Road to Recovery

This morning I elected to sleep in a bit and go for a walk instead of attempting to meet my buddies to run.  My legs just weren't up for it. 

I woke up about an hour later than I usually would on a Tuesday (getting up at 5:45 instead of 4:45).  Threw on some shorts, a regular bra, a cotton t-shirt, socks and shoes.  I added my heart rate monitor and watch, and I used a new "sweaty band" in my hair to keep it out of my face.  Didn't even bother to put my hair in a ponytail.  And I set off for a walk. 

I'm actually a big believer in recovery plans.  A coach I had years ago convinced me of the importance of following a plan.  It's easy to just feel like you're done, and plant your butt on the couch for a week (or 5).  Since I'm usually sore, I feel like I'd have a really good excuse to do that.

But most recovery plans help you feel better sooner than just sitting around.  And since I have 2 more fairly big races (an 8-miler on Thanksgiving, and a 5-mile relay leg during our local marathon), sitting on the couch isn't a good plan for me. 

So my plan today had 3 miles on it -- walking or running.  Most recovery plans seem to be similar in that regard.  They don't care at all about pace, they don't care at all whether you're running or walking, it's just that you're out there moving.

I set off for my 3 mile walk.  And wouldn't you know it, within a mile, I wanted to run. 

So yes, I was that woman who looks like an idiot out there on the trail -- running with my hair down, my chest fairly unsupported, my cotton t-shirt getting soaked.  Oops! 

Since it was actually fairly uncomfortable to run b/c of my hair, my chest and my shirt dampness, I didn't run much, but it wasn't my legs holding me back, which was nice.

By running, I actually mean jogging slowly, but it felt so much better than I expected.  Particularly since my quads are still really sore.  I can feel it whenever I try to stand up or lower myself down (particularly to a toilet, which is way lower than my bed or my desk chair), and when I go down stairs. 

It's good to know my legs will be coming back.

There was one other major comfort factor -- I looked at the marathon results online today for my division.  Out of hundreds of women in my age group, exactly TWO qualified for Boston.  YIKES!  I didn't need to qualify since I can use my Boston time from April (but I'm actually not running Boston in 2012 or 2013), but it was shocking to see how few people (and by that I mean two) qualified.  Usually at a race, there are at least dozens, even in an age group with only a few hundred people.

The weather was clearly bad enough to bring everyone down. 

But that doesn't mean I'm not still pissed at the San Antonio weather gods!!