cross-training; 6K

I've been taking it really easy, to try and rest up and start feeling better.

Thursday: 35 min elliptical, and felt OK. My legs were still sore, but the elliptical didn't seem to make it worse (or better, for that matter).

Friday: 30 min elliptical, and my legs felt a bit tired after, but OK. I had to sit and inject fly embryos at work for quite a while, and sitting still was quite painful. It starts as a slight ache and builds in intensity until it's painful achy - hard to explain - and I get relief only by standing up or shifting position, which is hard to do when you're looking under the microscope.

My coach called me on Thursday, and that was really super of him. I know he's concerned, and I really appreciate that. He basically said that I need to relax, as the stress can only make it worse. He's right of course, and I am taking his advice to try to relax and not worry about it as much as is possible.

All that being said, a number of people in various spheres of my life are all saying the same thing - they are telling me that the stress is to blame, which is a bit difficult to deal with for several reasons. 1) There is some organic cause for this, and perhaps the stress does make it worse, but the stress is not the root culprit, I don't think. 2) Saying that the stress is the cause places the blame on me for my illness, and while I'm sure that's not what people mean to do, it's how it feels. I know it's a contributing factor, and I acknowledge that, but it's hard enough to navigate this without the additional guilt.

Still, I do need to deal with this appropriately, and I am trying. I really have been more relaxed the past few days, because there isn't anything I can do to fix it.

Today: I wanted to racewalk, and so I did. I went out for an easy 6K, and though my legs (naturally) didn't feel good, I did it in 39:31 for 6:35/km with ave HR 147. My legs don't feel any worse now (mid afternoon) than they did yesterday, so I am hopeful that means an easy walk didn't make things worse.

Garmin data here.