Sunday, July 02, 2006

Am I supposed to feel this good?

I wanted to try my first back to back long runs this weekend. At this stage in my training, 10 miles is the minimum I would consider to be a "long run." So I thought 15/10 would be a good introduction to the world of B2B's. Yesterday was a somewhat tough 15 mile trail run that took 3 hours. As I mentioned in my last post, the main thing that made it tough was that my legs were still sore from the prior day's strength training.

Last night I set my alarm for 6 am with the intention of going back over to Forest Park and running a different section of Wildwood for about 10 miles.

Just before I turned out the lights I changed the alarm to 6:30 am.

The rising sun woke me up at 4:30 am and I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.

Finally, I woke up at 7:15 am and realized it was now or never. Despite using my foam roller the prior evening, my butt was still sore. And I didn't feel like driving over to Forest Park. But I remembered that I had promised to water a friend's garden while she was away. So I figured I'd run around the neighborhood and end up at her house to water. I wore my Garmin, but I'm pretty good at guessing distances. So in my mind I planned a general route that would take me through some of the nicer, tree-lined neighborhoods, around a few parks (so I could at least get in some "trail" running), and down to the Willamette River along the Springwater Corridor. As planned, I reached my destination at 10.24 miles according to the gps. I finished watering duty, and then met the boys at the nearby Starbucks where I was informed that my help was needed with a yard project. So as soon as we got home I spent 2-1/2 hours digging up sod. Then the afternoon was filled with errands.

Its now 5 pm. How do I feel? Great! My legs aren't sore. Neither are my glutes. Surprisingly I don't even feel like taking a nap. I logged 42 miles this week. That makes it my second highest mileage week this year (and probably ever.) What a difference a day makes. Right now I feel like I could run again tomorrow, but it will be a planned rest day. (Well, rest if you don't count more evil squats and lunges.) Not sure what happened, but I'll take it!

Kim asked how I like my 2L Kelty Pulse. My Gregory RPM (128 oz) is a better fit on me. However the Kelty doesn't bounce at all. I really like the size of the Kelty. It's very compact but has a pocket that's easily big enough for my wallet, cell phone, first aid kit, keys and gels. Both packs I bought heavily discounted at Campmor.com, so I hadn't tried on either before purchase. I'm happy with them both. At my upcoming 50k, I'll probably wear the Kelty and Marc will wear the Gregory. I can train with a waist belt bottle carrier, but I don't like to wear them in races. And I haven't gotten used to handhelds yet.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isn't it crazy that you can feel good after a back to back run!? I thought that the second day would be really hard and was shocked that I felt better the second day!

MNFirefly said...

Enjoy the feeling. It's awesome!!

matt said...

somebody i know is going to have a great 50K at the end of this month :) keep up the awesome work, sarah!

Kim said...

Sounds like a great training weekend! Thanks for the info on the hydration packs!

Ben, aka BadBen said...

A good training weekend, indeed!
I'll see you at PCT. I'll be in the "Kansas City Trail Nerds" shirt.

Unknown said...

That's awesome that you feel great Sarah. I started with a pack, but switched over to handhelds and now only use the pack if I have to go unsupported for a 50k distance or more. It did take awhile to get used to the handhelds, but now they have become as natural as putting on my shoes and heading out the door. I always grab a bottle or two to keep me hydrated.

Anonymous said...

yay, that is *awesome* !