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March 3, 2007
Trying to get back in the game
I didn't have any running plans for this morning, and I saw earlier in the week that there was a 10ish-mile option for this week's long run with my club (usually the runs are longer) so I decided to give it a try. I was surprised to see that I hardly recognized anyone, but I did see a few of the old-timers. The route was really hilly (I've done it before) for the first 7+ miles, and I shouldn't have started out with someone who just ran a 3:12 training marathon a couple of weekends ago. But she was doing the longer route and I wanted to catch up a little. I ran about 3 miles with her and then consciously backed off the pace. I felt bad that I couldn't keep up, but I didn't want to compromise my ability to get through the run. I was pretty much on my own after that, although there was a guy that would breathe down my neck on the uphills and then I would lose him on the flats and downhills. I wasn't trying to speed up after the hills; I think it's just the fact that I am still trying to get back in hill shape.
The last few miles of the route are on the Canal, and I was bothered by all the mud. I kept feeling like I was sinking in and wasting energy. The wheels were starting to come off a bit (no doubt thanks to my quick first miles) and the breathing-down-my-neck guy ended up passing me when we were almost back to the starting point at Iwo Jima. It was ugly. But I shouldn't expect to have enough endurance for much more than 8 miles or so since I've only down more than that a handful of times recently. My leg bothered me on and off during the run but it was pretty mild, and I surprisingly haven't been too sore upon getting back.
We spent the afternoon downtown, first at the last regular-season Georgetown basketball game (blowout against UConn) and then grabbing a drink and a snack with friends in a neat hotel bar/restaurant. Now we are enjoying a little bit of downtime before going to a black-tie benefit. I am going to hopefully take a power nap and wake up feeling more energized!
Posted by becky at March 3, 2007 5:22 PM