Marathon training diary

One of the things that happens when you train is that you get a little hurt.  A few weeks ago I began my Monday long run as usual, and after about 10 minutes I noticed that "flat tire" feeling one gets when--as Dr. Google would later diagnose--the soleus muscle gets strained.  The soleus muscle is one of two calf muscles, but unlike its bulbous brother (the gastroc), this thin and relatively sinewy muscle resides in the lower leg.  The soleus is a fast twitch muscle, which means that it sees most of its action when you do speed or hill work.  If you neglect to stretch and/or use this muscle you could well experience what I went through.

The sensation was as if my right lower leg has turned to stone.  The pain stayed with me as I continued running--one problem with running in extreme cold is that stopping is usually a very bad idea--and the pain eased a bit.  I pressed on with training for another two weeks until the pain was too debilitating to continue.  I haven't run in days (this problem can sideline you for days or weeks).

And so I've been soaking my legs in hot water, taking ibuprofen with muscle relaxer and stretching.  I've also stopped my protein and creatine supplements and eschewed my attempt to get more "cut".  It seems ludicrous now that I ever contemplated gaining weight while training for a marathon.  I have, as a result, lost 4 pounds this week.

My next run is scheduled for Monday.  I intend to do a graded (run/walk) return.  Let's see how that goes!

At some point even winter must end.

A photo posted by John (@misterspalding) on Feb 26, 2015 at 10:24am PST

Notes on doing speed work in -25 Celsius

So as week #3 of marathon training draws to a close, I can say for sure that doing at least some speed work in ultra cold temperatures is the way to go.  If I remember my biology classes correctly, most of the energy created by your muscles is, ultimately, just heat--less than 30% of the energy created is used for actual work.  Thus, the more your muscles work, the more heat you generate (a nice thing to know during a Canadian winter).
For example, on Wednesday, I slipped a pair of spikes onto my Saucony Guides and ran like a jackal on one of Saskatoon's many (and quite confusing) Crescent-shaped roads and down another street of the same name (*true) completing a 600 metre loop. Then I walked for two minutes and began the torture again.  (Another point I'm making is that even if the streets are sheeted in ice and the sidewalks alternate between clear and icy, there aren't any good reasons to ease up on training so long as you take the proper precautions.)  At any rate, the speed at which I ran was sufficient to generate more than enough heat to handle the cold--whereas running at my previous norm would be too slow to withstand temperatures colder than -15, to say nothing about -25 (never mind that the windchill was -33).

Running toward the sunset

Running into the sunset. #saskatchewan

A photo posted by John (@misterspalding) on Feb 4, 2015 at 5:28pm PST

The above photo was take a few days ago during a 14k run.