Week 10: Feb 11 - Feb 17

Monday - Feeling yesterday's trail run in my quads today. Makes me smile remembering what a fun run it was. Today is a YAYOG day. I chose to do a 36 minute Tabata session. 4 exercises. 20 seconds on; 10 second rest.

The program chose squats, good mornings, arm rotations and crunches. I substituted planks for crunches because I felt like doing planks. The squats were not going to happen with the effects if the trail run still felt in my quads so I swapped those for bent over lateral arm raises.

Tuesday - Legs were still sore from Sunday's trail run. Definitely improved but still sore and stiff after any prolonged sitting. But as I'm only running three days a week there was no reason to bail tonight. I went to the river trail and parked at the Pawlings Road end in case it got darker faster than expected ( or more likely I was slower than expected ). I didn't want to get locked in the parking lot at the other end. My plan was to go 3.5 out and back.

In the first mile my legs loosened up but after the walk break at 2 miles I realized how tired they really were. I made myself keep going and work to keep up my pace figuring this is a good test for the marathon. After mile 20 my legs are going to be tired and likely sore so pushing through is good practice.

I got to the end of the trail and as far as the restroom at that end and was only at 3.15 miles. I turned around anyway because - although I wouldn't get locked in - I didn't want to be out there after dark. The trail has no lights and there were only a handful of others out tonight.

So my total was only 6.3 not the planned 7 but it I'm fine with that. I was careful to stretch when I was done and worked the foam roller when I got home.

Note to self - next time you plan to run a muddy trail after a heavy rain day, bring back up shoes. I drove home in my socks ( which I think is illegal) because my shoes were so caked with mud I put them in a bag to being them home. My car is not the fanciest by a long shot but I really didn't want to have to clean the mud after getting home.

Garmin - Well the numbers support my feeling that I was pushing the pace most of the time. I wish I had been wearing the HRM so I could compare that. The goofy drop offs at the beginning are me trying to figure out the best way to get around the huge puddles.

Wednesday - My legs feel pretty good today. Not perfect but good. Somewhere through the day my shoulders and neck stiffened up. I decided to do yoga anyway - slowly and carefully - if my shoulders or neck were bothered I'd back off. I worked for half and hour and my neck and shoulders feel much looser. Not exactly sure what did it although I suppose it helped to focus on breathing and moving slowly through the movements. I didn't even think about my neck or shoulders until I was done.

Thursday - Planned an hour or at least 5 miles. I managed 3 and walked most of the last mile. Why the breakdown?

- Did I do too much on tired legs Tuesday? Maybe I should have done less or slower?
- Is it because today was a big teaching day at work? I did much better hydrating today but my food intake was not so good.
- Is it because today I ran all on pavement and my previous two runs were on trails?
- Or is because my shoes really are done?

My best guess - and that's all it is - is that it's a combination of all of the above. For now I'm going to shake it off, take my rest day and set my sights on the Frostbite 5 miler on Saturday. I'm thinking about wearing new shoes on Saturday. It's only 5 miles.

Saturday - I ran the Frostbite 5 miler. You can read about it here. I don't wear my watch for races so no stats for this run. I did not wear new shoes as I was expecting yukky weather and figured I'd should at least try to break in the new ones on a clean day.

Sunday - Today it is near freezing with winds about 10-20 mph and gusts higher. So I set up the trainer in the living room and did 120 minutes total. 60 minutes at a time with a 45 minute break in between. Otherwise I would probably die of boredom. But I did it :) One of these days I get the cadence gadget hooked up for these indoor rides. For now it's all about staying in motion.

I am feeling some pain in my left achilles. Not pain exactly but strain when I walk. I felt it slightly after the race yesterday. It went away and now it's back after finishing on the bike. I will baby it this week. I don't think it's serious right now and I intend to keep it that way. Stay tuned.