Christmas Running

My goal was to have a high-volume week last week leading into the "12 Runs of Christmas" challenge.  Unfortunately, I started the week with a 12-miler on Wednesday that turned into an 11-miler due to a strain in my left calf.  It started tightening up around the 10 mile mark, and I thought I could pound some water and slow down to get it to subside.  It kept getting tighter and tighter until I was sure it was going to cramp hard, so I stopped at 11 miles.  I was thinking that since I never let it actually cramp up I could massage it a bit when I got home and maybe ice it a little in the evening and it would be a 1 or 2-day deal.  I did all of that, and was feeling pretty good the next day.  It was sore, but I thought I might be able to head out for a slow jog and it would loosen up.  Once again, I was wrong.  About a mile into the run my calf started hurting worse than the day before.  Rather than doing what I always do and try to run through it, I decided to walk.  I walked the last 3 miles of a 4-mile "run".  It felt odd to be walking on a trail I've run countless miles on, but I knew that running was only going to lengthen my recovery time.

As a result of the injury, I took a couple days off with hopes of being running again for the Christmas Challenge.  I was going to take a "test" run on Saturday, but my wife surprised me with a super secret mega date.  Her mother is staying with us, and we had the rare opportunity to go out...OVERNIGHT!  Our son is almost 1 1/2 and this was only the second overnight trip we've ever taken without him.  I figured, even though I love running and was anxious to get back out there, this would be way more fun.  My wife booked us a really nice hotel in downtown DC with a hot tub in our room, we drank whiskey and cokes (my favorite adult beverage :-)) in the back of a town car as it drove us around to see the monuments at night, we ate at Charlie Palmer Steak House where I had a filet mignon that practically melted in my mouth, and we ended the night with a soak in our own personal hot tub.  To cap it off, she arranged a couples massage the next morning in our room.  The weekend was absolutely incredible and I didn't think about running one little bit.  We spent the two days captured in each other's company and it was beautiful.

During my massage I realized that my legs were much more sore than I had thought.  Not just my strained calf, but my quads, my calves, my hamstrings, everything was sore.  I'm still relatively new to running and I think I overlook how long it takes to recover sometimes.  I decided to give myself a Christmas present this year and not run until my legs don't hurt.  As I write this, I think I'm there, but today makes an entire week off.  I'll probably get back to running tomorrow or the next day, but I think my strained calf was my body's way of telling me it needed a break.  I'm glad that I was actually able to rest for a bit, and not turn this minor injury into one that I'd be milking for 3 or 4 weeks.  Now I'm excited to get back to running and try out some of my awesome new Christmas gifts!

Training Summary for Last Week:

Monday:       Off
Tuesday:       Off
Wednesday:  11.00 miles; 1:42:35; avg. pace 9:20/mi
Thursday:      4.16 miles; 57:20; avg. pace 13:47/mi
Friday:          Off
Saturday:      Off
Sunday:        Off

Total Mileage:  15.16 miles
Total Time:       2:39:55
Average Pace:  10:33/mi

Happy Running!