I’m on the losing end of a fight with a head cold. It’s been awhile since I had the sniffles or anything like that … since mid-January to be exact … when I was stressing about the Manhattan HM. This one came fairly suddenly. I felt fine on Thursday and even most of Friday. I figured the 16-miler on Saturday would work out whatever was lurking within. I figured wrong. All the classic symptoms bubbled up Saturday night … chills, sinuses tightening up, cough, etc. Despite being a planned rest day, Sunday was miserable. The combo of being sick and the cold, wet, raw, rain … although my message was terrific. Consistent with my head colds, from the neck down I am good to go. Therefore, a quick run this morning was never in serious jeopardy.
My only concern waking up was the rain. I guess you can always get sicker, but I figured if I dressed properly and made it a quick jog, I would be better off than letting this thing fester inside. Luckily, there was no rain mixed in with overcast skies. Therefore, I hustled out for a mini recovery and hill work. It was a recovery in the sense that I had not run since the LR on Saturday. I timed yesterday’s massage perfectly. The masseuse was phenomenal. Since I am a runner, the legs were the emphasis and I got beaten for 50 minutes. I knew my quads were tight, but had no idea that the hamstrings were also like rocks. I think I do a decent job of stretching, but the cumulative effect 2-3 years of miles since my last massage was evident. I actually heard my hamstrings popping as they were getting worked over. Also, today my right quad just randomly vibrates. At first I thought I had my phone or blackberry in my pocket, but I didn’t. Very bizarre stuff. We’ll see how the next couple months proceed, but I won’t get another massage until right before NYCM training begins with more regular trips thereafter.
With all that as backdrop, I headed out this morning intending a very short session. I have no intentions to dropping a 45 mile week after two weeks of 21.7 and 30.8, respectively. I’ll build back up slowly, but surely. After a brief 2-mile warm up, I headed to the hills for hill repeats. I’ve learned my lesson about sprinting when I have no idea what I’m doing (sorry, hip). Therefore, I found a hill with a long, but steep incline where I could focus on maintaining proper form while having to put in some work. If I were to guess, I ran at about 75% of a full sprint … quicker than interval training, but nothing insane. I emphasized pumping the arms and aligning my knee caps to the sky … a vertical line. After each repeat, I walked back to the start and stretched. These felt much better … 6 total. I worked it, but don’t believe I injured myself. Including a brief cool down, a total of 4 miles.
Lastly, a few shout outs at some amazing performances over the 7 days:
Bridges Runner – Boston Marathon (3:46)
Me But Fitter – Madrid Marathon (4:03)
Pig Tails Flying – London Marathon (3:48)
Runnin’ Down a Dream – More Magazine Half Marathon (2:37)
Congrats to you all! Bravo!