I have no idea WHERE the silly idea came from, but it's there so I might as well address it.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have been eaten alive lately with Shin Splints. I can't jump rope, I can't move in the ring, and most importantly, I haven't been able to run.
Since I am completely unable to sit on my rump and let them heal they've become the out-of-hand variety of shin splints that have become swollen with pitting edema along with a pair of strained Achilles tendons and pulled Soleus muscles.
Now that I'm on the mend I've started to realize how much I really enjoyed running and how much I have come to love cycling.
As a child I was impossible to get out of the water until my family moved away from the public pool. I was so dark as a kid that I was often asked if I was Native American. I would do 9 hours of pool time a day unless I was 'collected' and drug home kicking, screaming, and smelling heavily of chlorine.
Swimming reminds me of the happy time in my childhood, I guess. I'm probably the only person I know that gets a happy, nostalgic, fuzzy feeling at the smell of chlorine bleach.
I've always wanted to get back to swimming....so....
Triathlon.
More specifically, an Olympic Triathlon is the goal. Someday I would love to do an Half Iron Man. I REALLY doubt that I have it in m to do a Full Iron Man.
For right now, though, I need to set realistic goals. I'm starting with a 5K Marathon by August.
Before I started my road to Shin Splints I could knock out 10 miles on a Wednesday and feel great on Thursday so I think this is a totally reachable goal.
As it stands I've got all new arch supports in my shoes, all new stretches, tibia exercises, a new modified running style that's easier on my body, new shoes, and a massage therapist that does a wonderful job getting deep inside and working my legs, back, and everything else.
In a few weeks there will be a trip to a sports specific Podiatrist and, hopefully, that should get me ready to train.
The training schedule I've started this morning is as follows:
Week 1:
Mon 3mile run/walk
Tues 2mile run/walk
Wed Rest
Thurs 2mile run/walk
Friday Rest
Sat 3mile run/walk
Sunday Rest
This is a rough plan, or course. I went jogging this morning and it was a pretty pathetic sight. I went into the Avenues (A rather hilly, yet beautiful, quiet, and shaded area of Salt Lake) and attempted to do a 3 mile slow jog.
I ran into a few problems.
First and foremost: OUCH! My friggin' LEGS!! Even after a warm up walk and a stretch I still felt sore as hell! When I try again I have a few warm up exercises to try before I start off. Hopefully that will help.
Second: Going up hill was painful on the good old calves. I had to be very careful about striking mid foot softly and rolling my way through it.
Third: No level ground! I started on the sidewalk with a little bit of grass running when available. The grass felt great until I started to hit uneven portions which sent shards of cramping, straining pain up my legs. No good.
THEN I tried to keep on the sidewalk which worked fine until I got into the Aves Proper and had to navigate the huge dip that each sidewalk does when crossing a street. I had to slow to a slow walk and step gingerly. Once again. so good and REALLY demoralizing.
So I tried the road. Felt good for about 10 minutes until the curve of the road for water run off started to wear on the inside of my calves. No go.
Third: Downhill was too hard for me to run softly. I had to slow down WAY too much for my liking, my heart rate dropped to 120 bpm and I was moving way too fast with legs too tired to feel comfortable navigating the cracked and uneven sidewalks.
I got in about 3 miles of a walk/run that turned about to be 50% walk.
It was demoralizing. But I have a plan for tomorrow.
Tomorrow I head to Liberty park on my bike and I run the wood chip track. Two laps. (I hope) I still haven't figured out what to do with my bike shoes and cleats but I'll wing it when I get there.
On to failure!
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