Sunday, April 01, 2007

20 Miles On A Hamster Wheel

That's what I did today. Ran TWENTY miles on my treadmill. I hit 20.0 miles at exactly 4 hours, zero minutes, zero seconds. That is 7 minutes slower than my 20 miler last May, but I purposely took it easier today to try and save my hips. Both hip flexors and hip joints have been giving me trouble over the past two weeks and I was very concerned that the monster run would push them over the edge. It seems to have done the trick. I do not have any soreness in either hip at the moment, 3.5 hours post-run. That is a good sign.
During my four hours of stationary time in my basement I watched the first two Harry Potter movies. That crazy Ron sure does get himself into some messes sometimes....
The run was amazing, actually. I breezed through it with very little discomfort. My new shoes felt great, therefore so did my feet. No blisters. I hurt my back yesterday while building some large shelving units in our basement and that pain kept me up last night. I also strained something in my left quad, just above the inside of my knee, which was causing some trouble. Otherwise, I was fine. My shins didn't bother at all, nor did my calves--both problematic areas for me.
I came upstairs feeling great. No fatigue, no exhaustion, no moaning. My legs were tired and tight, but otherwise I felt as though I'd just run a regular 5 miler. I still feel full of energy. Bizarre. Usually I feel absolutely wrecked for the rest of the day after a run like this.
I immediately took a ten minute ice bath, soaking (aka freezing) in super cold water up to my waist. I haven't been doing ice baths this year. In fact, it's probably been about 9 months since the last one. I highly recommend them...they are the most relaxing and soothing and downright heavenly way to wind down after a long workout or stressful day.....
Not.
The worst part about long runs for me these days is that none of my running clothes fit properly anymore. They are all a size too big. The shirts are baggy but that's not the issue. The issue is the running pants/shorts that are too loose. Running bottoms should not move. They should fit nicely against your legs and....ahem...stuff...so as to protect from any rubbing and chaffing. Mine move.
Ouch.
I think I'll just see about standing at my desk at work tomorrow......

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