This was my first track workout since last July and I really had no idea what to expect. Thanks to the "new" GRC, there are a plethora of guys on the track to work with and work off of. I jumped in a pack running 800s, just behind another pack running 1000s. I was instructed to run "by feel". I ran each rep faster than I thought I'd be able to run (was thinking I'd be at 2:35 and working my way down from there) - 2:28, 2:30, 2:28, 2:26, 2:24, 2:24 - which was a major confidence booster. I felt smooth and comfortable and at times as if I was holding back some. My stomach burned during the last few reps, which seems to be expected. The big negative, and it is a huge negative, is that my quad locked up pretty good after the workout. I felt my quad tightening during the 400m rests near the end of the workout and by the time I shuffled out for my cooldown, I was visibly limping. I shut it down after a half mile, got a quick stretch from Samantha Kirby, who was working out with the women, and then drowned my sorrows with a Booeymonger cheeseburger.
Before I went to bed, my quad felt better and, when I woke up at dawn, even better. I shuffled out the door, but 4:30 into my run I bid Karl and Sam adieu and then walked back home. It was clear that I wasn't ready. Best to cut my losses and fight another day, and hopefully that day is tomorrow. I jumped into some core work and did some additional stretches in my room and now I'll wait. This is obviously a huge set-back - likely more mental than physical.
What this means? Well, all day yesterday my goal was to "press it" once I got to the track. "Let the thing be pressed", as Abe Lincoln once said. I wanted to especially press it during the last 2 reps. Though I hoped it wouldn't come to this, I was ready for possible retaliation. One doesn't know what will happen unless you try and I am damn glad I did. I rather lick my wounds than sit back with clean, pink feet. In retrospect, I maybe should have only run 4 x 800, but what's done is done. Sarah thinks, and I agree, that this is only a "hiccup" and that I "crossed the (threshold) line" in my push to find my limit right now.
2 comments:
After your first workout after not having done one in 9 months, you need to take a rest day and let your body recover because it is still getting stronger(its not used to pushing itself-you're working different muscles when you are doing this). On the positive note, if you didn't feel pain while running your workout, that's fantastic. Just always be mindful that you need to compensate when your body is getting back into things.
YO Jake, this is Max. You are not 25 or even 28 anymore. Don't fret but don't go beyond what the body can really do as you move along in years. This is not a slight of any kind but simply a way to deal with life.
Keep cross training and making your whole body stronger.
think outside of the BOX
remember, its not the tight muscle that is the problem but rather what is causing the muscle to be tight
be well
Post a Comment