Day 4: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The good: Yesterday I ran the 5k and set a new 5k PR.  The PR is still soft, but at least I put more effort into the race than I do a typical training run.  It was good to see friends and the race and I met one of my friend’s newborn (is 6 weeks old still a newborn?)

Jess and I before the 5k  - we wore matching Queens 10k shirts because we're cool like that :-)

The bad: My train was delayed getting there and so I only got to 4.6 miles total yesterday.  I think in the future I’ll just budget overly excessive amounts of time.  I can always hang out in the park for a bit before the race starts if I get my mileage done.

The ugly: I found out that trying to run at 6am on a day following an evening race is just not the best idea. I woke up and my calves were incredibly tight.  I walked around my apartment a bit and tried to get them to feel better. I was very sore when I headed out but I was determined to get my 8 miles in.  I took the first half of a mile really easy and started feeling better, but around mile 3.5 I experienced cramping and pain in my calves like never before.  I took a walking and stretching break and continued on.  Eventually at mile 4.5 I threw in the towel and did a super easy walk/jog home.  I got to 5.8 miles in an incredibly slow time.  Lesson learned: the morning after a race just take it easy, don’t run, and try to do the run in the evening instead.

I took an epsom salt bath and did a lot of stretching/recovery yoga to help myself feel better.  I also did a lot of easy walking to help slowly stretch out my calves.  They aren't nearly as tight as they were earlier in the day.

I’m in the Catskills now for a fourth of July weekend with friends.  I’m actually organizing a mini 5k for my couch to 5k type friends.  It should be fun :-)  Mapping out the route this afternoon involved quite a bit of walking but overall it was a good experience.  I’m still trying to manage to get my weekly mileage to where it is supposed to be.  I’m 2.4 miles behind where I should be.  Maybe I’ll do those as an easy jog tomorrow while my friends run the 5k - or more realistically I’ll double check the route to ensure that it is close (enough) to 3.1 miles.  For some of these people this will be their first time ever hitting the 5k distance while running.