I’m not sure what I expected when the alarm went off at 6am this morning. Subconsciously, I must have assumed that the stunning weather we experienced over the weekend would just continue. I probably should have checked the forecast. Not that the result would have changed the plan or anything. I was a bit bummed when I was greeted with darkness until nearly 7am (well into the run). Then reality finally hit me. Today (and much of the week) is expected to be overcast with a chance of rain. This morning it was foggy (dreary) for most of my run with a few droplets following me inside when I finished up. Enough with the weather report …
The run itself was nondescript. I harbored a bit of apprehension about the sore left quad. I rolled it out with this for most of Saturday and Sunday:
Kind of old school or MacGyver or budget, depending on your point of view. Nonetheless, that thing worked wonders. It’s late afternoon and I have not felt any of the normal stiffness from a morning run. We’ll see tomorrow whether the rolling actually achieved its intended purpose. At the time I had no idea if it helped. With that in the back of my mind, I set off for an easy run around the bridle path. I changed direction to a series of counterclockwise loops. I worked on form as I approached the very modest hills. I’d like to get the physical and mental approaches down to being second nature. Instead of “Aw crap, another hill,” to “Yes, another opportunity to blast off on the decline.” The quad was less sore than Saturday, but I did notice it for the first 4 miles. I’m not sure if was a matter of loosening up or shortening my stride, but eventually the annoyance subsided. I finished up (8 miles at 8:50 pace) and immediately when home to roll the quad again. Rumor is that the Armory is closed tomorrow. Therefore, I’m not sure where our Tuesday interval session will be held. I am holding out hope for indoors to provide added cushioning. Even if we are back in the park at night, I’ll have had all day today and tomorrow to rest the quad. Throw in a Wednesday rest day and another Thursday night run and hopefully that rest pattern is enough. With a race scheduled for April 3rd, I want to go in at full strength even if that means cutting back a bit this week. Everyone has nagging injuries, but if I can nip this in the bud it would be solid.