No pain, no gain?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Distance: 4 mi. (run/walk; outdoors)

Monday was a rest day. Yesterday wasn't scheduled as one, but turned out being one when I woke up feeling sick (just sinus/cold/sore throat stuff). My body told me I should sleep instead of getting up at 6am to run, so I listened. I knew today would be hard after two rest days, but I didn't anticipate how hard.

My calves felt (and still kind of do feel) like tons of tiny hands were squeezing every muscle fiber. Starting the run was hard because I was wheezing from my cold-like symptoms and it was uphill. (My usual "from my front door run". Did I mention I live at the bottom of Nob Hill and therefore have to run uphill for several blocks before it evens out and descends again?) Continuing the run was harder because of aforementioned pain in calves.

I've come to some conclusions. 1) I'm not getting proper nutrition. I've been reading a bit today and will pick up some things at the grocery store tomorrow to make sure I'm well stocked on energy sustaining and recovery nutrients. 2) I'm not stretching properly after my long runs. Sunday I ran the longest I ever have: 8 mi. (I figured out it probably was right at 8). Afterward I stretched only a tiny bit before getting on the bus to head home and then leaving home for a friend's for dinner. Big mistake. And one I hope to not make again. My calves are still rather tight, but I'll take a long, slow run tomorrow to give them a break. Maybe flat, too.

The moral of the story is that I need to keep educating myself when it comes to training and nutrients. I was reading a book today and it said the most important question when training for a marathon is "How should I train?" The second most important is "What should I eat?" Lesson learned, I hope. Oh, also I'm popping the multi-vitamins, Glucosamine (for joint flexibility), and Omega 3 (fish oil for inflammation and recovery; the bad thing is it makes your burps smell and tast like fish... gross, I know). Anything I'm forgetting?