Sunday, November 18, 2007

Long Run Week 10 & Lotsa Pictures

Saturday 16.0 miles/2:22:43/8:55 average pace

I'm really glad I took Friday off, my legs were pretty sore all day. Saturday morning I was pretty stiff still, but after walking for several minutes was ready to face my last long run. The first hundred yards or so were pretty uncomfortable, especially my lower left leg, and I know I was kind of hobbling. But my leg warmed up and within a 1/4 mile I was running normally. The rest of the run went pretty good! No leg pain and my energy was good. My legs felt really good all afternoon as I was cooking my bonus Thanksgiving dinner (which was delicious!), but when I woke up this morning both my calves were really tight and my shins were sore. However, we went for a walk (bonus pictures at end) and everything loosened up and I've felt great all day. Such a freaking roller coaster. :D I'm still going to play it safe but I think I'm fine. I'm mainly focusing on not going crazy.



Zach was along on his bike for the long run so I had company and he took a bunch of cool pictures. I run this trail all the time, so I get pretty bored of it. But Zach's pictures make it look pretty! It's an old rail path so it's perfectly flat. The main path is asphalt but there is a dirt trail paralleling it for most of the way. The trail is like 20 miles long and I am pretty sure I've run every foot of it (I used to live up near the northern end, now I'm at the southern end).



Iron Horse Trail:










My friend, the ice bucket:

Ended up feeling really good today (sunday)- after our walk, Zach and I went up to the gym and lifted weights then sat in the steam room for a loooong time. Even went for a little bike ride this afternoon. I'm going to play it by ear this coming week and take extra recovery days as needed. I'm going to San Diego for thanksgiving and will run the Thanksgiving Day 5k with my mother-in-law for the 4th year in a row. :)
TOTAL miles for the week: 35

Here are the pictures from our Los Angeles trip last week:

Hermosa Beach Pier near sunset







The Strand - a very cool place to run, bra.




Finally, here are some pictures we took this morning on our walk. It was very foggy and chilly out and felt very fall-y. :) We walked up this little trail by our house (not the Iron Horse). There is a creek that runs up a canyon to a park- it's only about 3 miles round trip from home but it is my favorite place to run.




8 comments:

Michele said...

great pics.
love the bucket!

Glad you are feeling better, take care. it is almost race day.

Petraruns said...

beautiful photos and so nice to see where you run ! You're nearly there and you're still sane - keep it that way!

miss petite america said...

isn't california wonderful!? :)

Mir said...

Gorgeous pictues! As usual I am super jealous. :) I really like your friend, the ice bucket.

I'm so glad your legs are feeling better!! I think the extra time off really helped. I hope they stay nice and loose!

Paul said...

Those Hermosa beach shots are nice!! I love running on the strand out there. Are you running the Father Joe's 5K in Balboa on Turkey Day? Suzie and I are going to be there.

Gotta Run..... said...

Wow... what a great post. I did think that trails look so beautiful but I totally get how you get burnt out on the same thing. I have a route right now I am growing to hate.

Thanks for the comments on the Sugarless days. It is SO freaking hard but I am trying to hang in there.

Do you ice your entire legs in the bath or do you just do the bucket? It is super cold but way more effective.

So glad that you put those hard steps in front of you and did your run. Cheers!!

Petraruns said...

Thank you so for your Pfitz comments. I take it all on board and I'm not sure I'm so tough at all.. But I'm going to try it I think...

And then - in case you're suffering from taper madness and don't know what to do with yourself - Tag - you're it! Shirley grabbed me and made me do a meme - and now it's your turn! Check out my latest post to see what you need to do!

jen said...

Paul- Yep I will be there! I'll look for you. :)

Robin- I do occasionally take ice baths, but since my problem lies almost exclusively with my lower legs, the ice bucket gets used way more often. It's pretty much a fixture in my living room- like a twisted version of the ottoman. :P