Tuesday, November 16, 2010

What To Do?

So my calf has been getting better and I've been increasing my running a bit. YAY! On Sunday I went to the gym to run on the treadmill (the treadmill and the track are the only flat run options I've got). I wasn't sure how far I would get, but I placed an upper limit of 7 miles on myself and promised myself I would stop at the first sign of calf tightness.

I started easy for the first mile, then upped the pace a bit each mile. NO tightness. Awesome. Ended with the 7th mile at 8:00 pace just to see if I could run MP without tightness (a week ago I felt tightness after about 3 minutes at 8:13 pace so I stopped) and turns out I could! YAY!!!! I finished that run all sweaty and as happy as I'd felt in weeks. There's just something about a good run (especially when you haven't had one for a while) that leaves you with a satisfaction that is hard to otherwise match.

So I gave myself a day off from running yesterday and then hit it again this morning with Nalani. I went into it with a bit more confidence than I had on Sunday, though I still promised myself I would back off if I felt any pain or tightness in my calf. We went 9 miles this morning, with 2 x 2 miles at MP in the middle. The first 2 mile segment went just fine... easy jog for 5 minutes then hit it again. I made the second set, but I swear it was WAY harder than the first. WAY harder than MP pace should be less than 4 weeks out from the marathon. Of course that is not surprising given that I hadn't done any real training for 3 weeks...

Running home I was feeling such a mixture of emotions. On one hand, I was thrilled that I had just run a key workout like that. I started thinking that the marathon is back ON! But then I started thinking about my goals and about how hard it was to run MP for just 2 miles in the middle of a run that was only about 1/3 of the distance of the race... how would I possibly run the marathon I want without doing all the necessary training? I am not a natural runner who can just pop out miracles for 26 miles like some of you can... I believe I have it in me to run a good marathon, but I need to actually do the pre-requisite training to make it possible. But the thing is, I can't just jump right back into my previous MP plan because that would surely be a recipe for injury for my calf again... so what to do? What to do? I've only got a couple of weeks left...

Well obviously I can only do what my calf will allow me to do. So I have to be smart. After that run this morning my calf felt fatigued. I didn't re-injure it or anything, but it felt different than my left calf... So moving forward I have to listen to my body and obviously I have to proceed with more caution than I had previously. In all honesty, I am still not sure that I will be running the marathon. I just don't want to do it if I don't think I can run a good one. And 'good' at this point has been altered to 3:45ish instead of 3:30 given that I have missed such an important block of training... Anyway, I think my plan at this point is to do as much training as I safely can and see where that leaves me in a couple weeks. While I would like to run the marathon, I absolutely will not if I think I can't do it wihtout re-injuring myself. My goal of starting 2011 healthy is bigger to me than my goal of running the marathon on Dec 12. Though seriously, can't I do both? I hope so! But we will see.

10 comments:

Kathy said...

I think you can definitely do it. You've had a set-back, but you also have years of base and all the hard work from the spring and summer behind you. I think you are right to plan to reassess as it comes near, but don't forget that on race day you can do much more than you can on a training day, especially if it's your first hard day back from injury. Considering all you've done already, I think you have plenty of time!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Which calf? I have a good right leg you can borrow, if it is your left, well, cant help you there

Kim said...

Well, I agree in that you don't want to do it if it will compromise your calf any further or injury you to the point where you're starting over with the recovery/healing. If it were me, I would continue to train, hope for the best, asses it right up until the race and then make a game time decision. IN addition though, I wouldn't feel bad about pulling out of the race if REALLY started to bother you. Just not worth it. So, those are my thougths (from a person who pretty much ran since I've been out of the womb!). Hope it continues to feel better!!

Lizzie said...

You have such great commitment that I know you can do it. However as a trainer you also have the wisdom to know when it just might not be the best idea for the long term. I'm sure you've already looked at it like this, but when it comes time to decide, maybe you could ask yourself what you would tell a client if they were in the same situation. It's easy to rail against the best decision in a physical sense - it's tougher to mentally convince yourself that this is the right thing to do.
Also, I'm not sure how much sense that made! Either way you're going to have a strong 2011 season!

Running and living said...

4 weeks is not a lot. But, I think you can do better than a 3:45 (assuming calf cooperates). I think an 8 pace was too easy for you to begin with. I remember you running a longish race at this pace, even before starting to train. MP when I first start training is hard, no way I could go 10 miles or more at it. So, I think (again, assuming calf cooperates) that you can have 3 big weeks and one week of taper, and still run a great race. I have a feeling that next week you'll feel much better about your MP. Def you can do 8:10-8:20 pace! Fingers crossed for the calf!!!

Angela and David said...

I have no great advice, but I can tell you walking most of a marathon with a bum calf SUCKS! If it hadn't been Kona, I never would have started the run. Is this your Kona for 2010? If it's not, then thick hard about whether it's worth it.

Rebecca DeWire said...

It sounds like you are being very sensible regarding whether or not to race. If you do run the marathon, you will have to be super disciplined about dropping out if it starts to hurt you; that is always hard to do, though!

My own perspective on injuries is skewed since my hip started out so minor and then turned into a disaster (I was also stupid though and trained and raced on it when I shouldn't have). I was training for CDA so naturally I think that race is cursed. I hope your calf heals 100% and never bothers you again.

Regina said...

Obviously, you don't do it if there is risk of re-injury, but if what you said "I just don't want to do it if I don't think I can run a good one" has nothing to do with the injury and more about feeling you won't meet the goal you set for yourself, then I have to take issue.

Would you let me back out of a race if I felt I wasn't going to have the race I wanted?

Injury aside, cuz that is a no-brainer. I think it takes more courage to go out and compete when you are certain you won't have the race you planned for. I am keeping my fingers crossed for your calf, that is continues to heal up nicely in time for your race! I'm putting it in the God Box.

GoBigGreen said...

Lotsa good advice. I would sit on it, as you are doing. It may be a game day decision, and only YOU knows how it feels versus how we think that you think it feels:)
26 is a long ways and just remember that the cumulative fatigue that increases after about mile 18 if you are feeling it then wont be a good predictor for your prognosis post race. The flip of that is that if you dont feel it till about 18-20 you can likely make it thru the race and have a good solid finish. Not even talking about pace here, i am talking about damage and injury control.
Sucks I know. I totally get it.
I would have a game plan in advance tho bc come the heat of the battle, you are going to NOT WANT TO STOP:)
Praying for good healing Michelle.

Katie A. said...

Hmmm....right off the bat, I know you have it in you - lack of training or not. Your calf though may have different ideas, and you're right, you need to be smart - no race is worth reinjury. I say play it by ear, take each workout as it is and step back and evaluate. I think you'll do awesome, and might surprise yourself ;)