it is all about the legs

*Waring this blog post is the result of not having 2 workouts everyday which results in my ADD side coming out and spending to much time with my iPhone camera

It feels like this week I have spent more time focusing on recovery then actually working out or running. My legs and body were a bit achy after the run on Sunday so on Monday I even broke out the compression socks at work even though I wore a skirt to work. I swear it is the hottest fall fashion trend for 2009.

My only run so far this week was Monday night. I did hill repeat run - 3 x 1 mile - hard effort on the down and steady on the way up. Luckily I live on the top of a mile long hill and even more lucky Kyle agreed to ride with me in the dark. I did a :20 warm up and my right calf had a small tinge and my right hamstring was sore. I moved past it and it really forced me to focus on good form on the down hills so I did not make it hurt more.

Check out the elevation profile.


The funny thing that happened was that as my down hills got slower my uphills got faster and my heart rate never really got as high as I thought it would be. I was pretty tired to start but I was so happy I did it. I felt strong and was really happy with my effort. Afterwards I stretched out and had a small dinner before passing out and going to bed early.

I was not surprised at all that I was very sore on Tuesday morning. I mean I ran hard 2 days in a row. But I was annoyed that tinge in my right calf was still there. I managed to get through my strength workout but went very very easy on my legs. Actually I mostly stretched and did not of the exercises from when I was getting PT.

So on Wednesday morning when I saw Kainoa at Masters swim we chatted about the runs and she pulled my track workout from my training. I was actually pretty bummed. I was like wait wait it is not that bad no I can do it. lol Yeah this is exactly why I have a coach to tell me to stop and not over do it. She told me making sure I am ready for my 20 miler on Saturday is way more important then the track workout. Especially since the last 5 miles I need to run some negatives down all the way to 7:45 m/mi. So I got over it and let go of the idea of running a hard/fun track workout.

This is where it hurt.. (this is what happens when I loose focus in a 5 hour meeting)

Since I had no track workout to do in the evening I came home, had dinner and spent some quality time with trigger point to try and help loosen my legs up. (I fallowed this by falling asleep on the floor at 8:30p because I swear it felt like midnight)

Luckily this morning I had my weekly pilates session with Iron Monique and she said she would also do some ART massage to help me get past this tight calf/shin thing. As expected the ART hurt but she defiantly got a few ropes in my calf loosened up :) I have spent the rest of the day in my compression socks (I wore pants to work at least so I did not look to dorky).
Fingers crossed. I'm actually not that worried it does feel better but I am still wearing compression socks.

Tomorrow morning I have an open water swim and then it is all about getting ready for the 20 miler on Saturday morning (well I have to go to work to). Just have to decide on a good route with an easy last 5 miles so I can push I pace... ????