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Monday, September 20, 2010

Brain vs. Body

So, today is my "scheduled" run day. I usually don't run on Sundays, but obviously I did yesterday (race day).  I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to run today, but I did. I felt great all day, even though I pushed it yesterday in the race. I am still riding the wave of feeling good about my finish time, and feeling a little run happy.

So, I ran 4 miles. Now that I've seen my times down well under 10 min/mi, I really want it to stay there. I KNOW that I can't keep that pace for long distances (at least for now), and that I shouldn't push my pace like that for every run. But, BUT, it's so stinking hard to reel myself in! I knew I should just be running an easy run today, but dang if I didn't hate seeing my pace pop over 10 minutes. Even though it was just a few short weeks ago that EVERY run was above 10. I was thrilled to finally see my times GET under 10:30! Now, I really want to see them under 10 every run. Dang...this is so addicting, and bringing back my inner 16 year old competitive self. Wanting to "win". Against who, you might ask? Just me. Just myself. I want to beat myself. Bad.

So, I tried to be good. My legs felt pretty good, but my right knee was reminding me today to take it a little easy on her.

Wednesday, I'm back to 5 milers for Wed/Fri and a longer 9 miler on Sunday. What do you do to recover from a race? Does a 5K count? I have no idea. I'm a total rookie. A run happy rookie.

1 comment:

Julie D. said...

Definitely take a day off or do a SLOW short recovery run. Immediately, make sure you eat something with 20-30 grams of protein for muscle recovery. Ice painful spots or even better, an ice bath!! Stretching, ice, and protein immediately following, i think have made a big difference in my recovery time.