Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Off to the Sun!

            Living in the Pacific Northwest can get a little dreary at times so when April rolls around I get excited as that means lots of track meets in warm, sunny California! My month of March was spent indoors doing a lot of cross training while my left Achilles and Soleus tried to heal from an injury I suffered at the end of February. Being indoors is not the most enjoyable thing for me, even less so when I am not even able to run. But the weather did make it a little easier to be indoors. If it was sunny and warm I might have gone insane, but with colder and very wet weather outside it was nice to sit inside in a nice 70 degree climate while I looked out through the large windows at the ships and boats going by.
            So after a little over a month of cross training, the track season is upon me, leaving me a little concerned as to my fitness level. Before my first outdoor track meet I typically would have completed at least 10 track workouts. Right now I have done two, which is great considering where I was at even a week before my first workout. I am now pretty much pain free. I get a little tightness in the Soleus at times and my Achilles still has some weird bumps on it but they do not hurt! I have been seeing a PT at the Sports Reaction Center and am so thankful for their help.
            On Friday March 30th I went to the track to attempt my first workout. It was a week before I was scheduled to race and I needed to do something. I decided to do 400s at 5k pace, nothing too far or fast. I ended up doing two sets of 10x400m with a one minute rest and injury wise it felt surprisingly good. Physically I felt a little “out of shape” with my breathing and turnover. On Sunday I ran my first run outside and I made it 12 miles with very minimal tightness that went away during the run. Then on Tuesday I did another workout. This time I did two sets of 4x800m with a minute break, starting at 5k pace and working it down the second set. I felt pretty tired and sluggish the first set then snapped out of it and felt great the second set. I know I am not as sharp right now as in the past but that is o.k. I am making progress in the right direction and will regain that fitness when it matters. If anything the month of March probably served as a nice break for my body. Now everything should be replenished and ready to go…at least that’s what I am telling myself.
            Later tonight I will be flying out with my husband and brother where we will all be competing at the Stanford Invitational Friday and Saturday. A couple of my friends/Club teammates will be there so it should be a blast. I will be racing the 5000m. After two successful workouts I was tempted to debut with a steeple but I know I need to be patient and give my body a little more time to heal and get stronger. The steeple is a tough event on your body and I want to have some practice under my belt to make sure my leg can handle the jumping before I race it. But the excitement I have for it is a good thing, and good things come to those who wait. :)

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