September 12, 2011

5 miles, 50 minutes 5a.m.

Drizzling out when I was leaving, wasn't in the forecast yesterday and still not this morning but it rained none-the-less.  Ran back in to grab my windbreaker in case it picked up though I don't like the extra layers as I tend to heat up quickly and end up shedding it later. Trying to tie it around my waist and not fall all over is always a pain, so I should try to find one that will fold up and be tucked away in the distant future. (I've overspent on running gear the last two months and will have to wait for some of it to wear out before upgrading)

Google maps showed the route at exactly 5 miles, but it was a rough go. The route takes me straight out Anderson Lakes pkwy to Flying Cloud drive, a dimly lit road with some easy hills that I get to turn on my headlamp for a bit and pretend I'm on a trail as I pass under the hardwood trees hanging over the road. My V02 capacity felt good after doing my 1/4 mile intervals on Monday but legs felt like under inflated tires. At mile 4 I walked for about a minute that carried me through the rest of the run.

I haven't been running through town early in the morning that I can recall over the past 20 years, so seeing those glowing eyes reflecting off my light keeps me attentive until I'm sure it's just a cat and not some other angry varmint that'll try and chew my ankle off.

Today was the first time I've run this route, though most of it I have been over in different sections. Having more hills than I've done on one outing, add that to being up so early with just a slow jog as a warm up probably contributed to the sluggish feeling. But downhills have become my favorite! After trying to maintain control using my heels while my quads were pounded I've despised going down hill and actually preferred the ascent.  Switching to a forefoot strike and kicking up my knees was all I had to change and now I just fly down hills and even have some momentum to keep it up for another half mile if the course is relatively flat before slowing back to my natural pace. Just before getting back on the trail at Neill lake, the new route I took today has a longer faster down hill that I've been on and is the perfect transition for a good kick the last half mile to home.

After a visit to the Sports Therapy and Chiro, the muscle tension in my back calmed down and he reminded me to keep up the strength exercises and stretches even though I'm feeling better. Dr Nolan has been great after so many visits to the General Chiropractor (multiple different clinics) and no long term relief, I can feel the progress and holding on to an optimistic outlook that I'll be back to 100% by the end of the year.

One more 5 miler tomorrow morning or Friday and I'll be on to my long run Saturday - 9 miles! Plenty of time to warm up and then get a good rhythm for a relaxing outing.  Although I felt worn this morning the anticipation of getting up to 20+ mile runs is exhilarating just thinking about it!