Friday, May 15, 2009

Running - sort of

The weather ended up much nicer than predicted yesterday afternoon. It was windy but not raining at all. Regretfully, my run just wasn't any fun at all. But, I completed 8 miles, so I'm clearly making some progress.

For me, the real joy in running comes when I'm in great shape and my runs begin to feel effortless. Every step is automatic and I will suddenly realize that miles have gone by. Right now, the tightness in my left leg makes every step feel like work. It's work that I need to do and it's not making my hamstring any worse, but the fun factor is completely gone for the moment.

However, a week ago, running seemed impossible. Right now, I've done a 5 miler and an 8 miler this week and survived with no negative effects. I'm hoping that a week from now, things will be even better.

Today, I see the sports doc and the chiropractor. I have PT appointments on Monday and Wednesday. Next Friday I see the chiropractor again. Pineland farms is nine days away. If it were this weekend, I wouldn't make the drive to Maine. It just wouldn't be worth the cost and time to run a race with how my legs feel. Hopefully, by next week, I'll be feeling much better.

Today will be a beautiful day here in VT and I'm going to ride 20 miles after work.

I'm planning a hill "run" tomorrow on VT's highest peak. I'm going to hike up the auto road (a dirt road that doesn't open for car traffic until next weekend) and then jog back down. If everything feels OK, I'll do a second lap. When getting ready for a 100, I really like to do at least one triple on this route, but I don't think that's going to happen this year. If I can pull off the double without pain tomorrow, I'll be thrilled.

1 comment:

David Ray said...

Here's to the fun factor returning quickly. Good to hear you got 8 miles in, tough though it was.