Just keep moving
This morning I got up feeling tired and still a little sore from Sunday’s run. My calves are pretty tight, which is a bit worrisome, especially since I am supposed to run this evening, but I’ll see how they feel tonight and play it by ear. I’d like to get the run in, and I’m supposed to try to take it easy (zones 1 and 2) for an hour, but I obviously would like to avoid straining anything because of tight muscles. My ride this morning consisted mostly of isolated leg training. I warmed up for a bit, then did a little more than a half hour of alternating legs, with recovery (both legs at same time, keeping up the same cadence) in between. I do the “recovery” for no longer than the amount of time as I did the single leg. Today, I probably did about 8 minutes for each leg.
After work, I picked up Charlie, took him home (where he crashed immediately) and went for a run. My legs were still a little tight, but I don’t think it’s anything dangerous, especially for a low intensity run. It was a beautiful night – crystal clear and in the mid-30’s with very little wind. I was comfortably cool in shorts, a long sleeve base, another light long sleeve on top of that, a hat and my light-weight gloves. Running along the West Side, the New Jersey skyline across the river looked amazing. It was that type of clear night where the lights just twinkled. It was really quiet and dark out there – there weren’t a lot of people walking around and not too many runners either. I decided to try to stick to John’s instructions and keep my run in zones 1 and 2 for the entire hour. What convinced me to try was the fact that I’ve got 14 hours of training this week without a day off and I can’t be pushing it too hard on Tuesday night. Also, I didn’t want to push it on my tight/sore legs. I did a great job keeping my heart rate down – I ran all but about three minutes in zone 2 (below 135 beats per minute). I was running really slowly; I’d guess I averaged about ten minutes per mile. On the other hand, I wasn’t breathing hard and felt like I could keep that pace up forever.
Elizabeth comes home from Sundance tomorrow morning. I’m excited to see her! It sounds like she’s been having a blast out there.
Bike – January 23
Time: 1:00
Average heart rate: 119
Indoor ride
Run – January 23
Time: 1:00
Distance: 6 miles
Average heart rate: 128
Course: West Side Highway
Conditions: Cold, clear, beautiful night, mid-30’s