40-20

I drove over to WVC and ran and walked. Mostly I ran hitting 40 minutes. I then did a 20 minute walk cool down. Tom walked and ran much of it with me. Danny was AWOL (Away With Official Leave).

The calf was very sore and bruised from yesterday's massage but otherwise things held together. My legs felt good. I think I may be turning a corner here. Just which corner, I am not sure yet.



It is the medial head (below) where the problem lies. 

32 minutes

I met Dimitri at Foothill College for an easy jog. At 10 AM in the morning it was clear and warming. I ended up walking and jogging 45 minutes with 32 minutes of the workout, dedicated to running. I used the same athletic tape that failed toadhere to my hamstring a month back, but this time on my calf. Strangely it stayed in place.

The calf held up. I did notice a bit of tightness towards the end of the run, but no pain. I can't imagine how Jake ran right though this injury but he did. Higher pain threshold, I guess.

We went for coffee afterward. The usual place off of Foothill Expressway.

Massage planned for Monday.

{{{Deep Tissue}}}}

I met Dimitri at Foothill College for an easy jog. At 10 AM in the morning it was clear and warming. I ended up walking and jogging 45 minutes with 32 minutes of the workout, dedicated to running. I used the same athletic tape that failed toadhere to my hamstring a month back, but this time on my calf. Strangely it stayed in place.

The calf held up. I did notice a bit of tightness towards the end of the run, but no pain. I can't imagine how Jake ran right though this injury but he did. Higher pain threshold, I guess.

We went for coffee afterward. The usual place off of Foothill Expressway.

Massage planned for Monday.

{{{Deep Tissue}}}}

Testing

I showed up at the club workout and ran an easy thirty minutes with almost no walking breaks. It was cold out (low 40's at best) so I wore my compression tights. The calf held up very well. No real problems. The club was running 5K on the track so I was able to catch up with people including Dwight Cornwell and Bill Dunn. I'll run another 30 minutes on Sunday and return for a second massage Monday morning.

As John Parker said in his article about calf heart attacks:

"Step 5. After a week of the medicinal workouts, try a short, very gentle run of three to four miles, on as flat a surface as possible. As always, if your calf gets numb or the sharp pain reappears, stop immediately and walk back. Remember the cyclical nature of this injury. Keep adding to your mileage and intensity day-by-day, but be ready to retreat at the first sign of trouble. After a few such runs, if you haven’t overdone it, you’ll be back to your normal routine."

Another morning of running the straights and walking the curves

Another morning of running the straights and walking the curves for an hour on West Valley Track. Danny joined me. It warmed up a bit but was still overcast.

Calf felt much better. Still slightly sore from the massage but no pain.

Breakfast with Danny and Jake.

Deep Tissue

I walked and ran for an hour over at WVC. it was warmer in the morning so I was gradually able to discard my down jacket, ski cap and even my gloves.

I did straightaways for over forty minutes of my workout. The calf felt tight but no pain. Afterward Danny and I went up to Tarrs for our monthly adjustment but while Danny did his walk around I went in for a calf massage. {{{deep tissue}}}

I was pretty sore after it was over but also strangely relaxed. The masseuse told me that she could feel some good size knots in and around the calf muscle. Once those are worked out I can begin to run normally and maybe even get back on the 800 meter horse.

Four hours later and the calf feels much better. Going back in next week.

Lurking

Yet another late morning hour walk. I stopped by De Anza track along the way and ran eight straightaways. The calf held up some phantom tightness but no pain. After the run I dug my fingers into my right calf looking for hot spots. Couldn't find any. But like I told my buddy Jake. I don't trust this injury. It lurks.

The ART of recovery

I walked again today. I waiting until early afternoon because it was raining in the morning. I went out for an hour. It was alternately sunny, cloudy and windy. Sometimes all three. I threw in a dozen or so ten second jogs along the way because guys like me can't help testing to see if my calf is feeling better. As it turned out, the calf does not bother me but with calf heart attacks that's the way it is. Everything feels great and then suddenly...OUCH!

I am also reading like crazy about active release technique (ART). I know now I can't just run. I have to work the calf. I figure between ART and deep tissue massage I might have a chance of getting back to training.

Another hour

I walked another hour yesterday morning on the track.  The temperatures had warmed slightly but with a nice slate gray cloud cover it felt frosty. Danny walked with me most of the way because he ran Wednesday evening with the club. I plan to keep walking for now. My calf is no longer sore. If I didn't know better there is no evidence that I had a calf heart attack. But I do know better. Sunday's stabbing pain reminds me of the truth. My only real hope is that between ART (Active Release Therapy) and deep tissue massage I can stretch out the time between attacks.

Recovery Plan 9 from outer space

I have not run since that moment on Sunday that I felt a stab of pain in my right calf. I went to see my chiro (Big Bad Billy) on Monday who adjusted the leg and the ankle. Within an hour I was no longer limping. Yesterday I walked for an hour on the track at WVC. not a glimmer of pain. I believe this is what is called walking on a controlled surface.

Bill recommended no running for a week. I am also scheduled to go back up Tuesday and get deep tissue massage from one of his folks. This type of injury is the result of years and years of running. Scar tissue builds and it is tough to break it up. The stick massage I was doing was helping but obviously not enough. Stretching is out of the question. I have iced (a lot).

When I come back I'll stay on the flats and do my calf heart attack approach. I walk and run starting with about a half hour and gradually build up the time I run versus the time I walk. I plan to include a leg massage as part of my regular program in the hopes that I can buy myself some more running time.

My 800 meter program is wrecked. Probably no longer can do 800 meter paced reps. That time is past. What I have to figure out is what can I do????

OUCH!

Went up to the Ballpark 5K with Shel.Bob Anderson and I warmed up a bit together. It was cool with a slight breeze. I felt good on the pre-race jog but as soon as the race started I felt "something" in my right calf. By 90 seconds I was shutting things down. "Something" had become a stabbing pain. Ouch! I walked back and watched the race finish. If this is anything like my 4 calf pulls in 2008, it'll be 1-2 months of coming back. Rest then walking followed by walk-jogging and finally running again.

The good news was having breakfast with Shel, Bob, Catherine and Mike at The Java House. Great little out of the way place. Great prices and excellent food. Good company.

Right now I have to rest until I can walk without pain.

45 minutes

Ran a frigidly cold 45 minutes this morning. Low to mid 30's. I jogged around West Valley College eventually catching up with some friends who were as frozen as I was. I had all the hi-tech gear on but frankly I could have used a plain old cotton sweat top as well.

My plan is to do a 90% tempo run tomorrow but if it this cold I may dump the workout and run easy. That'll be a game day decision.

80 minutes

Got out early to do ten minutes of shake down running around my house. Then I drove over to West Valley and ran another seventy minutes! Tom and Danny ran most of this part with me. Danny was recovering from Wednesday evening's 12 x 400 so he was hanging on throughout the workout. I was Mr. Low Energy. Tom had mercy on us both and kept the pace slow.

The weather was perfect IF YOU WERE AN ESKIMO!. Mid 30's and cold to the bone. Even with my tights on my legs felt knotty.

Breakfast tasted great. Buckwheat pancakes and coffee. Jake showed. Poor guy is still having calf issues. He is learning the lessons I had crammed down my gullet in 2008.

I could easily take a nap but several afternoon appointments beckon.

Crispy 78 minutes

Another crispy cold morning. Mid 30's at game time. I ran a total of 78 minutes and at least 8 minutes of it were so I didn't have to stand around and freeze my ass off. Tom and Danny ran most of the way with me. We were all strangely tired but did the workout anyway.

As we always do, we ran campus loops and Valle Vista. I also ran ten minutes around my house ahead of time. I guess I can call this the pre-run-run.

Back to the 800

I ran close to 45 minutes total this afternoon including 4 x 300 on Foothill College Track.
Because of the hamstring and head cold I had not done anything at 800 meter pace for well over a month. With my "pacer" Dimitri, we ran 61-60-60-60. Took a 200 meter walk in between reps. Tough workout but the weather was beautiful and I never lost form. Good to get back at it.

By the way, running four days in a row was pretty crazy. I took my eye off the ball. Could have been fresher for this workout.

Intermittent 35 minutes

Did an easy 35 minute run while my club did a workout. I ran around the track, stopped and chatted with other runners, exchanged some friendly barbs and generally made a nuisance of myself. Helped Wally time too. So the whole run was very intermittent.

It was probably in the 40's but but it felt in the 30's.

Tom had a breakthrough "I am an older guy" workout. He ran 3 x 1600 and one was faster than his a one mile race he did during the summer.

30 minute run

Drove over to the Los Gatos Creek Trail and ended up running for 30 minutes with my Jake. He is nursing a sore upper Achilles tendon and is wisely sticking to the flats. I hadn't planned on running at all but the idea of just walking didn't seem that intereting. We did a figure eight course he had mapped out around the perk ponds.

We're Retired

I did the usual 70 minute run. Most of it was over at WVC with Tom and Danny. Not sure of the temps but it was definitely cold when we started out. Sunny but cold.  Tom and I got in a tennis court loop before Danny showed up. Madelyn rode over with him. She got out of the car and kept saying (jokingly) "We're retired."  So I asked Danny if that the was the reason they were late.

Anyway, we had a good laugh about it.

Breakfast afterwards. I seem to be on a blueberry pancake jag.

 

72 minutes

I did an easy 72 minute run this morning including the last 62 minutes over at WVC with Tom and Danny. The fog was in pretty thick so it was cool and damp. No leg soreness. Just some lingering muscle malaise (MM). As usual Tom tended to push the pace slightly but I responded by slowing down and he came right back. These early morning, cold weather, runs are tough. If I have to push the pace, I just end up digging myself into a hole.

Overdressed

I took it easy this morning considering yesterday's workout. I got out door after 9 am and ran 50 minutes including super loops over at the college. I thought about running an hour but decided early on just to run 50 in the name of recovery.

It was New Year's day and it was deserted outside. A few fleeting cars on the road and the track was populated by a hand full of walkers and a large convention of geese. It is like I woke up in a future post apocalyptic, dystopian world where people had mostly disappeared but their buildings and roads still exist.

Anyway, back on the planet Earth: I realized I had made one big mistake. I overdressed. I wore my tights, long sleeve top, hat and gloves. It was cold when I woke up but warmed up rather quickly. By the time I finished it was in mid 50's. I was dressed for something in the low forties.