The hardest part about being a runner is not being able to run. I’ve continued to be on and off with running. My left calf continues to be the culprit that keeps me from running and why is still a mystery. I haven’t gone to see a doctor yet. I keep yo-yoing back and forth about if I should or not. On one hand I want to figure out what’s up and if I have a functional issue that keeps bringing the calf pain back, or if I simply have major damage to my calf muscle that will need some surgical repair. The issue I have is all the loopholes and frankly I just don’t feel like dealing with all the crap just to get my calf fixed if it comes to that. Doctors visits, rehab, a pointless x-ray, more rehab and then no sign of the issue after the 4-6 weeks of continuous rehab to only be declined for an MRI…not worth it. I suppose I could give the insurance company a hard time since this is a recurring issue and try to get an MRI straight out of the gate but I doubt it would worked.
I’m glad that I purchased my bike when I did. It’s been my one salvation for the last few months and I am starting to ride it on a more consistent basis and increase my mileage as well. With the end of my summer volleyball season upon us I will have another additional day to try to get out on it. I’ve done a few back to back rides with some decent mileage and seem to be taking the increased hours of exercise quite well. I’ve attempted to throw in some hills (stow it Vince I know my rides are flat in comparison) to make the workouts a bit tougher and put together a tough ride last weekend climbing two of the biggest hills in my area. There are a few other very steep but shorter hills around which I might try soon. They are quite a bit shorter but also quite a bit steeper with one being close to 14% grade.
I also added a cadence sensor to my Garmin and have been working to make sure I maintain a higher cadence through my rides. I’m managing mid-80s through most rides which is right where I want to be which is worlds above where I was when I first started biking. I watched the rider during the tour and was amazed at their cadence while climbing an 8% grade for 10 miles. I guess you can say they motivated me to try a bit harder.
Speaking of bike races, I’m considering entering into a duathlon or two this fall. I pulled out of the Steamboat Marathon on October 10th (and likely made another runner very happy since it sold out for the first time in its history) and am now looking for something to put in its place. There are a pair of duathlons in October. I’m sure I will be able to manage the 2 runs without incident. I haven’t signed up yet but I am sure I will within the next few weeks. I need to work on speeding up my rides to be competitive in the races. We’ll see how it goes.
P.S. I just watched the LOST series finale again. Gets me every time. Where are my tissues?
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