March 15, 2009

Not so Fresh Feeling

Do you ever get that not so fresh feeling in your legs after a long workout? The state of my legs today was deceiving. I had been wearing compression tights so they didn't hurt and generally seemed ok, which was a good thing since I had the second big workout of the weekend scheduled today, my 12-mile long run.

Today was the perfect day for a long run. It was around 50 degrees, overcast, light wind and only a slight chill in the air. I miss running in Central Park so I decided to do the run there. It's big enough to randomly mix up the route and keep it from being boring.

I was slightly underfueled due to the need to carry everything. Since I cannot tolerate a fuel belt, I have to get by on what I and my tiny pockets can hold. But since it was chilly I was fine. My legs were certainly not their freshest. They felt heavy and sluggish throughout the run, but I had a fast first mile split (8:18) and knew I'd have to severely back that down to avoid burning out. I eased into a nice 8:50ish pace and maintained this for the entire distance with the exception of one mile slightly over 9:00.

Being able to do this run after my long brick was a good confidence booster. I'm still figuring out what my body is capable of and know I will have some really intense training weekends this summer. Little by little I'm improving and enjoying the challenge of pushing myself to a physical limit. I've always trusted the logic that you can most certainly complete an Ironman if you commit to doing the training. Of course there are the things you can't plan for, like race-week illness or bike maintenance issues, but in general, you can stack the odds in your favor by taking the training seriously. That belief will carry me through the next 6 months.

Running
Distance - 12 miles
Time - 1:46:01

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