Weekend Recap

Saturday, March 28
I woke up in a bit of a funk and stayed there most of the day. The weekends I don’t have a lot of lab work are tough because I spend my free time thinking about how much better free time would be with DBF and then I get lonely. That not-alone-but-lonely feeling is awful and saps my motivation to do much of anything. Finally that afternoon I put my running clothes on and made myself get out there, knowing that even if it didn’t completely snap me out of it, it would make me feel better.

Apparently I was trying to out-run the black cloud over my head because I was not slow. And I felt great, physically – my “just relax and go with it” strategy for my pace led me to a new PR for my 6.3-mile loop!

6.3 miles in 52:04 (8:10 min/mile)

Sunday, March 30
Long runs this time of year are tough because when I wake up and it’s 20 degrees but with the promise of peaking in the 40’s, I really have a hard time not waiting until the weather improves. So, yesterday I reversed my regular routine and did errands right away in the morning, planning on heading out for a 12-miler at about 2. The prospect of wearing shorts, even though I have to run later, is enough motivation for me to take my day slow to be able to run later.

My legs were generally achy as I started my run, thanks to my speedy run yesterday. I had some strange aches in places I normally don’t, the most persistent one being on the inside of my left calf. It wasn’t pain, but it almost felt like I had a bruise there and the pounding was making it ache. It eventually did subside and never got worse, so I don’t think anything is wrong with my leg, per se, but it just wanted to talk. I did have a few miles in the middle of the run (probably about miles 6-9 where I really did feel perfectly in my groove and weightless. This is the longest run I’ve done since my half marathon in January, actually. And it’s the distance at which the long runs in my training plan for the Hamptons marathon will start.

Next Sunday I am running a 10-mile race in D.C. I hope to keep the mileage around the 32-ish mark, despite the race, since I want to cut back next week as it is the week before the start of my training plan.

12.3 miles in 1:50:08 (8:57 min/mile)