As I attempt to get Body ready for the racing season, and especially my Half-Ironman, I find I am being thwarted by that same Body. I refuse to think that I am too old for this, that is bullshit. But g'damn, as if my ongoing battle with my gastrointestinal system and osteoarthritis weren't bad enough, now I've added muscle strains to the list. For a few weeks I have been nursing a strained left piriformis muscle, a thin muscle under the glute. Simply put; a pain in the ass. I have been diligently stretching, warming up carefully, taking it a bit easy with squats and lunges, and yet the pain persists. Then, last night during my quick, before-drill treadmill run, I strained my right Achilles tendon. It pulled me up short. I tried to stretch a bit, then run some more, but the pain continued to worsen. I barely ran a mile. Fortunately, drill was very physical, moving loaded 5" hose which weighs about 8 pounds per linear foot, so I still got a good workout. But g'damn it, I need to be building a solid running base if I am to improve my times, and extend my distances this year. As much as I hate to, I will back off of running for a few days, or more, hoping to get relatively pain free as quickly as possible. Until then, I am going to try and maximize my swim time.
Tonight, if I head straight to the pool, I will have more than 2 hours in the water. I plan on swimming a mile, doing hypoxic drills, and death sprints. Then do a solid 20 minutes with the aqua-jogger belt, to work my legs. Then swim another mile, then another 20 with the belt, then swim at race pace until they kick me out. This should help make up for the dearth of running in my regimen.
Now that we are having more daylight I have really been hoping to get in trail runs on my way home from work. I even have a few maintained trails I can hit if I bring my gear and change before leaving the office. I have got to build my running base. It has to happen. I have 6 months to make it happen. Six Months! That is not long, but it has to be long enough. There is no time to waste being a Gimp.
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