Back to normal ~ Recovery

This week I finally feel like I am back to "normal" with running. The first week after the 10 miler, I had numerous general aches and pains and my legs felt like they were made of lead which made running more of a chore than a joy. That week I could hardly get in 10 miles total. The following week we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a get-away trip. Between the get-away (which was delightful and made me wish we had days and days alone together-but that is another blog entry in itself) and the rainy weather I did not get to run for several days---to boot I forgot to pack my running shoes.

With a delightful 7.5 mile run this beautiful, autumn morning, I am back up to a little over 25 miles for the week --plus 2 cycling classes. I feel refreshed and invigorated again. Running and exercise is truly an addiction for me. I feel grumpy and slow when I miss my workouts. Physically,I am still struggling with a tight left hamstring which I have not been able to shake. Also, speed seems to elude me a bit, but working back in speed work in the coming weeks in order to cut my 5K times is my goal. Plus, I have been battling the same 5 pounds off and on since APRIL!

I had hoped to reach my weight goal by taking off my last 30 pounds by now. I considering switching to Core with weight watchers...I just haven't figured what to do yet. It does not help(calorie wise) that we are weaning our 2 year old. Weaning this time is tough for me, since I want to hang on to every last bit of babyhood with our last child. If money was not an issue I would love to have 1 or 2 more ~ plus having a girl would be nice. Children just grow up so fast. ~sigh~

Will it always feel this way?

This week I managed to get in a little over 24 miles. This is the longest I have run in a week so far. The first long run was 9.39(a weird number, but just how the route worked out) on Tuesday. I felt like I could run a mile or two longer but I did not have time to do that and still get to work on time. My pace was 12 minute miles. I did make one mistake in that I ventured off my regular route in order to add miles and so I had just mapped out the extra online but did not know what it really looked like. I turned a corner onto one of these new streets and was faced with a steep long hill. I had wanted to make this a flat, long run. Oh well, I finished it. I ran a shorter run in the middle of the week, but it seemed longer due to the higher temp and humidity. At the 4 mile mark, I knew I did not want to run any further than I had planned.

Today, I met my friend to run the entire 10-miler course. It already felt warmer than I prefer at about 71 degrees. When I ran a portion of this course 2 weeks ago, I felt great about it. Today, I was already feeling strain at about 3 miles into the run. I am so glad that I have run the entire course before my first try at the 10 miler because I was not prepared for the hill in the part, just before the 5 mile line. I finished in 2 hrs, 4+ minutes with three water break stops.

Also, I discovered some hot spots to take care for on my feet. I certainly do not want blisters. I am also experimenting with different undergarments to deal with a chaffing problem. My friend tells me Vaseline is my best bet. I guess I will feel like a greased pig before each race and long run.

Whenever I stretch into my new longer runs, I am wiped out for the rest of the day. I am ravenously hungry and I feel like I could sleep for hours in midday. I try to eat healthy choices with good protein, fruits and veggies. Also, I try to have long runs on days when I can catch a nap and not have to do any long stints of sitting. I am wondering will it always be this way when I run after all long runs?