Intervals

I have a couple of potential blog subjects brewing up (which makes me sound constipated. I'm never constipated...) but for now I'll just blog a little concerning yesterday's run.

Part of this concerns the calf pain I mentioned yesterday, and which prompted some useful comments. Its a very specific spot that's sore and its distinct from the more general fatigue/stiffness/pain that (re) shortening my stride cured straight away last week.

I didn't mention yesterday that my fear is/was that it is either a stress fracture or it has the makings of one. It ticks most of the boxes for that, which is a worry.

However, the position is higher than where stress fractures typically occur and the pain lessens over time spent running, which instinctively seems more muscular to me even though the pain is on the bone, and one of the several symptom lists for a stress fracture described the pain as 'crescendo' i.e. it builds during a run.

Another Paris marathon runner has said she had something very similar/same last year and it was due to a specific point in the calves where lactic acid was building up and not draining. Fingers crossed.

Tuesday's run actually lessened the pain so, after a brief moment of indecision, I decided to head out yesterday and do the short intervals speed session as planned.

I felt slightly fatigued and stiff still. Actually, it might be best to think of it as a absence of feeling loose and easy rather than a feeling of stiffness - if that makes sense - and to some extent that persisted throughout. I'm sure that's just training.

I jogged the first 1.66 miles as warm up. All downhill and a deliberately sedate 9.12 pace. That took me to a relatively flat section of main road to do the intervals on. None of it is actually flat but it only rises and falls gently which is as good as I can get away from the canal.

The plan called for 1k intervals at a pace of 6:53 per mile and I managed:

1. 6:50
2. 6:57
3. 6:46
4. 6:42

Though I didn't realise it at the time (as I'd forgotten exactly what the target was) that's an average of 4s a mile faster than target so I'm pleased with that.

Its an interesting comparison with last week's session, which only consisted of 3 intervals and was completed on a completely flat route:

1. 7:01
2. 6:58
3. 6:45

Round about 6s a mile faster this week and with 33% more work.

The jog back was 1.5 miles all steadilly uphill (62m of climb across the 1.5) and that was done at a strict recovery pace of 9.37

We'll see how the rest of this week and next go, but after that its recovery week, and if I seem to be consistently hitting or going under target I'll consider changing Target Pace Level to the next one up for the week after recovery. According to the plan its not uncommon to change levels 3-6 times across 24 weeks. I've only moved up one since starting and I'm doing week 13 so it feels about right.

Nothing worse calf wise post run, and today is core and cross training day. Probably no more than 30 minutes on the cross trainer, just for the calorie burn and getting a bit more blood flowing through the muscles. Should be good.