Today was wet. I watched out my window for a break in the weather, and the second I saw people walking around without umbrellas (during the time period I would take lunch, that is) I changed into my running clothes to grab a few miles before the next downpour. Well, it was a valiant effort but for naught. By the time I got back downstairs from the locker room the sky was oozing with moisture again. Since it was only light to moderate rain, I just decided to go with it.
Frankly, the rain was warm and it felt wonderful to stretch out in. The only reason I really avoid rainy day running during the day is because then I have wet hair. Oh well. I can do this once. Running in the rain was a much better idea than running in yesterday's blazing heat...so much so that I passed a number of other runners out enjoying the weather.
The one sight I saw repeatedlytoday, however, that puzzles me was baby buggy after baby buggy with a rain cover over the baby. Now, if you know Washington DC weather, you know when it's raining that means great loads of humidity. Today was no exception. So, I have to wonder what it's like sitting inside that little baby sauna created by trapping the humidity in and not releasing the heat. Really, I saw at least five of these and it continued to puzzle my mind throughout the entire run. Hopefully they had little fans or air conditioners in there with them.
Overall, I enjoyed the run. It was swift, it was wet (and I really couldn't tell you which was the sweaty wet and which was the rainy wet) and it brought me even closer to the halfway mark toward my goal. Great times! Happy trails!!!
Stats -
Miles: 3.1
Time: 24:49 (average pace of 8:00 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park, Stanton Park
Feeling: Ahh, this was a good one
Showing posts with label joggers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joggers. Show all posts
12 June 2012
04 June 2012
Loosening up...
One big difference I have always noticed following trail runs, versus road races, no matter the distance I have very little soreness afterward. Following both of my road marathons (in 2005 and 2007) I was terribly sore and could be found walking stairs backwards for a few days. Now, I don't know whether to attribute this to the harder surfaces of the road creating more wear on my body than dirt trails, or if it has more to do with the fact that I take a preemptive icy hot bath after long races nowadays (since 2009), but I'm happy to accept the present outcomes....relatively easy recoveries.
This marathon was no different. Sure I had a bit of soreness in my left hamstring, but if you follow my blog you know that isn't an uncommon occurance. I've actually had tight hammies, paticularly the left, semi-regularly since college (my dreaded problem area). Since I was feeling no tightness or soreness today, except the left hammy, I decided to take a nice easy jog to loosen up the remaining acid buildup in the muscles so I can start piling the miles back on by the end of the week (I'm aiming to hit my 50% target for the year in the next week and a half). Today was an absolutely beautiful day to get it done.
After work I set out in search of a few random slow miles, winding through my usual haunts on Capitol Hill and up to Lincoln Park, shaving off the add-ons that get me my traditional five mile jogs. The first mile was, of course, tighter than the other two, but it also loosened up relatively quickly. That's not to say I was cruising at my normal pace - I wasn't - but going well enough to feel satisfied. It was also great to see so many other joggers and walkers out enjoying the waning rays of sun in the twilight. Always inspirational in these times of growing couch potatoes. At any rate, I should have a couple more slow runs this week just to keep shaking any leftover problems out and then back on track later this week (fingers crossed). Happy trails!!!
Stats -
Miles: 3.08
Time: 28:11 (average pace of 9:09 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park, Stanton Park
Feeling: a little stiff, but fairing better than many
This marathon was no different. Sure I had a bit of soreness in my left hamstring, but if you follow my blog you know that isn't an uncommon occurance. I've actually had tight hammies, paticularly the left, semi-regularly since college (my dreaded problem area). Since I was feeling no tightness or soreness today, except the left hammy, I decided to take a nice easy jog to loosen up the remaining acid buildup in the muscles so I can start piling the miles back on by the end of the week (I'm aiming to hit my 50% target for the year in the next week and a half). Today was an absolutely beautiful day to get it done.
After work I set out in search of a few random slow miles, winding through my usual haunts on Capitol Hill and up to Lincoln Park, shaving off the add-ons that get me my traditional five mile jogs. The first mile was, of course, tighter than the other two, but it also loosened up relatively quickly. That's not to say I was cruising at my normal pace - I wasn't - but going well enough to feel satisfied. It was also great to see so many other joggers and walkers out enjoying the waning rays of sun in the twilight. Always inspirational in these times of growing couch potatoes. At any rate, I should have a couple more slow runs this week just to keep shaking any leftover problems out and then back on track later this week (fingers crossed). Happy trails!!!
Stats -
Miles: 3.08
Time: 28:11 (average pace of 9:09 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park, Stanton Park
Feeling: a little stiff, but fairing better than many
01 March 2012
Ouchy...
It's been a few days since my last run...thanks to that cranky hamstring and a heck of a lot going on at work. (super excited I got to use the words "recalcitrant" and "scorn" in the same letter about Iran today) In fact, its been super crazy, so not a really bad time to need a few days off for recovery in the legs. That said, the weather has been so fantastic, I've been dying to tie on the shoes and I wanted to start playing catch up in the miles I missed during February. Today finally gave me my window of opportunity, so I hit the road for an easy paced jog.
After work I took off to stretch my legs out a bit. It was kind of windy in DC tonight, so I almost wimped out and headed for the treadmill. I'm glad I didn't though. The streets were full of other runners, especially Lincoln Park where I had to battle a couple of guys running in my direction and showing no sign of moving out of the way for a lady. Then there were those few bikes that decided to basically run the runners off the sidewalks. It was a regular traffic jam...and wouldn't you know, there was absolultely no traffic on the streets.
Anyway, I finished up my run facing the Capitol Dome glowing against the dark night sky. Love it! Too bad my hamstring hurt the entire run. Ah well, maybe I'll have better luck with that tomorrow. Happy trails!
Stats -
Miles: 4.12
Time: 35:41 (average pace of 8:39 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill to Lincoln Park
Feeling: Still a bit sore in the hamstring which pushes a discomfort down into the calf to take the pressure off.
After work I took off to stretch my legs out a bit. It was kind of windy in DC tonight, so I almost wimped out and headed for the treadmill. I'm glad I didn't though. The streets were full of other runners, especially Lincoln Park where I had to battle a couple of guys running in my direction and showing no sign of moving out of the way for a lady. Then there were those few bikes that decided to basically run the runners off the sidewalks. It was a regular traffic jam...and wouldn't you know, there was absolultely no traffic on the streets.
Anyway, I finished up my run facing the Capitol Dome glowing against the dark night sky. Love it! Too bad my hamstring hurt the entire run. Ah well, maybe I'll have better luck with that tomorrow. Happy trails!
Stats -
Miles: 4.12
Time: 35:41 (average pace of 8:39 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill to Lincoln Park
Feeling: Still a bit sore in the hamstring which pushes a discomfort down into the calf to take the pressure off.
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