Run five: November 29th 2010
Shoes: Terra Plana, Vivo Barefoot Evo II
Distance and terrain: 3 miles road
So my calf muscles have been sore for three days – not terrible, but solid and sore when I go down stairs. To help combat this, today I am wearing calf compression, sent in by Compressport. They are like footless knee high socks and very tight. I am not posting a picture of myself in them because quite frankly I look ridiculous, so I wear long leggings over the top.
Here’s the science behind compression according to Compressport: Compressport increases Venous feedback from your feet to your heart, reducing the accumulation of toxins while increasing oxygenation to the muscles. The R2 (the calf guards) also greatly reduces impact shockwaves and muscle oscillation which helps prevent injury and reduces muscle fatigue.
For whatever reason, my calves feel like lead from the offset and I probably start a little too fast to somehow compensate how rubbish my legs feel. Again it’s very cold and slippy, so although I am trying to keep the pace up I have to take it watch my footing.
At around one and a half miles the discomfort in my calves really is almost unbearable and I am thinking, gosh, not sure if I am going to be able put up with this for six weeks.
Then at two miles it’s fine, bit tight, but fine and I relax into the last mile feeling normal again. Maybe I just took longer to warm-up or maybe the compression worked it’s magic. Either way, I am relieved. 3 miles done, onwards and upwards.
I am also advised that compression technology will help aid recovery too, so I leave them on for a half hour or so hoping for the best.
Run four: November 26th 2010
Shoes: Terra Plana, Vivo Barefoot Evo II
Distance and terrain: 3 miles road
Flawed by a full-on streaming cold, so it has been a full week since I have been out. Its very cold and dark, but still I am keen to get back on the road.
Tonight I am taking my iPhone and using the Nike run app to check that I am actually going three miles, also I am testing the adidas iPhone armband. I usually carry my phone in a waistbag on longer runs or not at all on shorter runs, so it is a bit weird to have it on full view and so that I can hear it.
Set off steady, downhill first and then on to the uphill section. Just as I approach the bottom of the hill, the Nike App says: 1 mile. 12 minute mile pace. Whoa…hang on a minute…12 minutes, now that is slow for me, I would have thought it was 10 minute mile pace taking into account a week off for a cold combined with a slow and steady start. And to add insult to injury, the app was loud enough for anyone remotely bothered to hear just how slowly I was going.
Its enough to bring on a mid life crisis – the trouble is I have the mindset of an athlete and the body of a middle aged woman. I realise I am in denial about my abilities.
Right then, on to the next mile and pick up the pace. Not one to be beaten by an electronic device, once I have tackled the hill I speed up a little. It’s fairly undulating, some flat, some uphill and some down. At two miles the app rewards me with 2 miles, 8 minute 40 pace (I think it is being kind).
Mid-life crisis averted!
I also realise that my previous three mile run was actually only two and a half miles, so I take a diversion that includes another steep hill and this combined with a quicker pace is starting to affect my calf muscles a little. In a way I am reassured that this means I am doing things correctly.
The final ½ mile is downhill and I relax comfortably into it and home. 3 miles, 9 minute mile pace.
Lesson two: It’s ok to push it on a little, just be sensible.
Below: My fab Mizuno Running Pip – hot not cool! Plus the small cut in the back of my shoes.
