Hola Peeps! I hope ya'll had fantabulous weekends!!! Ready for some running recaps? Of course you are...
Friday night Spike hit up the Tiger game whilst I laid low at the casa and stressed over my impending long run. As I carb-loaded, iced and stretched in preparation, I finished up "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. Maybe its just me, but I found the last 2 chapters so captivating and emotional it was all I could do to hold back my tears. If you haven't checked out this read I highly suggest you do, it breaks down running to its origins and rebuilds it in a whole new light and makes you love it that much more. I signed off for the night by tweeting that I'd be channeling my inner Tarahumara in the a.m...
Saturday a.m., after a sleepless night of tossing, turning and getting up to pee 5 zillion times I slipped on my new Zensah leg sleeves, laced up and headed over to Lake Lansing; a lake that is a little over 4 miles around to run some loops.
"Dear Legs,
Please work.
Love,
The Redhead who needs to be Running"
It was a clear and cool morning, just PERFECT for running! As I made my way around the lake my legs slowly loosened into an easy stride and a smile spread across my face. The miles ticked off, I tuned out Hermes and tuned in to my body. When I stopped at mile 5 to fuel I checked my splits and found I had lived up to the Tarahumara nickname Muddy Runner had given me of "La Bala Roja" (The Red Bullet) Negative split every mile... Whoops! Better slow it down!
After I topped off the tank I headed back out for another loop and decided to throw in a little extra mileage so I could end up with an even 10. All done and said my legs were none the worse for the wear. I headed home after a good stretch to ice it up, throw on my recovery socks and call Coach EK to review the run and make a plan of action for the coming week.
"Dear Legs,
Thank you.
Love,
Redhead Running"
Now lets fast forward to Sunday a.m.; I headed out about 7 a.m. for a 4 M recovery run. It was uber humid and for the life of me I could NOT ease into a stride. Instead I trudged along wincing in pain with stiff, limited range of motion. It took well over a mile for it to feel like I was even remotely running so I decided it was just best to head back and ended up with 3 miles. My "best" mile clocked in at a 10:04 P and it was an absolute struggle, def no "La Bala Roja" this morning. I know it's all relative, but you get the idea.
As I limped my way from the driveway in, I really felt like the run had been a mistake and that I had pushed back to back runs too soon... but a few hours later as we headed to brunch my legs felt pretty good. Maybe I needed to push through a really tough, painful run to get my legs back on track? Who knows, but as I chowed down on some scrumptious brunch and had my first Michigan celebrity sighting, (Kurt Russell! He's not as tall as I thought he'd be but def still a handsome older man) I was def not regretting the "FML 3 M Recovery Run of Death" anymore.
Have you ever struggled through a painful run and ended up feeling miraculously better later because of it?
9 more weeks til Grand Rapids Marathon!!!
34 comments:
Glad the long run went well...hope a good streak is in the future for you!
So glad that the long run went well! And struggling through a run; I did that yesterday. Felt really blah (headache, sore throat), my legs were feeling like jello, but struggled through and afterwards felt a zillion times better. :)
Glad your long run went well! Lets keep it that way, mmmkay?
One good run, one not so good run (from a feeling good perspective), eh?
YEAH! Good for you! I'm glad you were able to get in a painless long run before the painful one! I'm starting up my running life again today. Hope your legs keep feeling good! Keep icing!
Nice way to push through. I don't always feel physically better after a tough run like that, but it gives me a confidence boost about being able to run through pain and still meet my goal.
i loved the book born to run, i talked about it to everyone i knew for months after. very inspiring. perhaps i need to read it again!!!!
kurt russel eh? thats fun.
I totally would have gotten a picture of Kurt! I'm one of those! :)
Glad to hear your long run went well! Don't let the other one get you down, it was a recovery run. Maybe that meant stay home and recover. :)
My 17 was tough. I took occasional walk breaks starting around mile 13 which is something I hardly ever do. It sounds like your 10 was more enjoyable. :)
YAY LEGS! So happy they cooperated for JUST what you needed this weekend. Here's hoping they continue to feel good this week!
Your little letters to yourself made me LOL. Glad that you had a good run!
Oh, I am too old to feel that a long hard run that hurts was a net good thing. I would just be thankful I didn't hurt more later.
Michigan celebrity sighting...hmmm...when I was in law school I saw Elvis Grbac on UM campus. And Desmond Howard's leaping catch on 4th down against ND (a pic on cover on Sports Illustrated too) was about 10 feet in front of me at Michigan Stadium.
Oh, and I did see Joe Biden speak in as class. He was real smooth, even back then.
Born to Run is my running bible. Love that book! I would like to believe that painful runs "...is weakness leaving the body", which I hope above all things is true for you. I'm having a tough training season myself. Damn those gremlins!
You are the awesome Bala Roja!!
¡Viva la Bala Roja!
What a great long run!
Yes! I once ran a 5k after really injuring my Achilles - the run itself was painful, but afterward the Achilles pain was TOTALLY gone! Haven't struggled with it since, and it's been 2 months!
Glad the runs went well!! Hopefully the pain is gone for good now!
Unless I'm injured afterward, fighting through a tough, painful run always makes me feel good. Cheers to a good weekend!
My a.m. runs are almost always, cold. Meaning no warm up. After 92 days of running, I feel stiff and sore at the start but amazing and wanting more till I'm done.
(yes, comment readers don't yell at me for not warming up. I stretch after..usally)
Awesome that your 10 miler went well! I'd love to have a nice lake to run around a few times.
You win some, you lose some. Great job running this past weekend! Congrats to be able to go at all ;)
I've made it through difficult runs and felt great many times. In fact, that feeling is one of the primary reasons I run.
Kurt Russell hangs out in the mitten?!
I went to college with Chris Kamen who I think now plays in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors. I don't know if that's even right...I don't follow football...
I'm glad your long run went well and I am proud of you for pushing through but also being smart! Those legs sleves look cool..how did they work?
i had a run like that last week. a couple of 'em, actually.
I LOVE Born to Run! I'm a beginner, so everything about running is a struggle. This book was so inspiring. I can barely run a mile and a half without dying, but the whole time, I channel the Tarahumara to make myself keep going. :)
Agh, better to feel "crappy" on the recovery miles than the long ones?? Ha, either way, props for dragging through on Sunday and getting them done! I'm glad the Bullet is in full force for the 10 ;)
What was Kurt Russell doing in Michigan?? I've also heard Tim Allen is a regular around those parts...
great long run! my runs have been more like your recovery run lately. FRUSTRATING.
I'm reminded of the saying that sometimes we have to experience the lows to appreciate the highs. Maybe that is what you had going on there? You didn't realize how well your legs feel after a run until you had to gut through a really tough one? Maybe?
Hey girlie -- I'm having similar issues with achey legs... still can't figure it out! I hope that you can keep up the training and be marathon ready!!!
Good job on the long run - and yes, we have all been there. It's the crappy runs that do make you stronger - really, they do :p
Wow that first run sounds perfect!! Bummer about the bad run, but it happens. My run yesterday sucked, but I'm still hoping for the best today. :) I find that good runs always come in their own time!
YAY!!! so glad the long run went well. :)
yay for saturday's run! boo for sunday's pain, but at least it went away i guess. you need to get your issues straight.
Post a Comment