Saturday, June 7, 2014

Maybe things will finally come around

I hate that I had to miss Cicero, but it's not the first time. This race always seems to be a problem for me ever since it moved to June. In fact, I don't know that I've ever gone to the June version, now that I think about it. This year it was because of being hurt. What really hurts is it was a perfect race day!

Scott and I made the most of it. We rode, starting at 7:20 from Parkview. We were both on backup bikes, and so the ride was largely a sit up, side-by-side affair. Sure, it was only a bit over 17 mph, but we didn't stop, not once. We clipped in and didn't clip out until we were done.

That's lucky for me. One of the things I'm still really struggling with is my flexibility. Getting my leg over the saddle to mount is still quite painful. I can do it, it's just an ordeal. I'm thankful we didn't stop because I would have had a lot of people staring at me as I got off/on.

We wound up with 60+ miles, a nice medium length day. That was 3:30 in the saddle, which for me wasn't a problem at all until I tried to bunny hop the railroad tracks on the way home. Bad idea! I felt the tug inside my leg right away, and little spasms the rest of the way home chided me ever so sternly.

I laid around for a while after the ride. I wanted the leg to rest because I still needed to lift. There was also the possibility of doing elliptical while I was there. After a couple of hours it was time to go lift. As I got dressed, the urge to run came over me. Pulling on the shoes and heading out the door, dread filled me. If I started and the leg hurt just as bad as the last time, well, it would be crushing. If only there could be some improvement...

The first few steps were the best news I've had in a week. I could manage an almost normal gait, at a somewhat ridiculously slow speed. It mattered not at all. It was running, however slow, it was running. It took a lot of focus for me to relax muscles that shouldn't be tensed, to lay the foot down the correct way, to move the balance where it should go. I felt as if I were balancing on a beach ball, afraid to make a wrong move. But I was running! My goal was to get to a mile then stop. This I did.

As I was turned to come back, I walked maybe two blocks and started running again. I ran for a quarter, then stopped. Walk a block, run a couple, each time focusing on the form. Sure, there was some strain in places, but it was manageable. Things were and are definitely better.

I don't know where it leads from here. I'd like to try to run again tomorrow. I'll have to think about that one. Mornings find me very sore; by afternoon I usually feel ready to try to run. That's likely what I'll do for a few days. I sure would love to run in the morning Monday with the team, as dumb as that may be...

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