So Far So Good... Enough

I went for a run today and my calf didn't blow up.  I took the first mile pretty easy.  I started off with more of a shuffle than a run for the first 400 meters, and then I gradually built my pace up.  By 1.5 miles into my run I felt like everything was getting warmed up, and my original goal was to just average a 10 min mile pace over about 5-6 miles.

At mile 2 I was starting to feel a little better and I could tell that my pace was slightly picking up.  I decided to run out for 3 miles at this point since things were starting to feel pretty good, and way better that yesterday.  When I hit mile 3 my calf muscle still felt tight, it didn't feel too bad.

I decided to pick up the pace a little and see how everything would hold up.  Everything was feeling sustainable, so I decided to run a little based off my heart rate and not look at my pace at all.  I've been doing a few runs like this lately, so I already had my watch set to show just distance and heart rate on one page on the display.

Around mile 3.5 I decided to get my heart rate up to 150 bpm and to just hold it there.  I like focusing on heart rate from time to time so I can give my workouts some variety.  I was feeling pretty good holding 150 bpm and decided to move move it up to 165 bpm for the last mile.  I started to increase my effort, and it felt like it was taking a lot of work to reach 165+ bpm.  It took me .35 miles of pushing (from mile 5 to mile 5.35) to get my heart rate up to 165.  Once I got there I was able to hold it here for the rest of my run.

When I got done with my run I felt pretty good.  My calf was a little sore, but it felt ok.

I uploaded my training run onto Garmin Connect to see the stats of my run. I was very happy with my mile times, especially when I saw that I had ran negative splits too.

Mile 1 - 9:39
Mile 2 - 9:04
Mile 3 - 8:53
Mile 4 - 7:53
Mile 5 - 7:32
Mile 6 - 7:01

I think I will run decently at the Dirty Dozen race this weekend.  I just have to be smart about my recovery this week.  I will do two 4.5 mile runs tomorrow (running to work and back home) and maybe a 2 mile shake out run on Thursday.

Other than that, the rest of the week I will focus on resting, recovering, and meditating.  A rested body and clear mind will benefit me very much this weekend.

Hopefully my calf will feel fine by Saturday morning, and everything will go according to plan.


until next time...

KEEP RUNNING!!!!