Training Continues; Paranoia Sets In

We’re training for the Mount Desert Island Marathon. You may recall that I’ve been having some calf issues which caused me to DNF out of the Georgia Marathon. Well, training has begun again for the next big race and it’s kind of a pain. Why?

Every little tiny twinge or ache in my calf makes my brain immediately start whirling around thinking, “Oh gosh! Is it too much? Am I pushing too hard? ((Ha! Today’s run clocked in at a 12:00 pace which is way slower than I’m used to)) Am I injuring myself!? Am I going to have to give up running!?!? Dogs and Cats, living together!!!”

And so on and so forth. I have to monitor the sensations coming from my leg very carefully because I don’t want to injure myself again and spend another two months going to physical therapy. Today, for instance, I went out for a 5 mile run at a slow pace and started feeling some “stuff” around mile 3. It went away but came back at 4 so I decided to walk the rest of the way. Discretion being the better part of finishing the race I’m signed up for.

This is an exercise in discipline, but it also means I don’t enjoy running nearly as much as I’m used to. I can’t zone out and get into the flow very easily when I keep getting jerked back by calf sensations.

The best I can do is the best I can do. I’ll continue to train at a very low intensity, once again keeping “finish the race” as my only goal. I probably should get back into the pool soon as I have a triathlon in August, but I can probably dog-paddle the swim if necessary.

Comments

2 responses to “Training Continues; Paranoia Sets In”

  1. Chris Avatar

    I can relate to the lack of enjoyment during running. Since the knee surgery I spend way too much time thinking about how exactly I’m going to land on each foot. There is no zone. Let alone being in it.
    Biking is better though, the pattern is pretty much mandated by the crank arm so I can settle a bit more. Unfortunately, they’ve trained me on a whole new (faster) cadence so even that feels a bit foreign.

  2. Bill Ruhsam Avatar
    Bill Ruhsam

    Yee haw. Well, I’ve got a 4 miler on Saturday and then the Peachtree on Sunday (wherein I will be going eaaaassssyyy) so we’ll see how things are.

    I’m used to about a 90 per minute cadence on my bike. Don’t know what “faster” means for you.

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