Thursday, September 4, 2008

Ouch

My legs hurt. I did strength training two days in a row this week, which was clearly a mistake. As I hobbled around the office today, my legs were in more pain than they'd been in after my 18 mile run two weeks ago. This is probably because I took so much time off from exercise and then pretended I could pick it back up with full force. It doesn't work that way.

I'm supposed to run 6 miles tonight. And, for the first time in a long while, the weather is really pleasant. It's in the high 50s and overcast...perfect weather for an outdoor run...and here I am in a buttload of pain. What to do, what to do...

I just took a couple Tylenol, and I hope to at least walk/run my 6 miles after my lovely dinner of Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry (yum-o). With the ominous 20-miler coming up this Saturday, I have no room to skip workouts.

In other news, it is day 3 of the Lockdown. Angie successfully navigated her way through the "hot dog extravaganza" at her workplace today, and I turned down Nutter Butters from my grandmother not one, not two, but THREE times. That's dedication. Those things are freaking delicious.

8 comments:

Shena said...

I'm really looking forward to our run on Monday! The weather *was* really nice.

Anonymous said...

want some assvice from a lurker who's never commented before? i thought so! :-)

i did a half-marathon a couple of years ago, and the best piece of advice i got from my coach at the time was pure evil...but it actually worked: ice baths after a long run.

fill the tub with cold water so it'll go over your hip bones, then add a couple of bags of ice. sit in it, cursing your coach, for at least 10 minutes. 15 minutes is better.

i don't know WHY it helps, but it really helped my recovery after those long, slogging runs.

there. have a great run on saturday, whether you follow the unsolicited advice of crazy commenters or not! :-)

rb in la

Anonymous said...

p.s. is there a recipe for the sweet potato/lentil curry on your site somewhere? yum-o is right...sounds fab.


rb in la,
who, having commented once, apparently can't stop :-)

Anonymous said...

This past Saturday I did a power yoga class (for which I have a newfound respect) and my hamstrings were sore for days. Wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to run, but once I started the soreness worked itself out and it was fine.

Anyway, hope you got your mileage in. Keep up the good work!

Linden said...

HUGE KUDOS to your power! I know I could turn down Nutter Butters once, but thrice?! Amazing.

To follow up on rb in la, I also recommend ice baths! They are great!

Ice baths help for two reasons.
1) The gentle compression provided by the water increases blood flow, which in turn increases the movement of lactic acid out of your muscles, which helps you not to be sore. So why must this bath be cold and not warm?

2) Because the cold stops the injury from developing. Heard it on NPR: Read or listen to these reports.
Experimental Treatments for Spinal Cord Injuries
Injured NFL Player Kevin Everett Walks Again

(I'm also with rb in la: I'd love to see the recipe for the sweet potato/lentil curry!)

Anonymous said...

Hi Morgan,
Stacey here. Great to catch up on your news. I am so excited for you that Oct 18 is just around the corner.

I second what one of the previous poster said about ice baths. Take it from a runner and rugby player they do work.

Take care.

abby suzanne said...

Next time (or an hour or so before your run) try Ibuprofen over tylonol.

Anonymous said...

OMG That is soo funny "Day 3 of Lockdown" I LOVE THAT!!