A Semblance of Normalcy

Last night I had my first run that I can almost consider "normal" since the marathon. The others were fine and all, but this one actually felt like running rather than jogging. Although I am still a bit stiff I now can link this to my weight training more than the effects of the race. On Tuesday I managed a good session which included pretty heavy squats and I think my legs are sore from that more than anything else.

Anyway, I didn't run before work, which in and of itself was interesting because ever since the middle of June all of my mid-week running has been done early in the morning. I decided to watch game 5 between Texas and Tampa Bay on Monday night and knew that I'd be really tired trying to get up at 5am. (Cliff Lee is a machine, by the way.)

So, after picking up the boys and starting dinner, I got ready once my lovely wife took over and took off with Owen for my run. It was raining pretty steady by then and Malcolm had decided that he would not join us after all. Owen was still keen and said that he'd like to run about two kilometres or so. We had a great time running together, as usual, and after 2.2k we passed by the house and he snuck in while I continued on my merry way. I was getting wet, my feet we soaked, but otherwise things felt pretty good. When I came near the house again at about the 7k mark I really wanted to stop on account of needing to use the facilities, but I pushed on because in my mind I had set a goal of completing 10km, which I did. Looking at the map of my run it looks like I drew a Tommy Gun on the landscape without meaning to! My pace was pretty solid and I was able to average under 5:20/km for the last two thirds of the run, which was pretty good for me.

Today I have another leg weights session awaiting me at lunch, but this time I will substitute the squats with lunges. I have to start adding more one-legged exercises into my routine, but squats will remain my benchmark for strength as I progress. I just won't do them twice per week for the next little bit. I'm a bit sore and stiff this morning so we'll see how the weights go, but at least I feel like I'm almost totally recovered from the marathon. Yay!