Dave 2, Left Quad 1....Basically, Dave gains the upper hand on his Left Quad!

Disclaimer: Anyone that needs any prior knowledge on the situation involving my left quad, please see my previous post on the matter.

It has now been 1 week and 5 days since I pulled my left quad. After 12 agonizing days of riding stationary bicycles, stretching hours a day, and taking ice baths (and possibly due to the prayers of a certain Josh Hochstettler) my quad has regained nearly all of it's potency (if it had any to begin with). On Tuesday, I ran for 30 minutes and it felt fine. On Wednesday, I did that "tempo" thing and it felt fine. On Thursday, I ran for 20 minutes and it felt fine. On Friday, I ran for 30 mintues and it felt fine. That brings us to today....

Practice today began at 8:30 in the morning. We jogged for 15 minutes to Ewing Park, the place where we usually do hill workouts. There, Coach Huff had a 1K loop marked out. Next, we divided into pre-arranged teams of 2 (often called "pairs"). The workout was entitled "2 man 10 mile relay," but I preffered to call it, "Titanic Effort Exerted Over 1000 Meters by Mere Mortals Engaged in Heart Pounding Physical Exertion While Alternating Positions!"

Basically, what happened was, I ran the 1K loop and then tagged my partner, Ross Nelson. He ran the 1K loop and then tagged me. Then, I ran the 1K loop.....you get the picture? Anyway, the purpose of the workout was to hit each 1K at a pace faster than "race pace," a term that runners associate with "any pace that makes Dave feel nervous".

The first 1K wasn't so bad. I hit it in 3:28 (5:35 mile pace) and felt pretty good. However, my next 7 times were as follows (if you count the first one).

3:28, 3:23 , 3:27, 3:29, 3:26, 3:31, 3:26, 3:19, Total = 27:27

After it was over, I had no pain in my quad, and I felt great! For not having run fast in a long time, I didn't realize how much I missed it. Thankfully, the rumor that we had to due a maintenance mile was a myth (sort of like "The Minotaur")

Now, I am sitting in the library getting ready for a weekend filled with 5-page essays, piano practice, and composing string quartets. Oh, and football!

I am thrilled to hear that the Morton Cross Country team had another successful meet today. However, Joe Zeller took down my 3-mile time today so we're going to have lots to talk about when I'm home next:) Just kidding, Joe; great job, buddy! And great job to all you running Potters! For a complete synopsis of their season, visit the Morton Cross Country webpage.