On The Mend

Knock on wood, but I think I am on the mend from my torn calf muscle. I am out of shape after missing more than two weeks of training, and being actually pretty sedentary, first from my cold, then from the muscle tear. But I have started up again.

Sunday I went for a two mile walk in a park near here, finishing in just under 30 minutes. Yesterday, I got up early and walked two miles, finishing in 28 minutes. Today, I went out for a three mile walk, and after a mile decided to see what running felt like. I ran for one minute, then stopped and walked to evaluate. Other than some stiffness in the calf, it felt OK, so I alternated 1 - 1.5 minutes of running with every five minutes of walking. It felt great to be moving, and the three miles took 39 minutes.

Tomorrow morning, if it is not raining hard and if my leg pain remains low, I am going to try for four miles, throwing in maybe a 1.5 minute run with every three minutes of walking. I am hopeful that if that feels OK, I can gradually increase my running ratio and distance. The bad thing is, I start taper a week from Saturday, and I feel like I have been on the ultimate taper for over two weeks. But I know I can finish the race, even if it takes longer than my goal of 2:30.

I won't say "I'm Baaaaaack!" but I will say, knocking on wood and throwing salt over my shoulder, that I am headed back!