I will update results as I get them in, but I wanted to provide an update for my challenge of the week. My goal was to run 8 miles, and I was only able to run 4.5 miles. Three consecutive weeks now without meeting what is becoming somewhat of a white whale for me, the elusive 8 miles in one week. It is tough as my Calf continues to be an issue, and right now it’s hurting me pretty bad after last night’s run.
Thursday of last week, I ran ‘hobble’ free without a brace. I was pretty stoked. I thought the injury was behind me. However, last night as I was hoping to break my single distance record, I did something dumb. In the first half mile, I became jealous. Some nubile youth with the body fat percentage of nothing zipped past me. His long strides seemingly taking ten of my plodding fast ass stumbles. His graceful speed beautiful in the still cold night air. I too wanted to run like that. I too wanted to be fast. So, I pushed myself. And that’s when the all too familiar tightness started to occur. I adjusted my stride, but it was too late. I had re-injured myself only a mile into the run.
I took the ‘cut off’ point on my little track and ended up doing 2.25 miles while hobbling the last quarter mile and being forced to stop a few times to loosen up my calf. It was discouraging. Today despite my new calf brace, the injury is pretty sore. I have realized that I need to give it a longer rest, and be a bit more diligent with re-habbing it, so I can get back to running again.
The weird part is that if I do squats or kettle bell swings, or anything like that, the calf is unaffected. It’s simply an issue of running. So, long story short, no challenge this week. I have to let this injury heal. So, I’ll be switching to the gym and the eliptical for cardio. Let’s see how that goes.
Next week, I’ll hopefully be up to snuff and able to re-start the challenges. Despite the set backs, working in regular runs has been incredibly exciting for me, and I do not want to loose much momentum. I’ve NEVER run this much on a consistent basis in my entire adult life. It’s a good thing.
***UPDATE***
I decided to go ahead and create the following challenge:
10 Miles on the Exercise Bike or Eliptical Trainer