Another Injury Bites the Dust

Now that I'm on a running kick and doing more than 20 miles per week, I decided to register with a friend for the Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond, a race I ran before back in 2009. I've been following Runner's World's Marathon Training Schedule, and last week I was in week 3, with a long run of 8-8.5 miles coming up on Saturday.

So Thursday, I was 3.38 miles into my hour-long run, doing small inclines on the treadmill to simulate running outside (it's easier to run on a treadmill--no wind resistance, no uneven terrain). I told myself to go slow, of course, but I didn't. I was averaging 6.1-6.2 mph; I wanted to get under my Monument 10k time from 2009. So almost 3.5 miles in, I feel a strain, then a "pop!" in my right calf muscle. Agony. Imagine if somebody shot your calf muscle with about half a dozen BBs, all at once, and all in the same place. I immediately hopped off the treadmill and hit pause. I gasped for air. My eyes rolled dizzingly up toward where my brain should be. What was I doing? I turned the treadmill back on, slowed to 1 mph, and walked to 3.5, because I'm also a little bit obsessive compulsive. Well, I didn't exactly walk. I hop-limped my way another tenth of a mile.

Here's the amazing thing about doing Internet research; within minutes I was on my trusty computer looking up all the symptoms of the pain I had in my leg. Check out this website: Pulled-Muscle.com: an entire website designed to soberly educate me about my latest injury. I've iced the muscle, soaked in a hot tub, and forced myself to walk, very slowly, 2-3 miles a day. I will have to wait two weeks to fully run? If I have a "Grade 2" injury (moderate pain walking, no pain at night), then I'm supposed to wait 4-6 weeks to run again. I don't think I can do that. But if I don't, I might create so many injuries that running the Marine Corps Marathon in October will be a moot point. At one point yesterday I was hobbling-shuffling on the treadmill at 5 mph, but I could only hold the pace for less than .10 of a mile. Oh, the agony! I just signed up for a race and here I am in the injury column again. 

I think my next post will be about the psychological ramifications of being insane and not knowing when to stop, pace oneself, or make rational training decisions.