by Last Sunday, I tried a “long” run, the first one since December. I pulled out my old go-to run route in the ‘hood from back in Ironman training days.
Back then, I’d developed a very serviceable out-and-back route that allowed me to go as long as I needed to (our long runs weren’t that long, and they were mostly by time anyway), taking advantage of the less hilly — and I say “less hilly” because nothing’s really flat over here — portions of the neighborhood. Basically, I’d leave my house and wend my way along until I hit Bart Hollow, which tees into the main street (Spicewood Parkway?) over behind Balcones Club. It’s more than eight miles but less than 10….
Sunday was cold, between 30 and 32 degrees for the entire run. It felt good because it was nice and dry. I was surprised at how good my leg felt. Yes, there were tweaks and twinges and I’m by no means 100 percent, but I booked along well. When I got back and consulted my log, I found that I was only a couple of minutes off my fastest time on that route at that distance.
I’ve been a bit sore since then. The “spot” has been achey off and on, and I had a slight discomfort sitting at the soccer game last night. Today, I felt great while running on the treadmill…but after driving around in the car, the ache was back. It perturbs me.
I wonder if I am pushing the pace too much, as distance and amount was not supposed to be an issue. The hard thing is that I feel fine when running; the ache shows up after. So how do I gauge what is appropriate when I’m actually exercising? I think I need to revisit Dr. Hutchens to discuss expectations as far as healing. Perhaps I’m just going to be somewhat sore for awhile.
A friend who is doing her first 100 this weekend asked me if I could keep her company for the last loop or some portion of the last two. She’s been sick, and I wonder if she’s even still going…but I hate to press her on her plans if she’s agonizing over what to do. I know how hard it is to wrestle with making those decisions. In the meantime, I keep looking out the window at the rain, shuddering. Running in the cold and wet and mud for hours and hours is not so appealing; while I can’t wait to get back on the trail, I’d love better circumstances (for both me and her).
Saw a good friend today and one of the things we discussed was “freedom.” It was an interesting topic, brought up in a daily devotional from a book he’s reading. It was eerily topical and accurate for both of us. And we talked about the selfish definition of “freedom” (“doing what I want when I want”) and then what we felt it really meant to be free, which had more to do with deciding to live your life without letting certain things (depression, anger, numbness) control you.
It was a good talk, a good talk on a rainy, gloomy day.
