After taking some time off, I'm working on easing my way back into running. If I jump right back into 6 days of running a week, my body will get beat up again. After a good run on Friday, I came back on Monday for a 5 mile run.
I wanted some nice scenery so I headed out to the Saucon Rail Trail. It was just an easy run. I'm going to keep all my runs like that for a couple weeks. I didn't feel quite as great as I did on Friday when I began. There was some slight soreness in my quads, especially early. Overall, it wasn't too bad though.
My first mile was definitely faster than it had been before my rest. Without working hard, I cruised to an 8:29 opening mile. I felt fast, even when running into the wind. It was comfortable when the wind was at my back, but a bit chilly otherwise. I went with a long sleeve tech shirt. At times, it was too much and other times, it seemed like it wasn't enough. Wind is the one thing that I really hate about winter running.
I passed a bunch of women coming the other way early on. It was weird because I only saw two guys running the whole time. One was with a woman and the other was alone. The trail was alive with people as it usually is.
I continued to just cruise along. Again, I wasn't running too hard, but my breathing was a little uncomfortable. I have to adjust a little because I haven't run as much lately. The second mile was under 8 minutes and the whole run continued to get faster and faster.
The final mile and a half before the turnaround was difficult because it was mostly into a headwind. I battled through knowing that it would be better coming back. The turnaround came in no time.
I was correct in my assessment. Coming back was great. I went much faster. I was almost too hot as well. I was very impressed when I saw my fourth mile time of 7:27. That was close to some of my slow miles in the half marathon and I was running easy today. Again, maybe it was a little harder than I thought it was. I definitely didn't run any faster than a moderate pace though.
I really nailed the final mile. I did run a little harder in the last quarter mile or so, but before that I was still going at a comfortable pace. My time for that mile was 7:18. That is certainly moving. I'm amazed at how much of a difference the rest has made when it comes to my times. I'm kind of curious how fast I can run on fresh legs now if I were to push myself.
To try to strengthen my quads and just my legs in general, I am going to start doing hill sprints. I have been slacking with those. Since I was close to South Mountain near Lehigh, I decided to go over there. When the road was clear, I ran 4 X 8 second hill sprints. I hope those help. I'm planning on doing them twice a week. I just wish I had some hills closer to my house that were that steep.
I am happy with my last two runs. My quads are definitely coming back around. I'm not over the hump yet though. I continue to have to stretch and strengthen them. I'm working on doing both a couple times a week or more. The hill sprints should help. Gradually adding mileage will be a big plus as well.
The plan for now is to take off until the group run on Thursday. That would allow me plenty more recovery. I'd also have the chance to do some more light weightlifting. It is supposed to snow tomorrow though, so I might be tempted to go out for a little bit of a fun run. We'll see what happens. If I do, it will be very easy.
5 miles - 38:51 (7:46 pace)
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