Well, it was great while it lasted.
At Dartmouth, I was looking to try to PR at the 800m, and it was not an issue of besting my times from last year, but by how much. All-American is 2:06, and I thought I had a legitimate shot.
There were several problems going into the meet. I was sore in the achilles on the left side, having been not quite right since the double back 800m (in spikes) 3 weeks ago (where I ran 2:12 only about 20 mins after PR'ing in the mile). Also, the race was at 9:30 AM, instead of the usual Friday afternoon. This meant that I didn't have much time to get warm, loose, stretched, or relaxed. It was all about getting there before 8:30 (2+ hour drive) and then trying to compress the warmup as much as possible. I was spending time chatting with folks I hadn't seen for a while, including Adam Harder, who was coming off a bad achilles injury, Bill Newsham from GBTC, Laura Barre, and a few other Mass Velocity teammates.
The race itself got underway, and I started out in 2nd place behind a Canadian. He took off at sub 2:00 pace, and I let him go a little, but came through at 30, then 61. By 600m we both started fading, but I realized I had been on my toes (in the spikes) for all 600m and I was fatiguing in the foot/calf area very badly. I tried to get off my toes but the spikes were relatively unforgiving. I came through at 1:33, so I only needed a mere 33s 200m to get my target time, but I was starting to think something was wrong. At 700m, I started to back off a little, and the change in pace caused and abrupt searing pain in my calf along with an audible pop. Within 1 step I had stopped dead (in lane 1) and fortunately I wasn't creamed by any other runners. I limped off the track (a very good sign in itself) and went over the to training area. Tucker Taft helped find me a trainer and some ice.
The trainer gave me the Thompson test, which I flunked, suggesting a tear of the Achilles. I knew that it only hurt on the medial side, however, and I was able to limp a tiny bit (plus I didn't faceplant, which is the typical achilles tear outcome). Within 48 hours the swelling had gone down enough for me to deduce that it was a gastrocnemius tear, rather than achilles, and so now I am out for 3-6 weeks with a long rehab course to follow.
If only I could have finished the race!!
So I won't be wearing spikes any more, and I suspect the mile will be the shortest distance I will be able to race for a long while. These never heal completely, and there is always a serious risk of recurrence. The good news is, I don't need surgery, and I should be back running before I decondition completely.
==
Darin
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