I Survived a Week of No Running

My week of rest went by much faster than I expected it to. On Thursday and Friday I took two complete days off. My calf was still feeling tender so I wore a compression sleeve on it and tried to keep my activity to a minimal.

On Saturday and Sunday I took advantage of being home and I made chocolate chip pancakes for the family and I took my son to the park instead of running. 

On Monday (Sep 16th) I went to the gym and I lifted weights and did some core work. On Tuesday I did some more core work.

Last Wednesday was my first test run. I was just hoping for no calf pain. I ended up doing a 3 mile progression run....My first mile was in the 8's, my second mile was in the 7's and this was my last mile.

I haven't run a sub 7 minute mile in over three years and I am floored!!

 

On Thursday I took a rest day on Friday I just did weight training. On Saturday I ran 5 miles, on Sunday I was going to run but, it was really windy and I decided to take a rest day again. 

 

This morning I ran 4 miles at tempo pace, I'm going to try to gradually increase my mileage starting this week. We are about 5 weeks out from the half and I was in a panic about losing some of my fitness during this break but, I think I am getting back on track.

 

I haven't posted a weight loss update in a few weeks, I was really worried that I would gain weight by not being able to run. But, it turns out that I wasn't as hungry when I wasn't  running as much.  I think I was also just trying to be more conscious of what and how much I have been eating:

 

Starting Weight: 150lbs

Current Weight:  125lbs

 

I can't believe I am almost where I want to be....

 

 

My new favorite workout / I'm in an utter state of panic!

During the work week I run in the morning after I drop my kids off at daycare. I have about 35 minutes to knock out a run and then I hurry up and get ready as quickly as possible.

My usual workout consists of a 4 mile run at a Tempo pace, I was getting bored of my usual route so, I started running the loop backwards.  This worked for another week or two and then I became bored of that too.

A few weeks ago I discovered a different route to run and I love it!  It's two miles up a hill and then two miles back down then hill.  It's 360 feet of climbing up and then I get to enjoy 360 feet of decent. Most of the climb happens during mile two (201 feet). I really try to hit the uphill hard and then I enjoy the downhill ride. This is what my mile splits look like during the run:

Mile 1 8:56 -I'm just warming up
Mile 2 9:12- Man this hill is a beast
Mile 3 7:31- Enjoy the downhill ride
Mile 4 7:11- Hurry up, you are going to be late for work!!!

This is where the uphill grade begins.

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I wrote the first part of this post last week. Now I am in a state of panic!!! I have a calf strain on my lower right leg.  It started getting sore last Thursday/Friday.  I took a few vacation days to be at home with my kiddos last week, so I took advantage of my time at home and ran some extra miles.

I ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill on Thursday and then on  Friday I ran another 6 miles on the mill , and I noticed that my calf was feeling weird. I took a rest day on Saturday and on Sunday I ran 8 hilly miles. It was a beautiful rainy morning in Las Vegas. I had to go run in the rain!!

My calf felt sore but, I was able to run on it. On Monday I took another rest day. On Tuesday I ran  5 miles and my calf was still sore (Shocker). Yesterday just for good measure I ran 4 miserable miles on it. My stride just felt off the whole time I was running and I don't know why I forced myself to gut out 4 miles on an injured leg. 

I made the executive decision last night to take a whole week off from running.  I was really feeling sorry for myself yesterday because I need my running! But, I know if I keep screwing around I am going to do serious damage to my calf.  I still plan on running a fast half marathon in October. I know that one week off will not hamper my training. I just have to keep telling myself this....