Week 6 Training Update

12 Oct

I've got some bad news. I have a micro-tear in my left calf muscle. I felt it happen on Monday while running on the treadmill. With about three minutes to go in my 7 mile workout (6:50-6:20 pace; I always crank it up at the end), my calf tightened up badly. Foolishly, I decided to finish instead of stopping immediately. The muscle soreness was immediate and it persisted into the next day. The next workout was on the track, and I had my best speed session so far. I did 7 x 3:30 at 4:45 to 5:00 minute mile pace, with "active rest" (waiting for my heart rate to get back to 140). Unfortunately, at the end of the workout my calf was hurting so bad that I couldn't even do a cool down jog. I took Wednesday and Thursday off completely, then did a 6 miler on the treadmill Friday evening as a tune-up for the Saturday morning long run. My calf didn't feel great on the treadmill, but the pain was tolerable. It was pretty much the same story on Saturday. I did 10 miles at 6:00-6:30 pace along the canal, and the pain was definitely noticeable but not unbearable. When I got back, Coaches Barb and Bill showed me how to use the foam roller, which hurt like hell on my calf. Apparently it's supposed to hurt. The idea is to put your whole body weight on the roller, making contact with the injured muscle, thus giving yourself a deep tissue massage and breaking up the knotting. I've created my own roller at home (glass jar wrapped in a towel) as a temporary measure until I can buy a good one. I've been told not to stretch my calf for a few days, as this will retard recovery. Anyway, it hurt pretty bad yesterday (after the run) and this morning. Whenever I take a step I feel it. This is kind of a bizarre experience because I've never had muscle pain persist for this long. It also happened so suddenly. I was just running on the treadmill; it's not like I stepped in a pothole or anything random like that. Coach Barb says that running on a treadmill isn't good because it throws your form off. I'm starting to believe her.
My training will be interrupted for about a week, maybe a little longer. The good news is, the New Times Phoenix 5K isn't for another four weeks. I purchased an aquajogging belt today and am eager to give it a try in the pool tomorrow. I've heard good things about aquajogging. Apparently, it's the best cross-training activity because it simulates running. I've even read that you can preserve your level of fitness for weeks, though I doubt this is the case with elite runners (not that I consider myself elite, mind you, but I'm definitely well above average fitness level). Coach Bill said that he can replicate any running workout, even intervals, in the pool with aqua-jogging. This is good news, because I absolutely hate missing training. I didn't expect to encounter my first injury this quickly. Maybe I increased my mileage too much (week 3 I did 28, and in week 5 I did 37), or maybe I'm doing too many treadmill runs. I need to start doing my medium runs on the grass athletic fields at the high school near my apartment. Once I get a measuring wheel I'll also be able to chart some distances. I'm obsessed with pacing; that's why I like the treadmill.
It sucks being injured. However, I will become a better educated and more well rounded athlete as a result of this setback. Without injury I would not have considered aqua-jogging. I recently watched a video on Flotrack in which Gabe Jennings talked about aqua-jogging for most of his secondary runs. This was in the run up to the 2008 Olympic Trials, where he was evidently having pain in his Achilles tendon. Maybe I should incorporate aqua-jogging into my normal routine. I'll provide an update tomorrow on how my first session went.