I noticed during the day on Thursday that my right instep felt sort of "bruised", and over the remainder of the week it got better, then came back up. I believe this is either a down-line effect of overly tight calf muscles (since stretching of those muscles seemed to help a bit), and/or the difference between the two shoes I am alternating between. I have both New Balance 880s and New Balance 1080s, and I noticed the return of the tenderness after the use of the 880s, while the longer run with the 1080s didn't produce this. I'm really leaning more towards this being the overly tight calf muscles though, since both pair of shoes have roughly the same mileage on them (142 vs. 150), and I hadn't had this issue previously. I'll just have to see where this goes.
Here is what last week looked like...
| Day | Activity | Distance (in miles) |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Rest Day | |
| Monday | Elliptical | 1.59 |
| Running | 4.33 | |
| Tuesday | Walking | 1.03 |
| Running | 4.06 | |
| Walking | 1.04 | |
| Wednesday | Cycling | 22.98 |
| Thursday | Walking | 1.02 |
| Running | 6.13 | |
| Friday | Rest Day | |
| Saturday | Running | 10.65 |
These are my time and distance totals for the week:
| Activity | Time Total | Distance Total (in miles) |
|---|---|---|
| Running | 3:47:20 | 25.17 |
| Walking | 0:43:38 | 3.09 |
| Cycling | 1:26:34 | 22.98 |
| Elliptical | 0:20:00 | 1.59 |
| Overall Total | 6:17:32 | 52.83 |
Only 19 days till the Cowtown Marathon, and other than the minor instep discomfort, I'm feeling healthy and ready. My next door neighbor is also going to be running Cowtown, and last week she completed a pretty long run as well...24.5 miles in 5 hours. That is just a long time to be motoring on your feet, but was no doubt a confidence builder for her (this is her first marathon as well). Hopefully that type of effort three weeks and a day or two out won't prove to be a negative.
The February pushup challenge (400 in the month of February) is going well. I started with a set of 20 each day, but starting yesterday I've moved to 3 sets of 10 with a 30 second recovery. I also re-assembled my weight rack yesterday (Sunday), so I now also have a pullup bar, and I'm considering throwing in a few pullups each day as well (although it will be VERY few). We'll see how that goes.
The core work and stretching is also continuing, and I'm seeing improvements in my ROM, and increases (although minor) in my abdominal strength. More importantly though, I believe it is helping to keep me from being injured. In the evenings sometimes I can feel twinges of older issues, and once I've completed the stretching and strengthening it resolves. Apparently, against my will, I'm a believer.
Happy Running Everyone !!!
