Good week

Saturday's run: Out the door at 8 a.m. This is the second week in a row, I have run on a Saturday morning. Usually, I am at yoga at 9 a.m. but I've been trying a later class so I can run first.

I know lots of people run on Saturday mornings but it's something else to actually see so many runners in my neighborhood. Team in Training goes down a street near my house. I see their water coolers/stations and occasionally I see two people here and there. But Saturday, as I was heading out on my run, a group of 15 of them came running head on toward me. What a sight for a solo runner to see a group. They looked like they were having a good time. After the big group there were groups of 2 and 3 together. And I passed them all again on the way back in. Really great to see so many people out and running.

I like the solace of running alone but must admit it might be fun to run with one or two others for longer runs -- if I could ever find someone who runs my somewhat turtle pace.

I wanted to do 4 miles but I wasn't sure how it would go since I had changed up my schedule to have time with my sister visiting from GA. I felt good until I actually started to run. I realized my body was more tired that I expected.

I've been reading John Bingham's "The Courage to Start," and I liked a passage I saw the other day that said basically sometimes our mind needs a run but our body isn't up to it and other times our body is full-go and our mind just isn't into it. He talks about using our runner's wisdom to know when to press on and when not to.

So, as I started out I knew ultimately the goal was 4 miles but given the week I'd had maybe 2 would be the limit. After about a half-mile I was questioning doing more than 1 mile. Still, I trudged on, working on some basic ChiRunning focuses (posture and armswing) to help me keep going and fall into a rhythm. After the first half mile, I felt a twinge in my ankle (where I almost had a stress fractured that stopped me cold for 4 weeks). So I paid attention to that very carefully. I decided to give myself another half mile. If it was better, great. If it wasn't, walk home.

I made a slight adjustment and everything was fine. At 1.5 miles I turned around just in case. I figured 3 miles would be good enough. But as I cruised to 2.5 I knew I had the other mile left in the tank. So I got my 4 in.

I was more tired than the last two runs, but I was feeling good overall. I felt like I was slogging y and expected to see splits in the 12:15 range but they actually faster than either of the last two runs (about 11:40). Surprise. Surprise.

Total for the week 3, 6, 4 = 13 miles
Total weight loss in 3 weeks = 5 lbs.

It's time, though, to dial it down this week for a recovery week. I'm not very good with those, but I also can feel my body needs it. I'm really hoping that my inner wisdom can overpower my Type A "more miles" mantra. Wish me luck.

I love spring!

What a weekend! First, a nice 7 miler yesterday and no serious tightening in the calves and hip later. So this morning I headed out for a 3-mile recovery run, and still no discomfort. Woo-hoo! I think I figured out why my calves tightened up the last few weeks -- I forgot to do my leg drains.

In Chirunning, we do leg drains at the end of stretching after the run. Just lie on your back with your feet up against a wall for 4 or 5 minutes. It lets all the pooled blood and such drain out of the legs. Then massage the calves and thighs like you're wringing out a rag and voila, legs feel great the next day. With ChiRunning my legs never hurt the next day but my calves can get pretty tight even with good form, so leg drains are a life-saver.

It's funny the CR focuses that will come to me during a run. I left the heart rate monitor at home and just decided to run 3 casual miles. The first mile today was OK although I could tell I was tired from yesterday (probably too much Diet Coke) but I was fine. The second mile I was feeling more tired than usual (of course I wasn't using walk breaks) but the third mile, I started thinking about my posture and my legs starting from the midpoint of my spine (T12/L1) and my stride opened right up and I felt so much better. Another time I focused more on trusting my lean and again my form just really opened up and breathing was easier not harder even though I was speeding up.

I have been so lethargic for so long that I'm thrilled to have run so well both days and have enough energy for a 16+ mile bike ride with Gene after lunch. Must be the great weather -- 61 degrees and sunny.

3 relaxed miles = 11:52