So, taking off yesterday was probably a good thing. I decided I would try again today.
The morning was raining and windy, and nothing I want to run 14 miles in. Luckily, at noon the skies opened up to blue sky and no more wind! Perfect day for a run!
I started out my run at a good pace, and my heart rate was staying low, and I was feeling good. At mile 6 I decided to up the tempo a bit for a 4 mile stretch of road. Usually this is an okay thing, but I was feeling my oats WAY too much. Around mile 10 my legs started to feel the push and they finally lost their snap, which is not good when you still have 4 miles to go.
I suffered the last four miles because of my "running immaturity". Suffering over the last four miles was good for me mentally, learning what mentally it takes to suffer through is a good thing, right? My new chi running form, along with my new orthotics really put me in a different foot strike and stride, and it caused my hamstrings to fire a little differently. The great thing though, I no longer can feel my ankle roll inside during my foot strike.
At the end of my run, my hamstrings were fried. I made the 14 miles, but I definitely stopped at 14 on the dot. I still had a mile to the house, and I walked on in, enjoyed the weather and the day, while I hobbled my way in.
When I got home, I laid on the floor with my legs up against a wall for a few minutes to let the lactic acid drain out. Then, against my desires, I hopped in the tub and turned on the cold water, only cold water. Kristin set the timer for 5 minutes, but she didn't hear the timer go off. So, I froze my ass off for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. Then I stretched out a bit. I definitely have stiff hamstrings, but I have no pain anywhere else, which is great.
Next long run, no feeling my oats!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Taking yesterday off, hitting it hard today
Posted by Nick at 7:00 PM
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3 comments:
You might as well learn to suffer now! The marathon will hurt. A lot.
Where did you get the orthotics? I'm surprised you are running 14 miles in them already. The first day I wore mine for an hour. Two hours the second day. Three hours the third, and so on until I wore them for a full day. Only then did I run in them. A short run at first, then a bit longer, and then all the time.
I got the Orthotics from Dr. Bowen at the Portland Clinic. I had them for a while, but I had been having such bad plantar issues, I was willing to try anything.
I definitely ran in them earlier than I was directed, but they made my feet feel so good. I asked Kristin to meet me every mile for the first few miles (which she was happy to do) and she ran support for me just in case I made a bad choice.
I really think it was the right choice, my feet don't hurt today like they normally would!
A day after, I feel pretty good. Hamstrings are 70% better, and no sore feet!
Yeah, probably stupid, but I think I listened to my body and made the right call, with the right safety net (Kristin) in case I really botched it.
Sounds like you did the right thing then! Glad they are helping. Smart to have Kristin with you in case they didn't work out.
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