Tuesday, July 28th 2009: 30 minutes on exercise bike. Having the exercise bike in front of the TV makes this bearable. It allows you to be lazy and exercise at the same time.
Wednesday, July 29th 2009: 4 miles in 39 minutes on the treadmill.
Thursday, July 30th 2009: 30 minutes on exercise bike.
Friday, July 31st 2009: Rest
Saturday, August 1st: 20 miles in 3 hours 24 minutes! My average pace was 10 minute 12 second miles. I drove up toward Cedar City to have the advantage of 20 degrees cooler than home for this long one. I'm so thankful I did. I packed my camera and took a few pictures along the way:
About half of my route was on a paved road and half was on a dirt road. There were beautiful sunflowers lining the road on some sections. The beauty of the sunflowers made up for the quadrillion grasshoppers that were all over the place.
I felt pretty good for the run, although expectedly my legs started to tighten up around mile 15. The muscles of my calves tighten like rocks and are on the brink of charley horses. My knees start to stiffen up and feel wobbly. I had to slow down a little but kept going. I was sooooo hot for about the last hour. It felt like my skin was melting off my bones.
I'm feeling more confident about the marathon, and plan to get in one more 20 miler before the race. I'm hoping my ankle starts feeling better. It is still achy from twisting it a few weeks ago. Grrr. Ice packs have become my close, personal friends.
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” -T.S. Eliot
Love the sunflower close-up.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to read the end of long run aches & pains, the confidence building... what about the post-long run glow/euphoria that settles in a few hours later?