A Change of Plans

I am trying not to overreact, but my legs have been sore this week.

It started last Friday. Elizabeth and I completed our first planned week of "training". What I mean by that is that I had known exactly what kinds of runs I wanted to do all week and we successfully met that goal. (And we celebrated after with some ice cream.)

I had sweet cream ice cream, fresh strawberries, and a little drizzle of hot fudge - the perfect treat after a hot run!

Anyway, Friday called for two easy miles to end the week. My legs were noticeably tired, but they still felt pretty okay. They felt like they'd been challenged, but in a good way.

Last week's training runs.

Then on Monday, we did four miles, and my calves were tight. Actually, my left shin was tight and my right calf was sore. I feel like being specific here is important. I was able to run through the discomfort without a problem, which means - logically - that this isn't really a compartment syndrome issue. Also, with the CS, my legs would be so tight and painful I would have to walk, and the pain never lingered after my run, which it has been this week.

Monday's run.

High heat and high humidity have returned, so now I'm all worried my legs are only going to feel awesome in cool weather. But then again, we meant to keep the run slower and purposely slowing my pace always seems to stress my legs; once we started increasing pace at the end of the run, some of the stiffness faded.

It's probably fatigue as a result of increasing my mileage and pace last week. Still, it's hard not to overthink things! I've been on a positive trajectory, getting stronger and feeling better for weeks in a row. I think it makes sense that my legs would be in need of recovery after consecutive weeks of building mileage.

Despite the discomfort, we finished the run feeling strong overall.

I've been massaging my legs nightly all week and won't run again until race day. With a bridge-y 5k coming up Saturday, I really need to just rest and recover as much as possible; that includes getting these negative, fearful thoughts out of my head, too.

If my legs continue to feel sore Thursday and Friday, I'll drastically adjust my plan for the Riverfest 5k. I have a couple days to decide, but it's looking like "finish this race pain-free" is going to be the most important goal I can set...Because if I experience pain on Saturday, I'm not sure what it will do to my head.

ABK