Brad Lk x 2 (mostly) Thanks to accountability that Fast Running Blog has fostered, I got up at 5:30 this morning for my first run since the Portland Marathon. It was very windy, the tail-end of our first winter storm, and dark outside. I had to don my running jacket for the first time since spring. Had to wear my headlamp too. On the plus side, Orion was shining very clear in the night sky. I felt great! It feels so much better running a week after a hard marathon vs. only taking 2-4 days off. No fatigue, no "dead legs". A mile or so into the run, I felt a few little reminders of various areas of my legs that complained through the training and racing of the past few months. I planned on doing 4.5 miles today, but really wanted to do 6. The coach inside me said, "stick with 4.5 today, this is only your first run since Portland." I listened to the coach. Good thing I did! About 0.5 miles from my house, I felt a sharp twinge of pain/tightness in my right knee. I've had this before... it's my IT-band. Knowing that running through the pain for the last 0.5 mile would be counter-productive, I walked the rest of the way back home. I didn't limp, and I didn't feel any more discomfort once I got home. I rolled my IT-bands with the foam roller, and did 60 crunches, and 40 pushups, before eating breakfast and showering. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I'll run 2-3 miles or just go for a walk in the morning. It's interesting to note that: I felt great running, but I was running much slower than normal (I think it was 9:05 pace). Also, even though I felt relaxed and not at all labored in breathing, my breathing pattern was a 2-2, instead of my typical 3-3 or even 4-4 pattern at such a slow pace. Complete recovery is going to take a while!
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