later that he probably did so out of concern for my injury and not wanting me stranded on some section in tears from an added injury. Our times were good and my leg felt nothing the whole time – I was in the clear.
On Friday morning, I met Matt again for a hard ride of hill
repeats. All I can say is – that shit’s
hard!
On my training calendar this weekend, I had a 10 mile
run. Additionally, Matt asked if we
might ride on Sunday instead of run, so I was relegated to a Saturday morning
long run. I had planned my really tough,
hilly route through the foothills with nearly 6 miles of climbing. Everything I read tells me that incorporating
super hard hill climbs on foot (and on the bike) will make me faster on the
flats.
So, I headed out the door around 5:15am on Saturday to push
through the distance in preparation for San Diego in 4 weeks. In the first mile, my legs really opened
up. I could feel that they were fairly
well rested and could take the distance.
I hit the first long hill climb at mile 2 and it doesn’t subside until
after mile 5 and change.
As I hit mile 7 I entertained continuing the last major hill
climb without water or gel – but I had my little Matt-birdie in my ear
reminding me that it will only help me to take them. I knew it would cost me a few seconds, but I
also knew that I might bonk out in the last mile or so if I didn’t. So, as I rounded 48th Street (by
my house), I grabbed my stashed water bottle and gel and downed them quickly,
barely stopping. Then up up up I went to
finish the ten miles.
My watched beeped 10 miles at 1:30:35 – not too shabby
considering the terrain. Looks like if I
keep it up, I should still have a sub-2 half marathon next month. I think Matt said we can try Pass Mountain
again next weekend – I simply cannot wait!
After a fairly crappy night’s sleep, I met Matt for our usual long ride out to Maricopa and back. My legs weren’t as fresh, given the less than adequate night’s sleep, but I was willing to give it everything I had left – which was good considering the horrendous winds heading out to Maricopa. All we could do was laugh – it was painful and really freakin’ hard. Neither of us let off and I know we were working super hard – every morsel of our bodies were showing it.
Naturally, that meant that the ride back would be pretty
awesome. And, it was. Matt and I were flying home – hitting speeds
of 23-25 mph for a lot of it. The effort
wound up being similar, but gosh – its so much more fun to go 23 mph working
hard than 17 mph feeling like you might cough up a lung. It actually wasn’t until I got home that I
realized my watch messed up and only captured half of my data. Alas, it was an amazing ride and we put out
an incredible effort, this morning. I am
so proud of us! 
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