Achey, Breakey Legs
/It is the end of a long day. Eight hours of focus groups just wrapped. Now I'm home, I'm trying to blog and Steph, G-d bless her, is in the other room singing her heart out while watching Glee. I'm a little distracted.
That's sort of how I feel about my return to training. I'm eager to begin working towards Ironman Coeur d'Alene, but I can't help but wonder what's going on with my legs. Both IT bands feel like taut elastic, like the fat resistance bands at the gym. I spun for 30 minutes on my trainer this morning to loosen them up and even stretched extensively for another 20 minutes. Yet tonight, after sitting for a full day, my legs feel as if I ran a half-marathon.
I'm worried.
I feel fortunate that I got through most of my Ironman Arizona training injury and illness-free. Maybe I'm paying the price now. Or maybe I'm being a tad melodramatic, which is far more likely as Stephanie would tell you.
I'm going to look into Active Release Therapy, which blog reader and friend Robyn recommended based on her own experiences. Ironically, I received a note just this morning from the LA Tri Club email list with an offer for discounted ART therapy. It's a sign. If my insurance policy covers ART then I'm going to take full advantage of it. I underwent some ART at the Ironman Expo the day before the race so I know what to expect. I'll try just about anything at this point as I don't want to miss out on any training yet yoga, ice bags and foam rolling aren't making my legs feel better.
I'll be honest, my mind is starting to run away from me thinking about what could happen if my legs decide that distance running just isn't my thing. I feel like I'm just getting started! I've found something I really love and don't want to think my body isn't cut out to handle the rigors of Ironman training. Rationally, I know I just need to be patient and I'll be fine. But when injury is an issue with an Ironman on the horizon, rationality seems to fly out the window.
I'm tired. I'm a little frazzled. And definitely a little distracted. That combination is probably causing me to stress out a little more than usual. So I'm going to take a deep breath and log off for now. Tomorrow, I'm planning to swim for the first time post-IMAZ. My training for the week calls for a mere 30-45 minutes of light activity per day in heart-rate zone 1, so maybe a gentle morning swim will be just the tonic I need to calm down and let my muscles restore themselves.
I certainly hope so.
197 days and counting.
PS: Here's my blog post from a year ago. It's funny that one year ago today, I was jumping back in the pool for the first time in two weeks. History is about to repeat itself tomorrow. Here's to hoping I can drop the stroke count from 43-46 strokes a minute to something closer to 42-44 strokes.