My calves were extremely sore when I woke up yesterday morning. The hilly 23 miler really took a beating on me. It was odd, because that area isn't typically sore. Stiffness, might be a better way to describe it. Because of the calves, I took yesterday off from running. Getting through my 8 hour shift with sore calves and a sore back was quite difficult.
I woke up today with the stiffness remaining. I was off from work completely though and decided that I had to run. The workout called for a speedwork session. I was unsure if I should run the threshold run in my condition. I figured I'd let the 2 mile warm up make the decision.
After the first 2 miles, I had to run 2 repeats of 15 minutes each at half marathon pace with 3 minute active recoveries in between. The run then finished up with two more easy miles. I had decided that they best place to run this would be a softer surface. I drove up to the Delaware River Canal path. I parked and started at Washington's Crossing State Park.
The weather was tough to gauge. The temperature was great, but the sun kept going in and out. It was also very windy. I was unsure what to wear. I opted for my long sleeve tech shirt from the Casear Rodney Half Marathon. That turned out to be a good decision.
The first mile was on the slow side, but my legs didn't feel bad as I started on the flat gravel path. The calves didn't bother me at all. This is actually a great route for doing speedwork. I passed a couple people throughout the route, but for the most part the path is clear.
As I hit the second mile, it was obviously that I was going to do the speedwork session. I actually didn't have to pick the pace up too much. I ran pretty consistently around a 6:50 pace during each mile of both speed sessions. That's a bit faster than half marathon pace, but not faster than I can handle right now.
At times, the headwind was tough on the first repeat. That repeat was on the way out (north). The time seemed to go by pretty quickly and I was running nice and smooth. There isn't much to see along the path and that also makes it a good session for focusing on your speed. I finished the first session right after passing a guy and I was pretty tired.
The three minute recovery was a big help though. It got me reenergized for the second repeat. I started off pretty fast in that one and had to slow a bit. The same thing actually happened on the first one as well. I was on my way back and I cruised along the path. I checked my watch every few minutes and the time ticked away pretty quickly. That last 4 or 5 minutes were definitely tough, but I pushed through, knowing that it was almost over.
The toughest part of the run was actually the final two miles easy. They just seem to drag on forever after a faster early pace. The first half mile really seems the longest too. After getting through the first mile, things weren't as bad. The only issue was a couple road crossing and the area by Washington's Crossing has much bigger rocks. My left calf and right hamstring were starting to get sore as usual. When I got back to the park, I still had half a mile to run, so I had to go south for a short out and back.
It felt good to finish up. My legs were bothered a little, but I didn't really beat my body up too much. It was definitely a workout that I could handle. I wasn't sure if that would be the case after the 23 miler. I jumped back into it and felt good though.
One thing that is bothering me lately is my left big toe. It was very sore during and after last week's rocky trail run. Using it to push off caused some problems. It bothered me again during the 23 miler, but went away. I didn't notice it too much today during the run, but it was a little sore afterward, when I was wearing my Five Fingers. Luckily, there isn't much pain yet and I can run through it. I just hope it isn't a stress fracture. I'll just have to monitor it and stay off trails for awhile.
Originally, I tried to cram all my runs in this week, even after the long run was pushed back a day. I just decided it would be wiser to just start tapering, instead of risking injury. I got my longest run in already, so I'm good to go. This will still be a 50 mile week. I was just hoping to top 60 miles. That is a barrier that I haven't reached yet. Hopefully, I'll get there in the summer.
I actually open tomorrow at work. I work from 9-4. That'll be an interesting shift. I've never started before 11 AM. I switched with Bianca though. Because of that, I'll be getting my run in later. I only have 5 miles to run, plus some hill sprint. I'll probably just head over to Kelly Driver after work.
9.15 miles - 1:07:54 (7:25 pace)
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