Tweakin' - AH!

I got to do my first speed workout today - so much fun! I ran five total miles on the treadmill at the gym. Here's what the workout plan was;

Warm up mile
One mile @ 12:47
Half mile jog
One mile @ 12:47
Half mile jog
Cool down mile

I ended up doing the first speed mile 1 at a 4.8mph pace, which is 12:30, and then the second one at 12:45. The rest of it I did at a 4mph (or 15 min mile) pace. I think trying the 12:30 was pushing it for me. So far the fastest I've gone on the treadmill is 4.5, and that's felt really good - definitely working hard, but I feel nice and strong. With the 12:30 mile, I was starting to feel the muscles in my chest cramping. Then of course I get all those worries of, "oh dear, am I having a heart attack? Would I know? Am I just wimping out? AAAH!" I focused on maintaining my form and breathing comfortably and the muscle cramping went away. When I did the second speed mile I slowed it down just in case, and didn't have the same problem. I did, however, end up tweaking my neck somehow. I have no idea what happened. It just started feeling stiff on the right side, and slowly got worse. By dinner time I was walking around like Frankenstein, not being able to move my head back and forth to look over my shoulder and what-not. My upper back/shoulders have been feeling really stiff and knotty for a while... but I don't know how to fix that other than getting a professional massage. That wouldn't be a bad idea!

I have an appointment with a chiro tomorrow morning and am hoping they can give me some insight on how to prevent further injury. I've been using a heat-sock this evening and that's made a huge difference. I'm hoping they just tell me to take some muscle-relaxers, apply heat and rest. I'm also hoping that I'll be able to get back to running as soon as Saturday/Sunday so I don't have to push another long run into next week. I've got my first 6 miler for Yakima mapped out and am eager to get those miles in on my home turf!