Adarq.org

typical advice is to wait at least a week after calf strain to return to running. but it's also not to rest more than you have to because deconditioning makes everything worse. yesterday was able to walk and do 10 SL hops without pain, following the protocol from this article: https://www.physio-network.com/blog/calf-strain-rehab/. so i decided to get back out this morning.

- 34:30 x [easy x 60s, walk x 60s]

no pain! barest hint of tightness here and there but i think i'm on track. will build up cautiously over the next couple of weeks. plan is to get back to 6+ hours of running per week at easy pace before adding intensity, and then introducing SubT workouts.

glad to hear today's run was pain-free! hope to see you fully back soon

seems like you already have a plan, but my go-to for rehab stuff is E3, so in case you've not come across this: https://e3rehab.com/calf-muscle-strain-injury/

13-05-26

Run -- 7.81k, 46:04

Notes

logistics for sunday are stressing me out, the race guide is super unhelpful so it's like pretty unclear how getting in/out of the race works...like it's a place i run by regularly but they've made it so confusing 

11-05-26

Run -- 12.69k, 1:01:13

Notes

fast (sub 16 5k guy) friend in town, so we met up for a run. Slow jogged to the meeting place then we went 4:50>4:30 pace for the remainder. config on intervals says that by HR that was z2 the whole time (140s and 150), and pace has it z2/3. neat. when we met up last year it was like 30s/km slower and i was in the 170s most of the time. training, eh! we also did one rep up a massive hill which did spike me into the 170s, heh, but all good.

this'll replace the tuesday session for the 'quality' early in the week. might add some strides tmrw, too. plenty of time still to get into the fresh zone for sunday.

oh, since i had to travel to the meeting point, i ripped a caffeinated gel. gotta say, that's pretty great. normally weekday morning running feels slow and crap. might try to do that, or some cheaper equivalent, more regularly before weekday sessions going forward. feel like i might be leaving gains on the table by letting quality of workouts sleep due to not being fully awake yet.

nice man! PR's for both of us today.

nice! envious of the race win! some weeks my time would have won this parkrun, but today I was like 12th and the winner got round in 15:40 

08-05-26

Run -- 6.63k, 41:16

Notes

Proper plod there, HR average 119, never getting above 130. Calves are feeling pretty tired especially. Think two weeks in the green zone + easy pace getting faster has been a tough combo. Like even if `fitness` is way up, and HR load etc all manageable, sudden increase in easy pace could still take a muscular load.

Went to sauna over lunch break to get some heat acclimation in since it might be getting to around 20 during the back half of my half. 25 mins. HR at the end was higher than my HR on my run this am, lmao. Seen some interesting studies on heat increasing vo2 max, but those tend to have like 3-5 week time course, so I'm not holding out hope. might get a membership, though enjoyed this.

hoping i feel a bit better tmrw for this parkrun.

eta: i could take a proper day off at some point, i guess, but i'm kind of enjoying this streak. 1 day off since mid-feb, and on that day i woke up at 4am to go to the airport, so imo it's really 1 day off since end of jan. run on 122/128 days, with an elliptical session on one of the remaining 6. 3 of the 5 'inactive' days came in january, as well. have built up really nicely and no signs of injury atm!

06-05-26

Run -- 9.8k, 57:47

Notes

easy pace just always sub 6 even on crappy feeling days now, nice. hr 127 too, so all around moving in right direction.

04-05-26

Run -- 10.22k, 57:56

Notes

Legs finally sore from Saturday, woof. Despite that, a brisk pace and low HR (126) on this run. Partly fitness, partly that it's a bank holiday so I actually get to sit around, eat breakfast, have my coffee, etc, instead of rolling out the door at 6.45.

02-05-26

Run
- w/u
- 5 x (3k @ HM, 1k float) [4:10 for reps, 4:50 avg float]
- c/d

22.70k, 1:43:32

Notes

Last set maybe not required -- was consistently averaging 4:08 for first 4 sets, then 4:14 or so for that last block of 3k, and it felt pretty grindy. Cumulative (as in from training, as much/moreso than within this session) leg tiredness felt the limiter as much as anything, so feel like I'm in a good place. 15 days out so plenty of time to recover and absorb these last 2.5 weeks of bigger than usual training.

Took in 100g carbs during this session (2 gels + in my water) and tried out FlyCarb's bicarb as well (having given a dose a trial run while working from home earlier in the week and finding that, thankfully, my stomach can handle it) -- no GI issues despite that combo. The science is somewhat out on bicarb it for longer things, but it's cheap enough to be worth a try, and Megan+David Roche seem pretty high on it for ultras (and all the guys at London are using it, tour cyclists, etc). Looking more closely at what FlyCarb is, I am not sure I need to buy it, since it's literally just plain bicarb mixed into a gel whose ingredients are almost identical to those of the SiS gels I use (which are already a ripoff, but are convenient and I only use them on the weekend's longer runs/sessions anyway -- mostly stick to cheap carbs in water otherwise). So may trial 'just mixing some bicarb into a gel and eating that' when I run out, just out of curiosity.

eta: all time high fatigue (69) and fitness (54) today. have unsurprisingly dipped into the green zone (sorry sirpoc), but i guess i've been treating this block as more of a 'special block' than just a continuation of normal training, somewhat experimentally.

people do seem to love indianapolis as a race, but as a place to visit, nah. i'd much rather go to the finger lakes. one of the track group guys did wineglass a couple years ago and loved it. something to think about...

lol fair, I have a soft spot for random bits of the midwest, but given I cannot drive that's probably not the best move for a trip like this. Haven't visited the finger lakes before but they do look nice.

Twin Cities or Portland looks like other reasonable alternatives that balance 'good marathon' with 'place i'd like to go (and haven't yet been)'. Would very much be down to coordinate on this down the line.