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May 21, 2006
god called. all is forgiven.
Plain and simple: I had a really shit week as far as running went. I got the miles, but o! at such a cost. Slow, slower, tired, a bit faster, slow as hell, slower even, sore all day and into the night. Nelecting to return calls and emails, neglecting anything that wasn't running, work, or sleep. I ran a bit over 85 miles, as:
Su: 18.01mi (8:08)
M: 8.02mi (9:25), yup
T: AM 9.5mi (9:11), PM 5.5mi (8:32) plus 15min elliptical, 15min stair machine
W: PM 10mi (8:25), with Ray and super head-coach
R: 8mi incl 10x100m strides, avg pace still so slow I'm not gonna say
F: 12.4mi (9:16), supposed to be 14 but I'm so slow I couldn't finish without being very late to work
Sa: 14mi (8:46), the run I was supposed to do Friday. Sore from knees to feet every step of the way.
total 85.4 miles + 30min xtraining
When I got in from the 14 yesterday my first thought was "I can't do 20 with the guys tomorrow. I'll never keep up." My second thought was, "I sure as hell don't want to 'run' 20 alone when I feel this shitty, either." Even after a 90-minute nap I still felt bad, and my legs were tight and sore all day and all night and even while I was sleeping.
Somehow all that changed during this morning's 20. For one thing, my legs didn't hurt. We also kept the pace moderate for the first half instead of goading each other into stupidity early on, and this really paid off at the end of the run - I was glad to be finished but I felt good and (relatively) strong, not like I was just limping in.
I almost always run more slowly when I'm alone, and this mileage buildup just makes matters worse. The twice-weekly runs-with-company are like a lifeline; without them I'd probably be discouraged to the point of depression. I'm so lucky that my job allows me to do this. I'll probably write that a million more times during the next few months.
At my old job I worked with two people from Poland who would say "thanks god" instead of "thank god," as in "that car almost hit me but swerved just in time, thanks god." I always liked that.
Next week: 92 miles. We'll see if I'm still saying thanks god at the end of that.
Posted by joe positive at May 21, 2006 5:57 PM
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