Thursday, October 24, 2013

New routes, calf tightness and a new look coming soon!

Tuesday, October 22nd
52°,  SW 3,  85%  H,   UV 0,  Dp 48° 

I didn't jot down any notes about my Tuesday morning run, so I'm having a hard time remembering the specifics. I ran less than 2 miles. The sun comes up later, and my scheduling has gotten tighter again. And I wasn't really feeling it.  After the 5k race in Oyster Bay on Saturday, I was supposed to go out to Selden on Sunday and run with the Hillbilly Warriors. But later on in the day on Saturday, my calf began to tighten up again. I foam rolled, stretched my back out, and tried my best to relax. At the same time, however, my sister set me up on Wordpress, gave me the 'keys' so to speak, and I sat on my ass all day and learned as much as I could. That lead to more tightening, headaches, eye strain and the like. Needless to say, Sunday I was even tighter, and decided not to risk straining the calf again by running 6 miles, on hills, no less.  So, the logical thing to do (not) was to stay home on my ass all day again and delve into the creative aspect of my new blog site. After 6 days, it's almost complete, and should be debuting shortly. And my calf is feeling better too.


Thursday, October 24th 42°,  W 10,  72% H,  UV 0,  Dp 33°


This morning was a whole different animal. I watched a video featuring Karnazes running in Greece. That inspired me to finish my coffee as quickly as possible and get out there and try to run as effortless as Dean looks when he runs. Once outside on this beautiful October morning I noticed just a wee bit tightness in my lateral gastroc head - but it eased out during the short walk to the end of the block that I usually do for my warm up. 
My goal was 5 miles.  I tried to keep my heart rate under 150, then under 160 and finally gave up and just ran.
I really need to find and run different routes. I find that running elsewhere really motivates me to get out there to begin with, and gets me to stay out running longer. 

AND I'M TIRED OF ALL THE CARS AND EXHAUST.

In my attempt to change things up a bit and get away from the main roads and traffic, I started running down the smaller roads in my neighborhood. I came across this gem.

























Downhill, with Hempstead harbor in the distance. Sweet. I didn't take that route, but one day soon I will. I imagine after running Selden on a more frequent basis, these local hills will be akin to speed bumps. At least that's what I'm hoping. Seldens hills are long and steep - the hills I have here locally are shorter distance, and variable in elevation.



Another 10k is coming up in less than 2 weeks. I've got to start getting runs in on both days over my weekends. I'm going on a wine tour with my friends at work on Saturday, so I'm hoping to get out on the roads early and be ready for the bus at 10:30am. Less than moderate drinking and a good nights sleep that day, then a drive out to Selden on Sunday morning early. At least that's the plan.

11 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you sister! Have you stopped by the new site yet? I'll email you later.

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  2. I notice that Karnazes doesn't drive himself to the running site. Is he more relaxed as a result? Also, men have more muscle mass than woman allowing them bigger strides and more stamina?

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    1. Yeah, but I don't think I'd drive myself around in Greece either.. I'd prob take a cab! Or a goat.
      He just looks great running.

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  3. Sounds like a solid plan. Good luck and I hope the calf behaves!

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    1. Thanks, Gene - I'm hoping it does too! I visited your site.. I didn't know there was a trail running mag.. I'm going to read some it online before I decide if I'm going to order it.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Good plan! Have you been drinking enough water? When my calves are sore and nothing works, I find that drinking just a bit more water helps. You may not be dehydrated but you could be close and sometimes it makes a difference. I love the neighborhood pic, it looks like such a cool place to run.

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    1. As a matter of fact, Flower, no, I have not been. I'm notoriously bad where that is concerned. I'm trying to drink 64 oz a day. I did yesterday. Today I have to drink 32 before bed.
      Thanks for the compliment on the pic. YOUR run over the bridge was glorious! I'm glad for you about the cooler temps. What a pleasure that must be!

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  5. Running the same streets over again can become tedious. I try to mix up my neighborhood routes but there's only so many combinations of roads. You neighborhood looks more interesting than mine : ) Looking forward to seeing the redesign!

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    1. That's right, ER - it IS tedious. I'm hoping to continue to trek around.. I've got plenty of streets to run. Saturday I think I'll venture further north and west.
      The site will be up soon!

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I appreciate you taking the time to read my musings! Thanks for commenting!