Only two weeks of training have elapsed and I've encountered my first setback. My week began with my long, slow run. Last week's was 18 miles in 2:35 and the goal this week was going to be about 21 miles in 3:00 to 3:10. Around the 2 hour mark, my legs began to fatigue but not excessively or with any cause for concern. By 2:30, I was quickly moving into the 'Uh-oh' range. As I'm loath to ever have to abbreviate a workout, the internal struggle in my brain begins. I know that I can complete my planned workout, but whether I should is becoming painfully obvious. As the discomfort in my quads and especially my glutes is rapidly transitioning from fatigue to pain, I shorten the outing. 19.1 miles in 2:45 for an 8:40/mile pace. Still faster than I think I should be going. I could have completed the workout and finished my 21 miles, but the risk of injury was growing rapidly with each footstrike. As it turns out, I was fortunate to stop when I did. My left quad is injured and has hurt me since Tuesday morning, necessitating me to forgo my run yesterday and bike instead. I attempted to do my scheduled run this morning (120 minutes at 11% incline on the treadmill) but had to stop after just 60 minutes as my legs are still recovering from Monday. Fortunately, the discomfort is very much related to impact and running on an 11% incline helps to minimize impact and pain.
Some good news...I've swam twice since my last blog entry. On Saturday I was able to increase my longest stretch without a respite from 75 to 100 yards. On Tuesday, I was able to increase that to 350 yards! And, the only reason I stopped was due to a foot cramp. I seem to have my breathing rythym under control but my form has gone in the crapper. My strategy for the swim at this point in time is to be able to complete my race distance, a half mile (880 yards), without stopping. Once that has been accomplished, I'll then return to focusing on form and technique.
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