Running Aimlessly Around the Countryside

Today I have peace and understanding and find myself in a better place. I rested, did a mediocre job of cross training (it has been nice to get reacquainted with my bike), and had a sports massage. Last week Saturday I went to watch my son in a middle school cross country meeting. For those of you who haven't watched XC before, the fans get a workout running to different points on the course to watch. As I did so, I noticed that my calf was pain free! The plans for my Saturday afternoon changed at that moment. I really didn't want to work on the honey-do list anyway. When I got home, I grabbed a quick pb&j sandwich, gathered my long run gear and headed out the door into the unseasonably warm 85 degree day. I have to admit, I was hoping to sneak in 12-15 miles. That would have put me in place to get back on track for the marathon. I don't know if it was the lack of fueling earlier in the day, the warm temperatures or something else, but after about 5 miles I was starti...

The pattern is occurring, again. For long time readers you will have noticed a pattern. My training just gets to the point where I'm really excited about the possibilities and injury strikes. My training has been going extremely well lately. Yes, I've been tired, and yes there have been days that I didn't want to lace up the shoes and head out the door, but I always felt stronger and better after finishing the workouts. Last week was a step back/recovery week and I was fired up and ready to start into the final block of training before tapering and racing. My form has gotten to a point that I really thought some of my goals were very realistic; it also didn't hurt that I had just added some Saucony Kinvara's to my shoe stable and I was really wanting to put them to the test. Tuesday I headed out for some mile repeats, a workout that I had dreaded a month ago but was now excited for. I had some tightness in my left calf from my first steps. Nothing to be concerned ...