I think I'm just tired
I had a really difficult time this morning. Though it's possible it's from my mileage creeping up again, I'm going to blame it on the fact that I've really been working hard this week. I got back from Boston late Saturday night, took 24 hours of call Sunday to Monday, had a meeting Monday night, another 24 hours of call Tuesday to Wednesday, and a family party last night. Throw in the amount of time it takes to stretch, run, stretch, ice, blog, etc. and I haven't gotten very much sleep this week.
Last night, while standing around this party in my suit, I felt that my left leg was bothering me a little. This morning, it still didn't feel perfect. I thought of pushing my run off to tomorrow, but I really wanted to get in today, so I could rest for 2 days before the long run on Sunday. (I know the logic's a little stange, but it works for me.)
I was "supposed" to run 8 miles. Right from the get go I didn't feel too great. The inner side of my left lower leg was bothering me. Not like the anterior pain I was having a few weeks ago, but not as pain free as my last few runs have been.
I decided pretty quickly that I wasn't going to do the whole 8. At about 2 miles in, there was a decision point where one way, which I had planned to take, would take me on a path further and further away from my house. I didn't do it, and just turned around on the path, back towards the direction of my house. I had already stopped to stretch once before, and when I got stuck at a red light about 2.5 miles in, I stopped and stretched again. I was a little better at this point.
At 3 miles, I had another decision point: stop, or do the 2 mile loop again. I went for another loop. Then I got a little crazy, and started doing mental mathematics. I added up my weekly mileage so far. If I only ran 5 miles, I'd end up with 28 for the week. That wouldn't be enough to get me to the 35 I had planned for two weeks from now. So I pushed on for another mile, which ended up being a mile and a half. Total run: 6.5 miles. Because of all my stretching stops, I couldn't figure out my pace and wasn't really paying attention to it anyway. When I got home, I was able to figure out that most of my miles were around a 10 min/mile pace.
So now if I can get through my 18 miles this Sunday, I'll end up with 29.5 on the week. Which is about 10% up from last weeks 27. The following week was supposed to be a step back week, with 28 miles planned. Following that is the week where I peak, culminating in a 20 miler. I had planned to run 35 for the week, but I'll probably end up with a 5, an 8, and a 20, for 33 total miles. Which will be about 10% up from this week. And then I'll start the taper.
(Sorry about the numbers. You can see my nerdy spreadsheet if that helps this make more sense. The plan is in bold on the left hand side.)
In any case, now I'm going to rest until Sunday. I'm on call again today, but I hope to catch up on my sleep tomorrow night and Saturday. In the meantime, I'll keep doing the stretching, as well as some extra icing. I took some Motrin this morning as well. I'm a little nervous, but still hopeful I'll be fine by Sunday.
Last night, while standing around this party in my suit, I felt that my left leg was bothering me a little. This morning, it still didn't feel perfect. I thought of pushing my run off to tomorrow, but I really wanted to get in today, so I could rest for 2 days before the long run on Sunday. (I know the logic's a little stange, but it works for me.)
I was "supposed" to run 8 miles. Right from the get go I didn't feel too great. The inner side of my left lower leg was bothering me. Not like the anterior pain I was having a few weeks ago, but not as pain free as my last few runs have been.
I decided pretty quickly that I wasn't going to do the whole 8. At about 2 miles in, there was a decision point where one way, which I had planned to take, would take me on a path further and further away from my house. I didn't do it, and just turned around on the path, back towards the direction of my house. I had already stopped to stretch once before, and when I got stuck at a red light about 2.5 miles in, I stopped and stretched again. I was a little better at this point.
At 3 miles, I had another decision point: stop, or do the 2 mile loop again. I went for another loop. Then I got a little crazy, and started doing mental mathematics. I added up my weekly mileage so far. If I only ran 5 miles, I'd end up with 28 for the week. That wouldn't be enough to get me to the 35 I had planned for two weeks from now. So I pushed on for another mile, which ended up being a mile and a half. Total run: 6.5 miles. Because of all my stretching stops, I couldn't figure out my pace and wasn't really paying attention to it anyway. When I got home, I was able to figure out that most of my miles were around a 10 min/mile pace.
So now if I can get through my 18 miles this Sunday, I'll end up with 29.5 on the week. Which is about 10% up from last weeks 27. The following week was supposed to be a step back week, with 28 miles planned. Following that is the week where I peak, culminating in a 20 miler. I had planned to run 35 for the week, but I'll probably end up with a 5, an 8, and a 20, for 33 total miles. Which will be about 10% up from this week. And then I'll start the taper.
(Sorry about the numbers. You can see my nerdy spreadsheet if that helps this make more sense. The plan is in bold on the left hand side.)
In any case, now I'm going to rest until Sunday. I'm on call again today, but I hope to catch up on my sleep tomorrow night and Saturday. In the meantime, I'll keep doing the stretching, as well as some extra icing. I took some Motrin this morning as well. I'm a little nervous, but still hopeful I'll be fine by Sunday.
posted by Danny on Thursday, September 29, 2005
9 Comments:
Looking at your spreadsheet, you probably should be tired! That's a big ramp up in mileage! Be careful out there! You can do it, but doing it slowly is fine! :-)
Um...we are all tired this week for some reason...must be the weather changing!
Gotta agree with Flatman. Thought about that a lot this week - this pervading weariness a lot of us are expressing, along with a rash of injuries - and decided that, having acclimated all summer to 80 and 90 degree weather, 60s and 70s are killing us. :)
Your schedule seems good, though, especially the taper. Really take it easy that last week and you'll be golden.
There must be a "mojo stealer"* out there.
*Stolen from Flatman :)
Mo-jooo, baby, yah,
Have to agree with Nancy, please, please be careful about ramping up too quickly. But, then you know that, being in your profession, right?
"I know the logic's a little strange, but it works for me.)" - that logic works perfectly for me. I'm constantly making deals with myself with the ultimate goal to arrive all charged up and ready for the weekend long. Hopefully your having a good 18 miler as I write this.
Good luck on your long run, I guess you're probably out there finishing up as I type this. I hope you got a ton of rest and blazed the 18 away. Work takes a ton out of me, too, and props to you for even attempting the 8-miler after a tough week.
nerdy spreadsheets?!? Are you kidding? I think half the people in RBF have spreadsheets. They are the best! I hope you are feeling better. Do you travel to Boston a lot? It's not too far from where Dianna and I live. It would be fun to meet up for a run some time.
Hope your 18 miles went great today!
sleep? I thought all you docs slept while you worked! (At least the ones I've met seem to be asleep!) :)
Good luck, and hope your shins cooperate with you!
You know, this week has been blah for me too. Hang in there - time to start again ;)
Post a Comment
<< Home