Blogging Paying Off

2 days shy of the mid point of my 6 week no running let the right calf muscle heal itself sentence and I'm looking forward to being able to run again before 2010 comes to an end.  So far I've resisted the temptation to sign up for every spring 2011 event in site as I am often guilty of doing when not able to run.

Call it a senior moment but I am glad that I was able to look back to my blog a year ago to determine that the left calf muscle that I pulled a year ago this week was just that and not the right.  Reading the post, I was reminded that I'd woken up with a cramp on the same muscle earlier in the week. That's good news as hopefully this 2nd tear of my right calf won't be a recurring issue. 

Looking at my Buckeye Outdoors log, I was able to determine that I probably initially strained my right calf a little over 10 weeks ago on an 8 mile run in the hills at Huntsville State Park.  It was my first run after the Disneyland 1/2 and I felt great so I really pushed myself on the hills.  2 days later around 2 miles into another hill run, this time on Flintridge, is when I first felt the strain.  I took it easy the rest of that run but never seemed to recover from that initial strain.  Compression socks got me through 10 for Texas and the Jazz Half before the  right calf finally tore not quite 2 miles into an easy paced mostly flat surface run.

Speaking of compression socks, they have been an important part of my 2010 running season, not to mention quite the fashion statement.  Prior to wearing them in my last 2 fall races, I wore them earlier in the year when my calves were feeling tight.  I've been wearing them on just my right leg for the past week and they seem to really help with my calf muscle.  Hopefully its helping the healing process as well.

Just Think What Might Happen if I Actually Played Tennis

So I just did a little internet research (gotta love the internet) and discovered that the common name for my injury is "tennis leg" as it apparantly is a common injury in tennis players.  Last year I was diagnosed with tennis elbow after riding mountain bikes on Huntsville State Park trails.  Now that I think about it, maybe avoiding HSP may be the solution to all my tennis related injuries as "tennis leg" is also associated with hill running.
I received my MRI results today; it shows a tear on the medial head of the gastroc muscle which is the inside middle part of the lower leg aka my right calf muscle. I've been told no running for 6 weeks and I'll probably have to wear a boot as walking has been painful the past week.

May have lost this battle, live to fight another day.

Country music is awesome for inspiratonal quotes. 

Still waiting to get the results of my MRI yesterday morning.  I've pretty much, 99.99%, decided that I'll spectate Sunday's Rock n Roll San Antonio marathon and 1/2.  Walking is still painful so results or no results this weekend is pretty much a no-go.

I've already started reviewing my mileage for 2010 since I'm not running these days.  Based on a Higdon 12 week intermediate half marathon training plan, I've determined I wasn't "race ready" for any of my 2010 half marathons.  As expected, the most closest to "race ready" was for the Disneyland 1/2. I'll post the numbers in future posts.

Top Ten Signs You're Not Going to Win the New York City Marathon.

MRI is scheduled for tomorrow morning

After nursing my right calf since right after Labor Day weekend, I think I may have finally torn it.  I was less than 2 miles into an easy run at a pace right under 10 minutes when I felt a sharp pain in my calf.  I ended up hopping 4 or 5 steps before finally putting some pressure on my right side.  Walking was really slow and not comfortable.  Thankfully, I was able to ride a bike 2 miles back to Ricos.  This is the same calf that I tore back in 1998.
With RnR San Antonio looming this Sunday, looks like I'm going to have my first ever 1/2 marathon DNS after 53 successful attempts.  I've only had 2 previous DNS, both at the 5k distance, the latest coming at the beginning of this year.

Jazz Half Marathon

Since moving to The Woodlands from the New Orleans area post Katrina, I always look forward to returning to the city that I called home for some 15 years.  The year following Katrina, I returned to NOLA for the 2006 Crescent City Classic 10k.  I returned in 2007 for the Mardi Gras 1/2 marathon (before it became a competitor Rock n Roll event).  In 2008 I ran the Jackson Day 9k race the weekend of the BCS Championship game where LSU beat Ohio State to win its 3rd National Championship.

I didn't make it for any 2009 races; for 2010, I signed up for the 2nd edition of the Jazz Half, a stand alone local 1/2 event.  There were around 2,000 runners; hopefully this race will continue to grow.  I came into this race not race ready but confiident that I could complete the 13.1 mile distance.  A trigger point in my right calf kept me from running regularly for 2 months leading up to the race.  Like 10 for Texas 3 weeks earlier, I was good for the first 7 miles and then my conditioning/lack of kicked in.  I finished with a 2:02 - an injury PR run, a NOLA run PW.

My son ran this race as well.  I was able to see him for the first tenth of a mile or so as he ran a 1:44 PR.  The post race party was typical NOLA.  Beer truck, red beans and rice and/or jambayla, hot dogs, Blue Bell ice cream were all there as well as a couple of bands.  My first events away from NOLA had me confused as my running started in NOLA and this type of post race party spread is typical for all races, 5k's on up to marathons.

Hopefully I can run a future version of this event when I'm race ready.

Another 2010 finish in compression socks.