Last Monday was the last time that I ran at all. My body was just too beat up and I really needed a rest. I wanted to be fresh for the Run for the Diamonds race. I biked a few times, but I don't enjoy that and couldn't get out there as much as I would've liked. I did lift weights a couple times and did some Pilates.
I'm not sure what I ate, but I had stomach problems the night before the Run for the Diamonds. I was up most of the night and I threw up three times. After the first one, I thought okay maybe that is it. After the second, I started to question doing the race and after the third time, I decided to give up on the race. I felt fine by the time the race rolled around, but I was just afraid of how throwing up might've comprised my body. The Run for the Diamonds is a tough 9 mile race after all. It isn't some easy flat 5k.
If it was a goal race or an expensive race, I might've tried to give it a go. It was frustrating because this is my favorite race ever and I've only been able to run it once. Last year I signed up too, but my health problems were bothering me too much. It dawned on me that the Blue Eagle 5k is the only race I've ever even run more than once (3X). That just shows how on and off my running career has been thus far. Maybe sometime I'll develop some consistency and stay healthy.
I was planning to take at least a week off to recover after the race and make sure my quads were 100% before working my way towards a spring marathon. The good news about missing the race is that I could now ease back into running earlier. I slacked off a bit throughout today, but right before supper, I decided to give it a go.
I wasn't sure whether I wanted to run 3 or 4 miles. I just opted for 3. I figured anything would be good. I was still kind of dreading the run. Maybe because it was just going to be a boring and flat run on the Nor-Bath Trail. My opinion would change shortly though.
Starting off was so exhilarating. It has been so long since I've felt great at the beginning of a run. Every run for a couple months has started off with sore quads. I guess the only exception would be my half marathon a couple weeks back. I didn't rest or recover enough after that though.
Because of my sore quads, my first mile has always been slow lately. Typically it is over 9 minutes or just under that. Today, I just felt like I was flying. I didn't think I was pushing it either. That first mile came in at 8:26. That's been my easy pace for the entire run on most days.
In addition to my quads, my other concern is my left foot. It has been sore and I've been using an insole. It curls up though, so I took it out of my shoe and ran without it. At times, particularly early on, it bothered me a bit. I'll have to take a wait and see approach on whether or not I want to use it in the future.
I thought about going out and back in each direction, but as I got farther west, I just decided to go to 1.5 miles and turn around. It was a little windy and I figured I was running into a head wind on the way out. I might have been, but I still felt the air on the way back too. For some reason the trail was wet. That was good since it was nice and soft. Not sure why it was wet though as I don't think it rained. Otherwise, the weather was actually great. It was in the mid 50s.
Coming back was excellent. I continued really fly. My legs were great, but actually I didn't feel all that good otherwise. I struggled some with my breathing. Maybe I was pushing a little harder than I thought because I was feeling good. I'm not sure.
The second mile came in a 8:04. I continued to fly in the final mile too. I saw my overall pace drop and drop. I wasn't pushing too much either. It was great to be running so well. I was done before I knew it. That final mile was a nice 7:40 without too much effort.
I was very pleased with the effort. I still have to be cautious now. I can't just jump right back into 6 days of running a week. I need to gradually work my way back. If things start bothering me, I need to back off. I have plenty of time before the marathon. For now, I plan on spending December building back up. Then in January, I will get into my marathon training.
My next run won't be until Monday. I'm only planning on running three times next week. I will begin adding some hill sprints though to get stronger. Tomorrow, I'm going to the Footlocker Regional Cross Country Championships in New York. I'm pretty excited because the best high school runner in the country will be there. He has run a 14:18 5k this year. There are also a lot of great runners from PA, including the male and female Morning Call Runners of the Year. The best from New York, New Jersey and New England are there as well. I'm going with Mertz and he is running the open race too. It is at historic Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. It should be a fun day.
3 miles - 24:10 (8:04 pace)
No comments:
Post a Comment