Catalina Eco Marathon – 2010?
As much as I hate to do it (or admit it), I’m about to pull the plug on Saturday’s Catalina Eco Marathon. I’m still struggling with the decision, but I find it hard to imagine that I’ll make the decision to go. I was excited about this one. But there’s always next year, right?
The good news is that I’ve run twice in the last three days. Saturday evening I ran a really easy and flat 35 minutes. This morning I ran a really easy and flat 39 minutes. During both runs, I stopped every 10 minutes to stretch my calves for about a minute. I made a commitment to stop and stretch whether or not I felt the creeping tightness that killed my run last Monday. It never really got tight. I was thinking about it the entire f-ing time so, of course, there were moments when it didn’t feel right (and my heart temporarily sank) but it never got to the point where I felt like I had to – or should – stop. The other part of my running plan, as suggested by Assaf and Merrill was to try running through it a little. Especially as long as it doesn’t actually hurt. Regular mid-run stretching and not giving up right away because of a little tightness will be part of the plan for now.
Since I wrote last Wednesday, I’ve had another ART appointment, done a lot of trigger point rolling, stretched and done my eccentric calf exercises, taken a liberal amount of NSAIDs (which could be the reason it doesn’t hurt, but I’m trying not to think like that!), been wearing the kinesio tape and did a pretty hard 45 minute session on the elliptical. Something (or somethings) seems to be working for now, but I’m still trying not to get my hopes up.
Which brings me to the other race on my calendar. Four weeks to go until the 50. I still think that I could do it. And I’d still like to do it. Even if a PR is unlikely and it won’t be pretty. But that depends a lot on what I’m able to do this week and next. I’m going to try getting back into it really slowly. And I’ll keep stretching during the run. And I’ll keep my fingers crossed and see what happens. And I’ll keep you all posted!
Swim – November 5
Distance: 3,609 yards (3,300 meters)
Time: 1:11
Elliptical (45 min) + Strength – November 7
Run – November 7
Distance: 3.9 miles
Time: 35 minutes
Course: Neighborhood
Conditions: Evening, low 60’s
Notes: Stopped every 10 minutes to stretch calves
Indoor ride – November 8
Time: 1:30
Run – November 9
Distance: 4.75 miles
Time: 39 minutes
Course: Neighborhood
Conditions: Sunny, mid-60’s
Notes: Stopped every 10 minutes to stretch calves