yeserday's results and a long run

My time yesterday ended up being
......6th in 20-29 age group.....56th overall........20:47.7......6:42/mile

I am very happy with that. The winner ran a 15:28. I still have a lot of work to do, but considering I am still in the bottom of my pyramid, I have a lot of miles to put in before I start getting crazy and going for time.

I debated with myself on whether or not to do a long run today. In some parts of Galloway's book it says not to do a race the same weekend as your long run. In other parts it shows 5k races the same weekend as the long run, but never more than a 5k. I would love to alternate the race with it, but sometimes you have to work with what you've got. Normally I would put in 12, but had decided last week to cut it to 8 because of the race. Still I was hesitant, but it was a beautiful day out and much warmer than it has been.

This morning the hamstrings were tight. They seemed to continue tightening until a rather familiar feeling came around. Soreness. It has been a while since my legs have been sore. The late may 10k I did last year blew up my calves, and earlier in september when I started to run again the legs were somewhat sore the first few days. But this was a definite hint that the hams were at their peak and running should be light today. So I started off with a slow 8 mile goal.

Lap after lap around the complex, the miles kept building. The ankle is still little tender. I was thinking during the run that a few days off would be the best for it - and my hams. I keep going. Each time I make it around to the incline I have to work the tight muscles again, and I slow down each time. My breathing was good, not great, but good. I made it around to 7 miles. I still felt like I had more air in me, so went another lap around. It felt good to keep going, I'm glad I did. Today I also worked on form. I know the long run isn't the time for that, but I figured it couldn't hurt. That made the run feel better too.

So I finished it up and my toe is sore. The toenail that still hasn't healed from way back before the summer is back growing funny again. It is bruised under the toenail reddish purple, and there are small blisters around it. Luckily this didn't bother me today, and I can't tell it's there when walking.

My hams are still tight now, but it is a good feeling. I didn't go too fast, but kept my conditioning up, so that was the main thing. Later this week it is supposed to rain. If it does I'll have a few days off. If it doesn't I'll put in easy days. Right now I'm hoping it does, then I can have some good rest for these muscles and my ankle.

8(9.5) miles. 64 degrees. silver