Thursday, November 12, 2009

Tentative Steps

Coming back from a marathon is always a bit of a struggle and this time it seems to be more of a struggle than usual. I’m pretty sure that whatever struck me after Dublin is still in my system and I’m feeling rather blah most of the time. Running is fine, however. I’m not doing anything but easy effort, and short ones at that, and that’s going ok. But sitting in my chair in the office I can tell something's not quite right. So far I haven’t got any plan of action apart from hoping that it will go away by itself eventually.

The 5 miles on Tuesday were fine, apart from the weather. The weather forecast had been pretty good, but I ended up getting soaked on my way home. It was bad timing more than anything else. When cycling to work an hour later, the weather was perfectly fine.

On Wednesday I had set the alarm for 6:30, in time for 7 miles. When I woke at 6:15 I decided I was much too tired and reset the alarm for 6:45 and 5 miles. This action must have stirred me sufficiently because by 6:30 I was wide awake and decided to go ahead with 7 miles after all. In marked contrast to Tuesday the forecast had been diabolical but I managed to stay dry – shows what they know. The hamstrings felt very tired after only 5 miles, which wasn’t particularly welcome but I got over that.

It’s all rather pedestrian at the moment and yet another 5 mile run was on the cards this morning. The cat showed more sense than me when she refused to walk through the door out into the rain, but once I got going it didn’t bother me at all. All in all I can see some development on the heart rate which went down very quickly after Sunday’s ridiculously high reading, but as long as I feel like crap for the rest of the day it’s difficult to speak of progress.

I’m still undecided about the race on Sunday, apart from the fact that I will definitely not race it. Running it might still be on the cards though, depending how I feel on Sunday morning and what the weather will be like. I even thought about bringing my camera with me, Mike style, which would definitely force me to slow down. With the weather forecast I’d be worried about ruining the camera in the rain, though. I’ll wait and see.
10 Nov
5 miles, 41:05, 8:13 pace, HR 150
11 Nov
7 miles, 56:40, 8:06 pace, HR 156
12 Nov
5 miles, 40:30, 8:06 pace, HR 155

5 comments:

  1. What, no waterproof camera yet? Excuses, excuses... Hope the running blahs pass you by soon. Give it time.

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  2. I would echo your comments on marathon recovery. It's almost three weeks now since the race and I have done no fast running. Last night, running home from work and late for a social event I completed the last of an easy five mile run in 06:30 and my quads are aching today!

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  3. I've seen the site for the Gauntlet Run. It's a great challenge on a very scenic route (weather permitting) but the cost is a bit steep. Enjoy - and take it easy.

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  4. Yes, if it's one of those rare fine days, take the camera. It'd make a good video, and as you say, remove any inclination to race it.

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  5. Thomas, The weather map looks promising. I hope you have an enjoyable run in which you take in the spectacular scenery.

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