OBX Training Week 5: Avoiding Injury!

First the bad news: last Tuesday during my speed workout, I strained my calf muscle. On the good side though, I spent the rest of the week resting and stretching it and was still able to complete my sprint triathlon on Saturday (a full recap is coming soon!). The extra good news is participating in the triathlon did not make it any worse. With that, here's details on the week!

Monday: swam 1600 yds.

Tuesday: Attempted workout of 3 x 1 mi, aiming for 7:20 pace.

I felt good during my warmup and first mile repeat. Then during the second, my calf got super tight and painful. I stopped to stretch two separate times during the next mile interval. I ended up cutting off the workout because my calf and knee were not feeling good and I really didn't want to injure myself seriously. I was so angry and frustrated!

Maybe I have been pushing too much the last few weeks -- I did have a few hints at my calves being tight both in week 4's intervals, and a comment from the salesman when I was shoe shopping. So, maybe this workout was just the last straw.

I did a bunch of stretching, massaging, elevating, and took my first ever ice bath.

Wednesday: My calf feeling a bit better, but I took the day off completely. Some of our good friends are moving, so I helped pack up some things, and did a decent amount of walking. That seemed to help loosen up the muscle more too. Along with lots more rolling, stretching, legs up the wall of course!

Thursday: swim 1750 yds. Leg felt even better on Thursday, so I swam in the afternoon. I didn't notice any affect on my calf while swimming. After I came home I did some core and hip strengthening work. I was actually feeling a little more confident about being able to run on Saturday.

Friday: took another rest day in preparation for Saturday's triathlon.

Saturday: Tri for Fun Sprint Triathlon. (0.5 mi swim, 16 mi bike, 3 mi run)

A recap is coming, but my leg felt pretty good. I also PR'ed in the distance by a little over 2 minutes!

Sunday: Initially wanted to get in a 12 mile long run for marathon training. But I was a little nervous about my legs being tired from the triathlon on Saturday, and aggrivating the calf, so I ended up making it 8 miles, at a fairly easy pace instead. I thought about cutting this run short because I felt tight early on (but no pain!), but once I warmed up I didn't have any issues.

My upcoming goals are to keep taking it easy on running and making sure I keep healing and feeling good. I have an olympic distance triathlon (my first!) coming up on Sunday 8/11 which I would like to still run if I can. However, my main goal of this month is to stay healthy for Hood to Coast. It is only a few weeks away, and I want to make sure I can do my best!

Have you ever gotten injured right before a race? 
How do you deal with changes to your training plan?