Bret

1000 yds of swimming with Riley.  She is training for a tri and so I did the workout with her which actually only called for 850 yds.  Basically a warm up for her - as a competitive swimmer she is accustomed to 6000+ yds of swimming in a single workout.  However she's now retired from it - but nevertheless enjoyed the swim without feeling drained afterwards.  My calf is definitely improving but I won't test it yet.

15 miles on the stationary spin bike at the gym followed by some strength work for abs and arms.  Very cold and windy day (for Florida) with temps in the mid 40's or else I might have gone to the pool.  Stretched out with the foam roller on the calf following the workout and still feel a bit of injury pain there but significantly improved since last week. 

PM - easy sort of "medicinal" run - to evaluate the calf strain.  Some walking and easy running until I felt like I could increase the pace.  Seems like it is ok, but still some slight pain there afterwards.  Did some stretching and strength work too.  Put on a compression sock following the workout and will decide tomorrow if I can go again.

PM - 4 miles easy around the Carillon office park.  Left calf was achy and sore after yesterday's test run, but I wore the compression socks for several hours and this morning, though tight, it did not have an "injury" type feel to it, so I ventured outside to run at lunch.  Slight tightness and an "I know it is there" type feel to it kept me from being completely relaxed, but I think it actually felt better after today's run than yesterdays.  Stretched out well and used the foam roller followed by some strength work.

AM - 4 easy untimed miles with Riley.  She had such a story about going to the movies with her friends last night, that she did not realize we'd already gone 2 miles...Took it easy on the calf again today, and on Riley who was a bit winded after her story. 

PM - First "real" run after more than 10 days of no running or just light running for recovery of the calf strain.  Got 6.5 miles in.  Felt very sluggish, awkward, heavy and out of shape.  Leg was had some vague and occasional more evident discomfort but for the most part was ok.  This the most miles and time I have been on it - will evaluate tomorrow whether it can continue take this level of volume and gradually increase as tolerated.

PM - lunchtime.  7 miles at a kinda of moderate pace - mostly 7:20 or better.  Still not feeling all that normal.  Calf was somewhat sore during the run - and I used a different pair of shoes to see if perhaps the current pair were causing the issue - but didn't help.   Actually more painful after I stopped.   Stretched out well  and used the foam roller.  Did strength work after.  Have compression socks on now.

PM - met Riley at the bike shop and got her fitted on my old road bike after some minor modifications and adjustments, then we headed to the YMCA to do a swim workout.  She gave me some coaching on the kick drills - swam just under a mile. 

PM - No pain or discomfort this morning - so decided to run again today at lunch.  5 miles - good until just after 4 miles then calf tightened up and became painful - so I finished up instead of running another couple of miles.  Placed a small insert into the heal box under the insole of the left foot before I started.  Thought perhaps that had solved my calf problems.  Really.  But either the distance or the increased pace (7:15) (not that is that fast or that far) - seemed to be the only things I could point to for the sudden onset on this run.  Pain has definitely migrated from the top of the calve to midway down now too.  Compression socks and self massage following.  Oh well...

Calf was just too tight and sore to try to run today.  Going to resume cross training and until I have absolutely no indication of injury I will do my best to resist the urge to run.

Cross Training - indoor cycling spin class at the gym.  Roughly 50 mins on the bike with a decent average heartrate in the 80% of max range.  Did stretching and strength work following.  Supposed to swim this evening with Riley.

PM - more cross training.  1100 yards of swimming with Riley. She got there before me and swam 4000 yards.  Before I starting swimming with her I would swim longer endurance sets - 1600 to 2500 yards at at time - but I have been doing shorter faster interval sets and kicking drills for the last week or so. 

PM - cycling/spin class at the gym.  Good instructor - had my HR at over 80% for much of the hour or so of the class.  Stetching and strength work afterwards.  May do a long easy swim later or tomorrow (getting cold outside - may change my mind).

AM - 10 miles easy on the bike with Riley.  Her cycling skills are new - so we worked on some basics and getting her in and out of the clips.  Chilly outside in the 40's made for an uncomfortable ride.

PM - Swimming - 1 mile in the pool at the Y while Riley did a run workout on the treadmill. 

PM - with no pain, soreness or tightness in the calf, I ventured out for a very light run to test things again.  Felt some tightness within the first quarter of a mile - but kept the pace light and the tightness never increased.  Covered 3 miles and then did the foam roller and Aleve afterwards.  No lingering issues to note.  Will try to keep things light for a few days to see how the calf tolerates the stress.

PM - lunchtime run - did what is described by John Parker Jr. from Running Times as a "medicinal" run to rehab from the calf strain.  Walk/jog routine for 4 miles.  Evidently there is some kind of sheath that constricts the area of the micro tears that requires a theraputic approach to expanding it to avoid compartment issues.  Whatever.  It seems to work quite well.  I would run for a short bit - 100 to a few hundred yards - would begin to feel some tightness in the calf, and so I would stop and walk a little bit and then repeat.  When I would start to run again, there'd be no tightness initially and then when it would start to resurface, I'd walk again. Got into a pretty good rhythm and ran a little further at times - up to about 600 or 700 yards.  Finished feeling no real issues with the calf.  Stretched out with the foam roller and did some strength work.  Will do this until things feel normal again.  According to the article, I may be up and running normally in a few days. In the meantime, I continue to supplement with cross training.

PM - after work did 1500 yards of swimming with Riley.  Tough to get into the outdoor pool when it is cold outside - (but the water is 79 degrees).  The kick drills have to be helping my quads - really brutal.

PM - lunchtime - 5 miles.  Had a good run today with no pain or discomfort in the calf to speak of.  I started out with a plan to do the walk jog intervals I did yesterday - but after doing a few - I realized I was not feeling any tightness in the leg - so I decided to run a mile without stopping, and then after that, I just ran the whole way with a smooth controlled pace.  Felt good and normal. 

AM - did an easy 3 miles before work to test the leg again.  Had massage on the calf yesterday evening and it felt good again this morning. 

PM - 6 miles on the treadmill due to a rainstorm outside.  Decent pace and I pushed it a bit to a MP in the last mile.  Calf seemed to be good.  Will try to resume normal training with some moderation to keep stress level low intially.

PM - At lunchtime 6 easy light miles at 75% of HR max - pretty slow.  Wanted to get a true recovery run in to avoid too much stress too soon in my resumption of training.  No calf problems whatsoever.  WhooHoo.

After work I did 1750 yards of swimming at the Y.  Felt a bit tuckered out by the end of the day.

AM - did 3 easy untimed miles this morning before work.  A bit chilly (49 degrees).  Trying to get some easy miles in to gradually get a build up done.  Will do another run later today.

PM - 7 at lunch - slow and easy. 

AM - easy 11 mile bike ride with Riley - getting her comfortable on the bike with clips.  Beautiful morning.

PM - 13 miles of easy running - probably should have scaled it back a little as my legs felt pretty heavy about halfway through.  Decent week after the calf injury recovery.

Planned day off.  Took my oldest daughter to the airport for her semester abroad in Paris.  Bit of a nervy stessful day. 

AM - easy 3 mile loop before work.  Trying to add miles with the least amount of stress.

PM -lunchtime around Carillon Office Park and Feathersound.  A little over 7 miles at a decent 7:30-ish pace on a warm January day (78 degrees, I think).  Legs feeling a bit fatigued from the additional mileage in the last week or so.

AM - light/easy appx 4 miles of untimed running.  Feeling it in my legs this morning - need miles but not stressful pounding - so kept it relaxed.  Pleasant morning in the mid 60's, a bit humid. 

PM - a little over 6 miles on the treadmill at lunch.  Temps over 80 today - I opted for the cooler climate controlled gym so that I could keep my pace and HR steady in the 75% range.  Decent run.

PM - at the gym - did 50 mins on the stationary spin bike with Riley.

PM - lunchtime - just under 10 miles - dump run.  Bleh....

AM -  quick 3 miles before a seminar and a busy workday.  Won't likely get a lunch run in today, but hoping for a run after work. 

PM - 7 miles on the treadmill at the gym followed by a few hundred yards of swimming with Riley for a cool down.

PM - lunchtime 10 miles easy around Carillon and Feathersound on a very windy and rainy day. 

AM - bike ride with Riley of about 18 miles and then a quick transition to just under a 2 mile run (brick) to get her body familiar with the switch from bike to run.  She's doing quite well with the training and with gettting used to the pedal/clips. 

PM - good run this afternoon which probably can be attributed to the nice weather due to a cool front that came through yesterday.  Just under 10 miles and at a respectable pace. 

PM - busy workday (and week) - was able to escape for a quick 8.5 miles on the treadmill - but probably won't get an opportunity for a second run this evening with work related events tonight.

AM - 5 untimed miles on a comfortably cool morning.  Had to attend a work related dinner last evening and another one today after meetings this afternoon - will try to get a run in at lunch too.  Wife asked if I was losing weight this morning - said I looked too skinny - would like me more if I was a little pudgy. Heh... 

PM - was able to squeeze in a little over 6 miles at lunch before heading into meetings.  First couple of miles were a bit ragged.  I still am waiting to find my training groove.  Seems that the majority of runs right now are not that comfortable or enjoyable and I just don't feel quite right - Chalking it up to a bit of a down month of training in December followed by the calf injury at the beginning of January- requiring me to essentially re-start my base training; becoming a bit too impatient to get past the first few crappy weeks of it.