Sunday, January 4, 2009

Long Slow Distance and SORE

I have really enjoyed the holidays (I work at a university so I have been off for about 2 weeks) but I am ready to get back into my routine. With family visiting and travelling myself my training plan has really suffered. I went for two 3 mile runs earlier in the week and then jumped back on my training plan. Yesterday it called for a 2 1/2 hour run. This should not have been much of a problem. Trying to be smart I decided to do the run slow. I kept my heart rate in zone 1 and just trudged along. About 1 1/2 hours into the run it started to rain. Then thunder. Then lightening. I would normally not mind running in the rain - in fact some of my best runs have been in the rain. But at about the 2 hour mark the run got really hard. My right hamstring started to tighten up and my feet and ankles did not feel great. Soaking wet I must have weighed a couple of pounds more than normal. My shoes were heavy with water. Luckily no blisters or hot spots developed. I took some nutrition with me on this run - a power bar type thing and a gel. I consumed the bar at 1 hour and the gel 30 minutes later. I thought this might help and I did not bonk or anything.

I allowed myself to recover the entire rest of the day and I needed it. I took an ice bath (well cold water bath) in the jacuzzi bath tub to try and reduce the recovery time. There was no immediate relief. I was so sore. My legs were aching most of the evening. After a good nights sleep my body feels much better.

I would guess that I was sore because of the time off and jumping right back into a long run. Today calls for a 4 hour bike ride. My legs will be tired after this ride but they are never sore like after running long.

On a positive note - I am down 3.8 pounds and 2 body fat percentage for the new year - 13resolutions

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