Fall?

First of all, last hard, high mileage week complete. For my PR marathon in 2006 I had my highest mileage week ever then, of 63 miles. This morning I did 5 miles , and has been the case after every long run so far, ended up feeling really good and averaged an 8:41 pace. I tell you, Endurox R4 recovery drink works. I have had it after my long runs and feel good enough for a good run the next day. Even when the long runs are done harder!! Anyway, that 5 miles put my mileage for this week at 68. I ran everyday. And since I ran last Sunday, that's 8 days of running...I think my body is ready for a rest.

After my run yesterday I decided it was time for a quick stop at the farmers market because it's mid-September and my favorite apple had to be in season by now...Cortland's. A MN apple, the only thing I really look forward to in the fall...and no, they aren't quite ready. Maybe next weekend, but not even a guarantee on that. We did have a late spring after all. And when the person at the stand mentioned that, I remembered that too and was even more upset about the color changes we noticed in the leaves on our run today. Yes, we are experiencing normal conditions for this time of year in MN, but we had a cold winter last year, a crappy winter, and a very, very late spring...don't we deserve a bit longer summer??? Don't get me wrong, I don't want summer conditions marathon day, 3 weeks from today, but I don't want fall yet when we were cheated out of spring! But such is MN...and at least we are in football season right? And I was able to get a different apple, Zestar, a newly developed one, developed right here in MN at the University of Minnesota that are pretty good...so it wasn't a total loss at the farmer's market.

Another sign of fall...homework time.

Fall is Definitely Here

Yes, I do realize that fall has been here now, officially, since Sunday, but last night, I ran and I ran naked again (meaning no watch, no Garmin, no MP3) not actually NAKED and I noticed how much more fall has shown up and it makes me a bit sad. I do think that the fall colors are very pretty, don't get me wrong, but, living in Minnesota, I know what comes after the leaves fall off, and not being a fan of cold weather, well, you see where I'm coming from right? Fall is bittersweet. It's pretty, and the cooler weather again, after running in the heat and humidity of the summer, feels nice, but it's also leading to cold, and in Minnesota, extreme cold! And snow, which yes, can look pretty, but makes commutes icky and running treacherous. I like the warm. Spring is my favorite, a time of renewal, of growth, when the rain is great because it brings the green and new flowers etc...in summer you have warm, warm days and humid, sultry nights, when being outdoors in a tank top and little skirt is fine (or if you're adventurous, a skinny dip, and no, I wouldn't know from experience on that...except that one or two drunk nights, and remember, I do live in a city!)....the days are long, you can run almost any time and not have to rush home to get it in before dark...and I see if Spring is rebirth, well, then you can think what fall and winter are...

I did get my run in last night. Everything seemed to be OK again, still not 100% but much better than it has been. My glute still isn't making any complaints, which is a miracle in and of itself since that has been my biggest problem area recently. My hamstring was a little tight still, but my shin never acted up either. My knee was having a bit of an issue again, so when I got home, I iced it, I stretched (downward dog, upward dog, pigeon pose, laying on my stomach and pulling my foot with opposite hand to stretch the quad), I did stabalization moves, I'm doing anything and everything I can to keep things feeling good and get them to be better. I have a few other exercises I plan to incorporate back in too (was wondering if they might be part of the tight inner abductor so I stopped them for a few days). Hopefully it will keep progressing. I'm working on a plan for things for the next few months, including a race that has been in my mind for a while....