153 days and $2170 to go!

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
T. S. Elliot

I spent the week in Florida testing my running limits. I am still struggling a little with tight calf muscles when I run, but I may be converging on a personal solution to these troubles. I suspect that my problems may be related to something called "Trigger Points" in muscles. I blogged about this yesterday.

So, it looks like the solution for me may be two-fold: 1) Daily massage of the affected muscles (my calves) to encourage blood flow and to break up the "Trigger Points" and 2) A 5 minute fast walking warmup to "let the run come to me" as the Kenyan runners put it.

I have already incorporated the walking warmup into my routine and that seems to have helped. I am looking forward to seeing if the massage will prove to be the missing ingredient that will get me back on track. It's frustrating to me because on the longer runs on which I have to stop short it's always muscle cramps that limit the distance I am able to go. I want to get to the point of being able to do a 13-15 mile run once a week before the triathlon in May. That way I will feel confident of being able to "go the distance" on the run (the final leg of the triathlon).

Tuesday I ran for about an hour and 10 minutes. All runs were at probably about an 8 and a half minute per mile pace so I'll leave figuring the mileage for these runs as your homework assignment :-) Not wanting to push my luck, I backed off to a 30 minute run on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were 45 minutes and about an hour respectively. The good news is I felt strong through all the runs without the serious cramping that has "done me in" before. So I am optimistic that my plan for dealing with muscle cramps may work.

I got into the pool at Oberlin College this morning for some stroke drills. I'll have to say that the thinking about correct swimming form has certainly changed since I swam competitively as a young lad. I was taught to keep my shoulders and hips pretty much horizontal throughout the stroke and simply turn my head to breathe. The drills I did this morning concentrated on turning shoulders and hips vertical and practically staring at the ceiling with each breath. I am confident about completing the 1.2 mile swim at Wildflower but I am having so much fun learning about my stroke that I will certainly continue with this swimming clinic. Besides, it's hard for me to get regular pool time.