I Ran! (Then Biked Hard, Then Ran Again!)

I took a week off from running after feeling some pain on April 1st and 3rd, and I tested it on Monday the 13th after 9 days off (wearing the "night splint" to bed every night too). I just looped around home because I didn't expect it to feel OK for long. So I never got more than a mile from home:

Numbers are half-mile splits.

My calf didn't hurt, but it started feeling a little tight around 1.5 - 2 miles into the run. I thought I'd be calling it quits around mile 2.5. But it got better and never hurt at all. I stopped after 4.75 miles just because I didn't want to overdo it. It felt OK the rest of the day and things felt promising!

Also, I ran into a turkey in our neighborhood just before mile 4:

I feel the big test for my leg came over the next 2 days...

The day after my first run, I was on my feet a lot for my classes. And went for a few random walks. And then I headed out for a short bike ride down the Greenway being it was over 60 degrees (on my "actual" bike and not just on my old cruddy mountain bike). Shortly after I started, I thought I'd maybe go hard for the first 15 miles or so (I didn't start thinking I'd do much effort, but OH WELL). So that's what I did: a 15 mile tempo ride with a long cool down at the end to get in 24+ miles. I averaged 21.2 mph for those first hard 15 miles, and you can see my speed and heart rate drop just after 42 minutes:

My left knee was a little sore, and my left calf felt a little tight, but nothing bad.

Finally, 2 days after my first run and a day after that bike ride, I went for another easy run. My calf felt the same: normal at first, a bit tight around mile 1.5, but then fine for the rest of it. And it was fine the rest of the day! So I'm not out of the woods just yet, but it's clearly on the upswing. I keep massaging it to loosen it up, and I'm still wearing that nasty "night splint" to bed to help keep my foot in a position that doesn't allow my calf to fully relax.

Feeling good about back-to-back-to-back days with a run, bike, and a run!