Wow, hard to believe that last night was the first run for me in November, and here it is Veteran's Day! Big shout out to my fellow Veterans. And a happy post for today!
So last night I hit the gym, feeling really nervous about running. The calf was fine, not even a twinge walking down to the car. But I inherited my mom's ability to worry, and I have to live with that. So I hit the elliptical, at first thinking I would just do 30 minutes. But I found myself punching in 60 minutes, as that is my favorite time goal - and the max the machine will take. Thank God. I do love that machine, even though some dorkus had my favorite one that is flanked by the LifeTime TV's I divide my attention between - LTF Video channel on one and I think the other one is TBS....currently I'm catching a few "The Big Bang Theory" repeats. Penny is every nerd's dream. Of course, I'm not a nerd....much. Ok, I digress as usual. What can I say, I'm on my 2am break!
The moment of truth came after my hour on the elliptical....and it went really well! I am always pretty much suffering in one way or another through the first mile. That was always true with cycling and it holds to running also - I warm up slowly, more slowly than others I think! Totally common for me to have intense doubts during that first mile - whether it's indoors on a treadmill or outdoors on a trail or road. My knees sometimes flare up, I have trouble getting my breathing rhythm, and I usually feel the run is going to be a disaster. Lucky for me, I know from experience that a couple of miles in I'm going to be just fine. 2 miles in and I was in a nice groove, although there were some niggly thoughts going on that the calf was tightening, when in fact it was just fine. If it was getting tight, it would have been worse after I was done, and it wasn't. So I did an easy 3 at about 30 secs per mile slower than my training pace. I think I'll be fine tomorrow, but we'll see. I'm grateful Dr Wagenblast will be checking it out today. There is a tiny bit of soreness now some 4 1/2 hrs post run, but nothing we did not expect. I was supposed to roll it out tonight and skipped that. And I know that the hour on the elliptical was a good stress test also, since that heel raises and the calf gets stretched repeatedly. So today is A.R.T. session #4, then rest tonight and a 7am 8.5 mile run. The route starts out with a good hill after the first half mile, then does a downhill 4 mile loop before we do the second loop that will take us back to beautiful St. Edwards campus again...and some hills that will truly test the calf. I'm saying my prayers now that I don't re-injure it. The good thing is I know if I do, I have a month to get it in shape for the Decker Challenge.
To throw one more wrinkle into the mix, I'm running that 5K on Sunday - healthy calf will be a prerequisite of course! But I've never missed a race I signed up for, and I hope this is not the first. The Race for the Cure is one I know will be packed, and will be a easy slow run out of necessity, but that's cool. It's for a good cause! I only wish I had done better at raising $, I sucked and my usual support I've gotten in the past is just not there for whatever reason. I am sure the economy is partly a factor - and hey we can't all give to ALL the charities that are out there. But if you want to contribute, HERE is my page. Wow, I have two donations!
