Double Whammy

I did my usual VHBOS run today and it worked out to be a touch over 27km and included Ingrams and Reynolds roads. Ingrams didn't feel so bad, and I was really relishing the hills, probably because I took the short way to get there so my legs were pretty fresh. By the time I got to Reynolds I was ready to get down on my hands and knees and crawl. My quads were burning. It was awful. If any crossfitters are reading this, imagine the worst WOD you've ever done and put all that pain into your legs, times it by 2, and that is how it felt. I kept going though, as I refuse to be a soft arse, and my achilles hated me for it.

After I said good morning to the little Asian lady who sings opera along the Diamond Creek trail, I headed home along Allendale Road. That sucked.

My legs just felt like they were on fire. They burned so much I couldn't even tell which muscles were hurting, if I was cramping, or if it was just tiredness. During the last few kms I narrowed it down to my calves and soles of my feet. At first I thought maybe it was because I wasn't drinking much but it wasn't a cramp, and I worked out the real reason.

I wore my Adizero PRs on this run. For the past couple of years, I have worn my Nike Free 3.0s on pretty much all my long runs, and most of my ultras. My feet never feel tired in them. I tell people time and time again that they are not a "barefoot alternative" shoe and that they are really just a light weight trainer/racer. This is so apparent now as I have been using them as a way to make the long runs more comfortable. You don't have to run correctly in them and it is so easy to become lazy in your form as you fatigue. I think today my calves were so sore because I had not trained them well for so long. It was the soreness you get when you start barefooting/minimalist/Pose running. My laziness had finally come to get me.


Tomorrow there's a Sri Chinmoy race on that I plan on doing to make this a 2-long-runs-in-2-days-weekend as part of my You Yangs training. I think I'll do the half marathon. Or if my calves are still complaining I'll go the 14km option. My feet will be fine as I plan to wear my Five Fingers.