We had to do 18 miles this weekend (someone said afterward it was more like 19). It was to be a comfortable run, but 18 is still a long long way. The weather was warm with us starting out in the mid 60s. My ankle was bothering me most of the time and I tried to ignore it, but it finally took its toll causing me to slow down. I pretty much ran by myself. We left downtown and ran north to Ladera Norte which is a very hilly road, but just as we got there our course map skipped the hill and had us return to downtown. So although the course was called Ladera Norte, we didn’t really run that particular part. During the first half or so I tried to catch Belle and John Z., however at about 12 I just let them leave me behind since I had to go slower than them. At one stop Coach Karen asked how my ankle was and all I could do was laugh and say I’m making due. Near the end I forced myself to run the entire thing and I finished in 3:14. Afterward several others said that it had been a tough run. In the Annex I did my foot exercises and stretched my legs, but they were quite tight and throbbing. When I got home I sat in a cold water tub with all the ice cubes from the refrigerator for 20 minutes. I sipped on hot choloclate to keep my inner core warm as I read a magazine to kill the time. Then I took a hot shower. Overall I’m not damaged, but these past two weeks have been a challenge. My left hamstring is aching.
For the past few weeks my heart rate monitor needed a new battery so there hasn’t been any graphs, but this week I finally got one and here is my heart rate.
