I woke up Monday morning just as I expected: tired and with pretty sore calves. My calves, instead of my quads, seem to always be sore after a race or any hard run where I am wearing flats. Michelle says it must be that I run on my toes a little more, which is possible. Just part of racing! My upper back/lower neck was sore as well, probably a result of my bunching up when I developed the cramp. However, these are just consequences of racing hard. No injuries and no excuses not to get right back into training.Monday and Tuesday however were easier days. On Monday I went to masters practice for a decent workout, another one with plenty of speed work. Highlights were some pretty fast 50s, one under :30 again, and a 1:02 100 at the very end of the practice, when I was quite tired. It surprised me as I thought I would put in a 1:05 at fastest. My new form techniques are working, I just have to keep implementing them. The practice also stretched out my sore back/neck muscles, and I felt better the next morning.
Tuesday I ran and rode easy. The 35-minute run was just to check and shake out the legs. My right calf felt fine, but the left one was a little more sore (hey, I rhymed). Rest of the body and legs felt ok though, even with some short hills I surged up. The ride was also pretty basic, 75min of 206w, low-mid L2 zone. Again, legs felt tired but responsive enough. My quads didn't hurt but they felt a little more tight right (hmm, I rhymed again) after the ride.
During the stride cycle, your calf contracts and lengthens. When you are wearing shoes with low heels (flats) the lengthened position is slightly longer than when wearing trainers because there is less material between your heel and the ground. There's a reciprocal relationship; bigger heel shoe/shorter calf length, smaller heel shoe/longer calf length.
ReplyDelete