Thursday, December 28, 2006

Heavy Legs

Ran 10.6 miles @ 8:38/mile pace.
Paved path.
Very flat.
Weather: 70 degrees and sunny.

Today's run was a bit of a bust. From the very start, my legs felt like two pillars of concrete, and efforts to convince myself that it was psychosomatic were futile. Today marks the 11th consecutive day in a row I've run, which for me is a new record.

My brother and I ran on the Suncoast Trail, a paved path that is perfect for running, biking, or whatever, and is void of anything with an internal combustion engine. I did the first two miles as a warm-up with my brother and then took off to attempt to get in at least seven marathon paced miles, which never happened. I hit the first split in 6:52, though it required great effort and sapped me of whatever little strength I still had. The second mile clocked in at 7:16, and I was really hurting here. Halfway through the next mile, I came to my senses and realized there was no way and I took my foot off the gas. I slogged through the next mile and turned around. I ran into my brother not too much later and we returned together.

So, a not so good day today. Tomorrow I'm taking a day off. This time I mean it. I know it'll really do me some good. Besides, I'm flying back home tomorrow so I guess that's a good day to take a day off. Looking forward to returning to the cooler weather. I grew up in Florida, but still, it's way too hot for me.

2 comments:

Andrew said...

Get some rest. Heavy legs means you're human. Find your limit, back it off. Then go find your limit again.

By 'limit' of course, I mean distance at 7:15 per mile. Not 6:52's (unless you're going for a 3:00:00 marathon.

You're right about the rest doing you good. Stress and relief. Repeat.

You know, sometimes little things get in the way of a good training day. And one of the little things that gets me is running above my MP first, and then trying to back down to it. I fall apart. Perhaps this could have been a factor in addition to the heat and the need for a rest day to boot. Work into and up to MP. I think you'll get more distance with better fuel economy this way.

Keep it going, we're saving all the good weather for you up here.

Banking Miles said...

Looks like the you also got a case of the heavy legs syndrome. I got over mine quickly - hope yours is just a day or two bug.