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January 03, 2005
Tight Calves
My calves were unusually tight today. So much so that it was noticable just walking around at work. They were really tight first thing in the morning so it can not be attributed to wearing heels, which I even did some during my vacation. I believe that I can pinpoint the tightness to one of two things: some of the strider/drills I did yesterday or the elliptical machine I was using in the afternoon. The elliptical was one of those incline style elliptical trainers, not the one with the moving arm pieces. Whatever the culprit, some serious foam rolling will be done this evening to alleviate the feeling.
Tonight was the first "workout" of the year. This is really the base-building phase for us, so the workout was kind of unstructured. We did the warm-up and then jogged over to the start of a loop that we have laid out for the purpose of snow or the inability to get on the track. The goal was to run at about a regular pace and throw in 8-10 100 meter or so accelerations. One of the guys who is trying to qualify for the Hawaii Ironman and I were running together. A few of our early accelerations were significantly longer than 100 meters. At one point we realized that our recovery was absurdly fast, so we backed off. A little bit past halfway we have to cross a four lane road and another one of the triathletes who just started to train with us caught up to us. We backed off the pace a bit so that he didn't fall off too badly. I am adamant that nobody runs alone in the dark-I wouldn't want anyone to leave me alone in the dark, so I won't leave someone else alone in the dark. I try to treat the other people I run with the way I would like to be treated. We finished the 4.3 mile loop in 27 and change. Then we headed off on the warm down for a total of about 9 miles for the day.
It was unusally warm for January-of course I still had on long pants and long sleeves even though it was 55 degrees out. Before we left, a woman who we all know is crazy ran by us-in shorts and a tank top. J kept telling me that I would be hot, but I was comfortable. My body temperature must be really low or I just like to be really warm.
This afternoon I had the 4:00 news on before heading over to the track. They were doing all of the reports on the tsunami and were then discussing a local teacher and her husband were survivors of the disaster. I looked up and saw the woman who was the head coach of my college swim team my senior year in college. The name was not familiar since she has gotten married since, but she looks and talks exactly the same. They didn't make a reservation and did not get the room until they arrived at the resort. They wanted a room that faced the water but it was not available. None of the people in rooms facing the water survived, so it was fate that the rooms were not available. She said that she went back to work today beacause she had to keep her life as real and normal as she possibly can.
Posted by Blondie at January 3, 2005 08:00 PM
Comments
Blondie - you have really nice workout etiquette. It is very considerate of you to make sure everyone has people to run with during their workout. I know when I am on the trails with a group I try to do the same thing because it is a scary feeling to believe you are lost in the woods. Wow, I can't believe you knew the teacher who nearly escaped the horrible tragedy caused by the tsunami! What a story! You just never know - thanks for sharing that piece. Take care..
Posted by: Mary at January 3, 2005 08:45 PM
hey blondie! wow - i wish you lived closer so we could be running buddies (well, at least on your easy days!). it looks like 2005 is off to a good start.
Posted by: bridget at January 3, 2005 09:56 PM