The long run

OMG. I'm excited.  I think it's coming back...  The long run.

As I put in my last post, I just love the long run.  The clarity that my mind gets after 6, 8, and more miles.  It's a trippy experience getting there, mind you, but eventually, everything goes away.  It's one shoe in front of the other, and I can just go.  Seemingly forever.

So, last Sunday, I was scheduled for a long run.  I went for it.  My previous long run of the "modern" era (read: the last 8 months) was 6 miles.  A painful 6 miles.  Knee acting wonky, no cardio sustainability. Bleh.

I went for 7.  A 5 mile out and back, followed by a 2 mile out and back.  I said, if the knee acts up, I can pull it in to 5 miles and still have something decent to write down.  5 miles went strong, so I went up the hill (what asshat puts the hills at the end of the run?  Note to self, fire route planner.  Err.. Well, plan better at least)..

I got those 2 miles done.  They weren't the prettiest, as I was feeling generally worked pretty hard.  However, the knee stayed together, the cardio was working for me, and they got knocked down.

Fast forward to a week later...

Bam!  Same route done, but stronger.  Tacked on a little extra too.   No pain that night, and just general muscle tightness in my legs the next day.

Granted, 7 isn't an ultra marathon or anything, but I am stoked.  Stoked, stoked, stoked.

I'm cutting back the miles this week for a few reasons, but it coincides with a recovery week.  I am doing my damnedest this time around to train smarter.  Thus far, knock on wood, it seems to be working.

I knocked out P90X legs & back tonight.  Minus the pullup bar, but it was a good insane set of leg exercises.  The weather is unseasonably warm (50 degree weather at the end of January?!?  That's 20 degrees warmer than normal), so I really hope to get out there tomorrow to do some sort of run.

Keep on rockin'...