Feeling the years...

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I suppose I’m really starting to feel my age as it relates to working out. I can’t honestly say that I was ever an ‘injury free’ kind of guy, but could normally tie any malady back directly to something I’d done wrong in my training and that usually meant I’d done too much of one thing or another. Lately though, I can’t always say that and yet I’m constantly hurting. Just before my foot got really bad, I had been noticing pain in my achilles tendon. It was back.

I started my run with the goal of going 30 minutes. I’d left work and driven to the polo fields for a starting point. I wanted a flat course and something different. This would provide both. I was into the run about 10 minutes when I realized I could no longer ignore the throb just behind my ankle that accompanied every step I took. Still, I marched on. I hit 15 minutes and turned around, determined that I’d complete the 30-minute goal. Actually, that’s a mistake I can’t seem to avoid. I don’t want to slip backwards and know how important running is to my fitness success, so I continue to push it. I would probably benefit most from a month without running and then starting over. I can’t see myself doing that, though. It’s way too smart for me.

When I hit 20 minutes, I buckled to common sense and stopped running…for a couple of minutes. After a little stretching…and cursing…I started up again and finished the run. Once back in the car, the pain subsided and I began formulating a plan for getting through the next few days doing something to keep me from gaining 10 pounds through the holiday weekend. Biking was likely out unless I was ready to put it on the trainer…and I wasn’t. Hiking was an option, but if it was the achilles, hiking wouldn’t really provide a rest. I could just not eat so much…but let’s stay real.

I went home and packed it in ice. It was about all I could do for now.

Run duration: 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 500.