Friday, May 13, 2016

Friday 13th Update

I better not play ice hockey today. You never know who you'd run into.

Following that tough almost-marathon last weekend, this week was always about recovery. To some extend I was very pleased how the legs felt because I had expected the quads especially to be rather sore after all those long, and at times very steep, downhills but thankfully there was virtually no muscle soreness. However, I could not deny a general feeling of fatigue and from Monday to Wednesday every step was done with rather heavy legs.

Strangely enough, it was only after sitting in the office chair for several hours that the quads felt sore. Running was fine, sitting was not. So much for rest being recovery.

Because of that soreness I was rather reluctant to run in the evenings and waited until Wednesday. Even then I decided to run on the treadmill instead of the road to make absolutely sure that I would run at a very, very easy pace and effort. On the road I can sometimes inadvertently run a lot faster than anticipated but on the treadmill that is under full control. I also made sure to step off the treadmill after only 3 miles to be definitely on the safe side.

By Thursday morning things were definitely on the up, though. The legs felt a lot better and I actually enjoyed the run, the beautiful sunrise certainly not doing any harm in that regard. I added 3 more treadmill miles at an even slower pace than the day before, which really seemed to loosen up the legs after a long day of mostly sitting down.

My HR numbers have been improving day after day and are actually back to pretty decent values already. My cardio-vascular system clearly has no problems with me running a marathon on an almost weekly basis. Being fit has its advantages.

I have inquired about the possibility of getting a stand-up desk at work. I know I’ll be looked at as if I had two heads by some colleague but thankfully I don’t give a **** what anyone else thinks. Sitting down for so many hours does hurt my lower back and my legs would probably feel better standing up, once the initial adaptation period is over. I’m not sure if it’s going to happen, though.

One thing I had to omit the last few mornings was the barefoot exercise out in the garden. I got swarmed my midges and had at least 2 dozen itchy bites after less than 5 minutes and had to scamper Doing the same exercises indoors is not the same without being grounded to nature (yes, I know that sounds like New Age hippy stuff) but it will have to do for the time being.

And with that it’s almost the weekend again, and therefore time for another marathon. This time I was a little bit more sensible than before Limerick and agreed to run it as one of the 3:15 pacers. The Lakes of Killarney marathon is run in the National Park and the scenery is absolutely stunning. With the weather forecast as nice, sunny and warm, it will be a gorgeous day (if not entirely conductive to running your best time). I’m really looking forward to it.

Oh, and even being less-than-sensible before Limerick had its advantages. I knew the marathon counted as the Munster championship but didn't think much about it. Turns out I was the third male over 40 (they had 10-year age groups) and will be receiving a bronze medal. A medal at provincial level had up to now been missing from my collection, so that was delightful news. Maybe one day I'll get a medal in an even shinier colour, you never know.
10 May
5 miles, 41:05, 8:13 pace, HR 138
11 May
am: 8 miles, 1:02:45, 7:51 pace, HR 143
pm: 3 miles, 25:19, 8:26 pace, HR 133, treadmill
12 May
am: 8 miles, 1:03:23, 7:57 pace, HR 140
pm: 3 miles, 26:01, 8:40 pace, HR 130, treadmill
13 May
5 miles, 39:46, 7:57 pace, HR 137

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