ORN: 5 miles, 50:08, R4/W1, 10:02/mile
Hard to believe it’s been two weeks since the 6 hour run on the trails. In the last application of changes to my running patterns following the Rocket City Marathon last December, I took a Full Week Off from running after the race. On the one hand, it felt weird to not be out running regularly. Yet, I could almost feel the legs healing up and retooling.
Not that I was physically all that quiet. The past two weeks have been the busiest of the year for my baseball umpiring avocation. It is Little League tournament time and I did 9 doubleheaders in the past 12 days, with two more this weekend before I’m done. Getting down low enough to see the strike zone of some short 11 year-old batters is not something we see in any marathon training program. But the legs held up. As a reward, I was behind the plate for the finest Little League pitching performance I’ve seen in 23 years of umpiring, a real Greg Maddux-esqe exhibition of control, movement and change of speed. For an old catcher like me, it was a thing of beauty.
Race recovery went well. The peak soreness came predictably on day two after the race and resolved nicely from there. The most pleasant surprise was a complete lack of soreness in my quad muscles. I give credit for that to the 4x/week work on quad weight lifting in the basement. I did short four mile run the Saturday after the race, then three 5 mile training runs this week at a 4/1 ratio. A few twinges in the right knee but I recognize those always happen during baseball season. I actually laid out a new training route which incorporates (twice) the only hill in a three mile radius of my house. Seriously. We have no hills here and I have to work to find even one. We don’t do scenery in northern Indiana, we do soybeans. Eat well.
The fall race season is now taking shape. I’m registered for marathons in Dayton, Indianapolis and Memphis. After I set this up, I had a neat realization; if I complete them all, I’ll qualify for the club. We’ll see.
Persevere.
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7 comments:
That's one of the things I like about being on the pitch at soccer. I have the best seat in the house for some really good matches. Maybe someday I'll move over to baseball too ;-)
Awesome about the marathon plans!! I'm hoping to make it to Memphis. We'll see!!
Wow, all those marathons--that's awesome. Which Indy marathon are you doing? I can't imagine doing more than two a year!!
Oh yeah, I knew you were a maniac at heart. : )
We've been waiting for you...
Can't wait to see you knock out those marathons!
A Full Week Off? That sounds good this morning, just coming off relay weekend. Less for leg recovery and more for sleep recovery! Alas, it won't be so... I was up early this morning to get to the Y and teach Pilates, and I'm scheduled for early morning runs with friends for the next three days, then another Pilates. No worries though, I'm the queen of naps!
Oh the memories, Joe. I played in the little league all-star tournament a couple of years and managed to throw a few no hitters in the process. It seems like ages ago. I sometimes think about signing up for a 30 and over fastball league.
I don't know, I kind of like your scenery after all the clutter and sensory overload around here.
I'm with Sarah and Michelle on the club. I think you'd fit right in. And how fun to be able to run 3 marathons before December. You keep this up and you'll have more states than me.
YOU CAN DO IT!
MM#153
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