3/10/10

Wednesday's Training - Am: 16*400m with 400m rec. Pm: 48 mins

Mileage: 22 Miles

Today was going to be a test to see how my achilles was going to react to hitting the track and getting my racing flats on. The weather in Flagstaff wasn't going to be very good so the whole group headed down to Sedona to either do a track workout or a tempo on the road. We met at Late For The Train and got into 2 cars to head down the mountain. The ride down was pretty awesome because there was snow covering all the cliffs and the red rocks were still showing through so it was quite the sight. For about 30 mins of the ride down I loosened off my calves with my massage stick. This helped a lot as when I got out the car and started jogging as my achilles didn't feel too bad. I was also wearing different trainers with a higher heal so that was also helping. I didn't warm up with the rest of the group as their route was going to be hilly and I didn't want to aggravate my achilles anymore than I had to so I just stuck to 3 miles around the track.

As you can see from the picture of the track, the surrounding areas where looking stunning but it did mean that it was very cold. It was one of those mornings where you were just going to have to wait until half way through the session to feel thoroughly warmed up so I started the 400s as it was going to be a long morning (8 miles on the track). The times of the reps were as follows: 67, 66, 66, 67, 65, 65, 65, 64, 64, 65, 64, 64, 65, 64, 64, 63. As you can see it did take me a little to warm up and the times weren't stunning but I was happy with it and my achilles didn't really hurt. I could feel it but no pain.

Once the guys arrived back from their tempo we warmed down on the artificial grass on the infield of the track and then headed into town to grab some breakfast at the Wildflower Cafe. Once we were sufficiently fed, we headed up the road and I spent the whole journey rolling out my calves with the stick. The sides of my calves were still really tight from the long run this weekend so I was glad I was going to be getting a massage this evening. As we got higher and higher up the mountain, the more it started to snow and by the time we got back to the cars it was coming down quite heavily. It was 12.30pm so I headed straight back to the apartment and took an hour nap as I had to fit in my 2nd run before my 4.30pm massage appointment. I never run after massages because I want to get the full benefit from the massage rather than negating the effects by tightening the muscles up again by running on my relaxed and loose legs. I drove out to Greg's to get a 50 to 60 min run on the Alter G and just stopped at 8 miles as it was already 4pm and I knew it was going to take a while to get back into town (Greg lives about 10 miles from downtown). I stepped outside to find that the snow was just dumping down and I couldn't see the road anymore. I did the best I could but had to drive very slowly to make sure I wasn't drifting off the side of the road. Luckily by the time I got to the main road there was a car in front and I just followed their lights.

It took me the full 30 mins to get to the clinic where Dana (my massage therapist) was waiting for me. I told her about the problems I have been having and she got stuck into my calves and IT bands as they were incredibly tight. It was a very painful session but well worth it because I could feel all the knots in my muscles before I saw her. Dana has an amazing ability to help keep me focussed and relaxed while the pain is at its worst. If she sees or feels me tightening up or clenching she will simply put a hand on my back or side and breathe deeply which really helps me to release my muscles off and she can get into them deeper.

After the session I picked Julie up and we went to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for a filo salmon recipe we wanted to try. We both really enjoy cooking so it was fun to both prepare everything and it turned out really well. It was a great finish to a busy day and we both crashed pretty hard afterwards!