Recovery Sunday

Rest and Recovery: I need it.  Yesterday's workout was fun and challenging, but I feel spent.  It didn't help that I stayed up late watching a movie either.  I could've used a better night's sleep.  I also noticed yesterday, after the last run, that I was feeling a bit of congestion in my chest.  I wasn't sure whether that was an artifact of the exertion or if I'd caught the bug that I'd been avoiding catching from the rest of the family.  I now think it's the latter, though I may have knocked my immune defenses down a little with yesterday's intense exercise.

Today is the last day of a mileage cutback week.  Friday's and yesterday's runs were hard; yesterday's especially.  The 5K repeats, as I call them, were almost the same total distance as my longest long slow run last weekend.  Now it's time to start increasing the long runs to start tickling the 20-mile mark.  Since I'm leaving the running shoes by the door today, I'm left to run future routes in my mind to get my daily mental fix.

I've really come to love MapMyRun for just this reason.  I like mapping out different routes near home and near work, and then exploring the terrain, virtually, using 3D applications like Bing Maps and Google Earth.  I check out the different satellite images on Yahoo, Bing and GoogleMaps.  With MapMyRun, I like to see if someone else has already mapped out and shared routes, looking for comments and ratings.  Without a GPS-aided tool like a Garmin Forerunner, pre-planning my new runs with these Web-based mapping applications has become essential.

Every once in awhile, though, I like to just head out and see where my nose takes me.  Sometimes I'll even leave my watch behind and just rely on feel.  To know me is to realize this takes a lot of effort for me to do because I love to measure and analyze and calculate.  If I could get dials and gauges implanted in my forearms to read out my vital signs, I probably would.  Yet unstructured and unplanned runs often turn out to be some of the most enjoyable.  And I can still get my analytical jollies by reconstructing the run afterwards using the mapping tools.

Since I won't be running today, I'll probably just review my plans for long runs scheduled for next weekend and the weekend after.  I'm leaning toward a 1-way run to the coast again next weekend.  Last week I ran to Encinitas.  Next week, I think I'll run to Del Mar, and maybe to the foot of the big hill at Torrey Pines that's the back-breaker in the La Jolla Half Marathon.  The bulk of the run is downhill to sea level, so I don't expect the 17 miles to be a big worry.  It'll also be a mere 5% increase over my last long run.  I'll do it if Joan can come pick me up.

The other option, or the one I'll save for the weekend after, is the big circuit around Lake Hodges.  I'm eager to try this one.  I dreamed it up a long time ago, before I'd even broached half marathon territory.  At over 18 miles, it seemed impossibly long to me then.  Now it feels within my grasp, and I've also resolved the portion of the route that I wasn't sure was passable.

After those two runs, and then a cutback week with a 15K race, I'll move onto the middle stage of training, and start to enter the 20+ mile zone.  I'll think about that when I get closer.  For now, I just want to enjoy mentally rehearsing these next 3 weekends.

4S Ranch to Del Mar
Lake Hodges Super Loop
Black Mountain Open Space Trail Run