Failed 400s on the Track

I’ve been resting up since my big day last Saturday. (I ran the Monster Dash 10 Mile and then ran part of the loop with Pharmie in her 50K trail race, logging a total of 20 miles on my legs!) I went for a swim yesterday, and thought I might try some 400s on the track today. I want to run my FIRST 5K of the year on Saturday. (I can’t believe I haven’t done a 5K all year!!)

I headed to the track this morning after finishing some grading. I stretched well ahead of time, and had a nice warm-up jog down to the St. Thomas track. When I got there, I found a few patches of frost still on the track. Here’s some in the shade of the old athletic facilities:

I told myself to do 400s until either heel got sore. Both calves were a little tight after the 10 Miler on Saturday, but it wasn’t heel pain, which is good. And they’ve felt good for a few days now. After my first 400, my right heel was a little tight. I stretched it before the second 400. After the 3rd, it felt a little tighter. After a 4th 400, I was done. I didn’t want to over-aggravate anything.

I snapped a photo of my semi-frustrated “well, I guess that’s all” face:

(I expect Rhea Perlman to have similar sentiments and a similar face after sex with Danny Devito. But that’s a little off topic...)

So my times were 1:11, 1:11, 1:10, and 1:10, for an average of 1:10.5 / 400 meters. (75 seconds rest between intervals.)

My heel is still a little sore, but the good news is that such a little workout like that won’t do any major damage. With how quickly it got sore, I think it WILL flare up a little if I do the 5K that I’d like to race on Saturday. But as an end-of-the-season 5K, I feel like I can “flare up” an old injury, and then just take it easy for 2-3 weeks.

BTW, if anyone is interested in doing a 5K on Saturday, I THINK I’ll be racing the low-key, beautiful Tesfa 5K in Fort Snelling. I’m 85% sure I’m doing it...

And I’ll have a Friday Funny tomorrow showing off the best costumed runners at the Monster Dash 5K, 10 Mile, and Half Marathon (along with my not-so-funny race photos). So check back tomorrow!