Now that I have had a night of sleep and recovery I think I can talk a little about my Long Run from yesterday. In a word: Ow.
I'm still a little sore, but mostly my arms, shoulders, and upper back are sore from swinging my arms back and forth during the run, and the walk. Those same muscles are also still sore from my
workout at the gym this past Friday. My legs have recovered somewhat, because I wore my
2XU compression tights for a couple of hours after I dragged myself out of the shower last night. I'm still waiting for the new ones I ordered in size MT (medium tall), so I am trying not to use the ones I have too much, otherwise I may not be allowed to exchange them. I broke down and ordered the
2XU long sleeve compression shirt off Amazon last night, so I should have that tomorrow; my local running store does not carry it. If the shirt can do for my arms and shoulders what the tights have done for my legs, it will be money well-spent.
I made sure to apply plenty of sun-screen before I left the house yesterday, but apparently I missed a couple of spots: I seem to be extra reddish around my neck and throat, though I was certain I had applied 'screen there, too. The temps got up into the mid- to high-70s yesterday, and since it has been so long since I ran in the "heat" I perspired far more than I anticipated.
 |
| V-shaped sweat/salt stain from Sunday's run. |
|
 |
| It stands out more in black and white. |
|
 |
| U-shaped sweat stain on the back of my running shorts. |
The park I run in isn't all that big so I end up doing laps back and forth along stretches of the bike trail to make sure I get in my distance. I am often tempted to just try running on the surface streets around the perimeter of the park for its entire length, and then I remember pedestrians get run over in the street all the time around here. I will need to branch out at some point, however, because using the same running route all the time is getting a little bit old.
One of the high points of yesterdays run was seeing a friend out in the park pushing her daughter in a stroller. I had not seen her in, hmm, maybe a couple of years, and I have only seen her with her daughter on the FB. Anyway, that was cool, and totally unexpected. I seldom see people I know, or at least recognize, out in the park.
Back to the running part: I initially intended to run three (3) miles, then walk one (1) mile, and repeat till the end of my planned distance. That plan did not sit well with the added warmth of the day, nor did it work well trying to keep a (14:00) to (15:00) pace during the run portions. By the last half of the run I was alternating run:walk at a 1:1 ratio. I expect a better performance during next weeks Long Run, but especially during the
Modesto Marathon on the 18th. Again, I am only signed up to do the half-marathon distance, and considering last night's performance in the park, I am
damn glad I only plan on a measly (13.1) miles, after all. I expect to wear both the long-sleeve compression shirt and the compression tights for the half-marathon run so I will, *fingers-crossed*, be in better shape during, and after, the event.
Staggering my way towards the park exit last night I saw two (2) Modesto Police Department cruisers in the park next to the playground. I presume they were checking out one of the park "residents" for illegal activity, but I didn't take the time to check it out closely. I was far more interested in getting back home to a shower and a hot meal.
-Lancer!!
