Hitting my stride

With less than two months to go until the big race I need to increase my running mileage to be able to handle the last leg of the triathlon. I am in Florida this week. This is the perfect place to work on the long slow runs. My old nemesis, "calf cramps", seems to be at bay thanks to my daily routine of massaging those muscles. So, here's how it has gone so far this week.

Tuesday morning was my long run "shake down". I covered about 8 miles in just over an hour. My lower left calf stiffened up a bit toward the end of the run but I felt strong the whole way. When I finished and started massaging my left calf, I could feel a small knot in the muscle that was a little tender. I can still feel it today but it is much less tender after several days of massage. Yesterday, I ran and walked for about 30 minutes. "Hard day, easy day" is my strategy so that I don't overdo it and injure myself. Here's the great news. I covered about 10 miles today in around and hour and a half. I felt strong for the whole run and my left calf which was a little stiff initially loosened up during the run and felt very good at the end.

I feel confident that with this strategy and the daily massage I can build up to the 13-15 miles I will need to feel confident about finishing the triathlon in May.