So Much Better

I knew whining about my tired legs wouldn't be too clever after a 50 mile race, so I didn't. I still didn't like the feeling of those two concrete pillars strapped to the lower half of my body, though. It's a good thing that these days I seem to recover amazingly quickly from long races.

The HR went straight back to normal levels after 2 or 3 days but kept going up and down a bit. However, the heavy feeling in my legs clearly told me that HR data isn't everything. It took until Tuesday evening of this week to have a run that felt good, but that's still only 10 days after Staplestown. I'm sure a closer examination of various body parts would clearly show that recovery is far from complete at this point, but that's beside the point. I've started to feel good again and that's what counts to me.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all very straightforward, a run in the early morning and a short evening run to round things off. The weather has very unexpectedly turned, we are now able to enjoy a beautiful sunny sky all day long. You can see the smiles in everyone's faces, this is just great.

Thursday's run was a little bit different as I was heading up the Windy Gap again. On Sunday it was a bit of a struggle to climb all the way to the top, this morning I did it almost on autopilot, and twice. A mountain run at sunrise is just beautiful, there is nothing quite like it. I chatted to a friend yesterday who sometimes heads up the same way, we keep wondering why we never encounter anyone else on that route, it's almost as if it were a secret hideaway. I once met a couple of hikers, but this year I have never encountered anyone else on the Kerry Way, and I have been running there a lot.

Anyway, I'm pacing the Cork marathon on Monday, but with the easy 3:30 shift that should be the easiest long run of this training cycle. I should definitely be able to enjoy that one.

26 May

am: 8 miles, 1:02:02, 7:45 pace, HR 134

pm: 5+ miles, 38:57, 7:43 pace, HR 137

27 May

am: 8 miles, 1:02:09, 7:46 pace, HR 132

pm: 5+ miles, 38:50, 7:41 pace, HR 136

28 May

am: 10 miles, 1:16:43, 7:40 pace, HR 139

pm: 5+ miles, 38:13, 7:34 pace, HR 137

29 May

am: 12+ miles, 1:50:36, 9:00 pace, HR 137, Windy Gap

pm: 5+ miles, 39:24, 7:48 pace, HR 133