It was a glorious 6 mile run today for my step back week. I felt extremely accomplished by getting out of the house at a reasonably early hour and to my running location. I decided to run at a nearby reservoir today where I haven’t run in quite a while. In the summer months there is very little shade there and it’s further away from the coast. Therefore, it tends to get really hot in the summer.
Run recap
The distance around the “lake” is just under 5 miles but it’s perpetual, so you can just continue running to add as many miles as you want. There are always a lot of runners, walkers and cyclists in the morning on the weekends. As a matter of fact, if you get there after 7 A.M. you may have trouble finding a parking space, even though the lot is pretty big.
I had no problem finding parking today, yet the path was full of people. It seemed like there were more runners than I’m accustomed to seeing there and a lot of them were in groups. I think running clubs and cross country teams practice there regularly. It really made the energy come alive though. Runners were warming up by the picnic tables and the restrooms and talking and laughing. It really gave the area a lot of positive energy and excitement. It had a hint of a race atmosphere which really helped me enjoy my run even more today.
I really love my weekend long runs. They are so peaceful and centering. The goal of the long run is to build endurance and not to go fast. My focus is on going slow enough to keep my heart rate in my aerobic zone which means my breathing should be relaxed. It should not be exerting and hard. If necessary, walking is an acceptable means to keep the heart rate in the right zone. I haven’t needed to walk yet but I’m not opposed to it as the mileage grows longer during my training.
My Coros watch tracked my run at 93% in my aerobic zone and an average cadence of 176. This fell perfectly within my base run zone. It helps to listen to an audiobook on these long runs. This way I don’t get caught up in a song and have the temptation to pick up the pace. I’m a couple of hours into Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire right now.
Back pain update
A big part of why my runs have been so enjoyable is that I have finally gotten rid of the pain in my low back. I have to credit my favorite Internet physical therapists, Bob and Brad for this one. They are the most famous physical therapists on the Internet, you know (in their opinion of course). Famous or not, they are awesome and have helped me so much through my running aches and pains.
This video caught my attention when I was trying to find help for the recurring and relentless pinch in my low back recently.
I tried the position and followed their instructions to get up slowly and walk around a bit afterwards.
It was like a small miracle! The pinch subsided and I was left with barely a residual ache. By the time I woke up the next morning I had zero pain or pinching. Now, if I feel like the pinch is starting to slightly grab again, I perform this position for a couple of minutes and it goes away immediately.
I’m still looking for a resolution to my tight hamstring and numbness in my pinky toe and big toe. It doesn’t stop me from doing anything but I certainly don’t want to exasperate it as my mileage and intensity increases. I’ll report back when I find a solution to that one. Hopefully, it will not involve a doctor visit but I’m not opposed to that if necessary. I’ll start with my friends, Bob and Brad first. I just haven’t had time to do proper research yet.
Nutrition
I vowed to myself not to eat out this weekend. The past two weekends I’ve eaten takeout food on Saturday. Last Sunday I also had a heavy breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants with my husband but I paid for that indulgence with a feeling of bloat and fullness for the remainder of the day and three extra pounds on the scale all week.
The pounds will come off but I did not like the bloated feeling. So, I prepared better this week and went grocery shopping on Thursday instead of Saturday. I prepped my food ahead of time so that I can quickly grab my lunch when I’m hungry instead of needing to prepare ingredients. So far, I’m succeeding and I feel a lot better.
Workout
- 6 mile long run at conversational pace