After skipping the long run and resting more than I have lately, I was hoping that I could bounce back midweek. That sure hasn't happened. If anything, the two attempted runs this week have been pretty much worthless. I tried to squeeze runs in between work and going to track meets on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
I was hoping to run a tempo run and get one more quality run in before my half marathon. After taking Sunday off and going easy on Monday at Trexler, I figured that I would try a tempo run on Tuesday.
I headed out to the Cementon Trailhead of the D&L. I used to do repeats there often, but I haven't run there in awhile. It was humid out. I had on a singlet, but that didn't help much. I got out of the car and started walking and the legs just felt awful. I knew I wasn't going to accomplish much that day.
I figured that I owed it to myself to at least start running and see how it felt. I did that and it was terrible. I didn't even run a tenth of a mile and I just decided to pack it in. My legs would benefit from some added rest anyway.
After the day off, I decided that I would try again today. It was raining off and on as I headed to the Ironton Rail Trail. This is another place where I often ran repeats last summer, but don't go to much any more. I wanted to run here because I figured that a stone trail would be too soggy, so I could hit this paved trail.
I started from Saylor Park. I didn't feel as bad as I did yesterday, but I still wasn't strong. I kind of like this place because you get a lot of downhill after initially climbing. The problem was that the initial climbing took its toll.
My legs struggled as I went uphill during the warmup. I got to the caboose and was feeling sore. My calf wasn't quite as bad as it has been, but right near it, my shin was hurting. The usual sore spot is on the inside of my leg. This was more like behind the bone.
I continued on, hoping it would get better as I got faster. The warmup was actually a pretty solid 8:08. I then began the fast part of the run. Because I wanted to try to run 4 to 6 miles of moderate to hard pace, I started conservatively.
I began around a 7:15 pace. I don't run this pace too often, so it was different. I'm used to running shorter and faster or longer and slow. This pace is kind of interesting for me.
Even though I wasn't killing myself with the effort, things didn't get any better. The shin area was still bothering me. Maybe the uphill had already done too much damage. I tried to keep going.
It wasn't bothering me enough that I couldn't run through it, but it was affecting my performance and slowing me down. I crossed a couple roads. After the 2nd one, I just decided that I had enough. I slowed down and ran the next third of a mile to get to 2 total miles. I then quit and had a pretty long walk back to the car.
I'm trying to be smart with less than two weeks until my half marathon. I was hoping for a faster workout, but if my body doesn't want to do it, than it is really better not to do anything. I more likely would do damage than make progress at this point. At least I'm finally listening to my body for a change. Maybe I should've tried that recently.
It was a disappointing two days, but it is what it is. I just have to take it and move on. I guess I'm really paying for the 50 mile week last week. The good thing is that my quad feels better than it did earlier in the week.
Tomorrow is the LVRR Group Run. If I end up running alone again, I'm just going to kill the run I think. That would be a third week in a row. Since no one is showing up, I'm considering running on a track in the afternoon. If I don't do any fast running now, I won't bother doing any before the half marathon. I might be able to run better on a soft, flat track. I don't know. Regardless, it is going to be light week of running.
I was really hoping to bump my mileage up even more over the summer, but with the way it is going, it looks like I'll have to be very cautious. I haven't run too many weeks over 50 miles, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that my body doesn't like it.
I built up very carefully and slowly in the winter and it worked well for a while. Then, I got a little more aggressive with increasing mileage. I still didn't break the 10% rule, but I guess I did a little more than my body wanted to.
I will take it easy this week and next and then after the half marathon, I'm going to try to jump back into upper 40 and 50 mile weeks. I then will just hold my mileage in that range for a few weeks. I need to get my body to adapt and start running on fresh legs.
I get too caught up in total mileage. It is more about getting quality workouts in and a good long run, rather than just putting in miles. I need to run fast and hard once a week and run long another day and be smart and conservative the rest of the time. That will allow me to run much better and reach my goals.
I think another thing I have to look at are my shoes. I think I'm landing on the outside of my foot now. My shoes are wearing in that area too. I think I might be more of a neutral runner now, instead of the overpronator that I once was. That could certainly explain some of the lingering soreness.
Wednesday 2 miles - 15:57 (7:59 pace)
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