Friday Update

The Achilles tendon pain was no phantom, I swear. I was starting to panic yesterday when three other good runners all cautioned that I stay off it for several days and be very careful not to aggravate it any further.

I didn't. It's not that I ignored the advice since I decided to go ahead with my run before reading the emails. But I probably would have run anyway even had I read the recommendations first. I just didn't feel like it was so bad that I needed to skip running for 2 or more days straight. As I posted earlier, I'd already skipped Wednesday's planned run.

I wasn't going to run hard. I was only going to do a very-slow paced relaxation run with Leah and Kelly in Rancho Bernardo. Just to be sure, I stopped at the gym first and did a mile and a half of easy pickups on the treadmill, going through a steady increase from walking to jogging drills and back again. Yes, the tendon felt stiff and a bit pained in the early stages, but warming up backed the discomfort off to the point where I could run freely without any sensation of stress.

So I went ahead with the run, arriving at RBHS about 15 minutes late. The girls had already gotten a 10 minute or so head start. I concentrated on not bolting out to try to catch up, keeping a relaxed, even pace as I went the first 2 miles alone. I joined up with them at Paseo Lucida as they waited for a light crossing, and kept company with them until reaching Pomerado. I decided to stretch out the pace a little here since I was feeling so good, and I went on ahead to Twin Peaks, turned around, meeting them again and the finishing Pomerado at their pace.

We walked up the Twin Peaks hill. I only did so for the social value. I would have liked to have kept on running, but I think their habit is to wind down walking that hill instead of running. I enjoyed the conversation and had gotten my planned mileage in already anyway.

Overall, it was a very good session. I didn't bust out, but I got some good pace differential training in and kept my legs fresh. The Achilles tendon didn't bother me a bit. It's only when I'm sitting or lying around, and then get up to walk, that I'll feel a little tenderness. It's mostly in the levering of the ankle in plantar flexion that I'll feel it. If I come down more on the toes and use my ankle more for suspension/shock absorption, I don't notice it. And it goes away with warm up.

I did some light track work this morning since it's the last Friday of the month when Maranatha does their "run for sticks" thing. Again, I kept the pace moderate, practicing what it feels like to run between 8:00 and 8:30 pace. The measured 1/4 mile track really helps with that.

Not sure yet what I'll do this weekend. The plan calls for a 9-10 mile run. I was going to do Lusardi Creek, but I might do Lake Miramar instead. I'd like to practice the pace profile I've strategized for the first 6 aid stations of the RnR marathon. I'd like to see how that feels so that, when the time comes, I won't unwittingly over-extend myself early.