Needing to Recover

The plan was to get out and run an easy 6 miler. Lately, I'm finding it hard to get out for the easy days though. I'm hungry and want to work hard, so the important days are no problem. It's recovery days that are tough. I wanted to lay in bed, but I went out anyways.

To try to combat the lack of desire for easy days, I ran a different route. I ran up Lemon Hill and all through the eastern section of Fairmount Park. This takes me by some interesting places. I pass a disc golf course, a driving range, a few historic buildings and a large outdoor concert stage. That stage, Robin Hood Dell East, is a place I've never seen and was curious to view today. It looks pretty nice.

The area I ran in is nice, but it's interesting. It is where the park meets the ghetto. You have some shady people around there. There were a few guys flying remote control planes. I'm pretty sure they were smoking weed though too.

Anyways, on to the run. From the outset, my IT band was bothering me. Yesterday's hard run really took its toll. I needed a nice and easy recovery day. I cruised at a very slow pace for the first mile (just under 9 minutes). I didn't go much faster throughout the run as I took it nice and relaxed. It was refreshing running at that pace.

After awhile, my IT band settled down, although it was still sore. The route was a little hilly so that was tough. It was also difficult because the surfaces varied from sidewalk, to crumbling sidewalk, to paved paths, to roads, to grass.

The temperature was very nice again. I wore a long sleeve shirt and tights. I probably would've went with shorts, if it was a harder run. I wasn't too hot though. There was no wind, so that was a big help. I found that my Target boxers are actually cotton, so they don't dry well. I'll have to scrap them from my attire.

I finished up near Lemon Hill, so I did three hill sprints on there. They don't seem hard and I'll have to add at least one more to next week's run. If I am going to push myself as hard as I did yesterday, my body will have to recover (or I'll have to back off). This IT band thing is just so nagging.

Tomorrow, it'll be another progression run. It is 8 miles, with the final 10 minutes moderate. That'll cap a 42 mile week to start the marathon program. Either Sunday or later next week, I want to get up to Pennypack Park in the Northeast and run. It's a very long trail that runs from the Delaware River to beyond city limits.

6 miles - 50:10 (8:21 pace)