Taking a Victory Lap

The goal after the marathon was to take a full week off with no running. It didn't happen. I knew it probably wouldn't, either. I did give myself a good five days off, though, before I started feeling like I was getting a little too lazy. Let's face it, I was getting way to comfortable sleeping in til 9 or 10 am and I needed to get some exercise. Because of that, I decided to go for my first little run, or as my good friend Dave Dexheimer calls it, "a victory lap," last Friday. How did it go? It was five miles and pretty typical of a first run, post-marathon. Very slow and somewhat achy. Still, it felt nice. Nice to get outside in the cool, Fall weather and breath in some fresh air. Nice to stretch the legs out and get the aorta pumping. Nice to feel like I was doing something worthwhile. It was a nice "victory lap" in that it allowed me to reflect on the hard work I put in leading up to The Whistlestop and how that hard work translated into one of my all time best performances. It's fun to savor those memories in your first run back. My friend Dave is right, you have to take those "victory laps."

My second run last week was on Sunday morning. It was also a five miler and this time my legs felt like they had a little more pep. Where Friday I just ran a conservative 8 minute pace, Sunday I was back to doing a comfortable 7:37 pace with no real achiness in the legs. Tomorrow I am looking forward to doing my first run around Lake Monona since October 5th. It's supposed to be one of the best days of the week tomorrow weatherwise, and I want to take advantage of it. Plus I just want to see how my legs will react to a longer run, especially since I am planning to do a 15k race this coming Sunday here in Madison. I know it's probably a little crazy to be racing so soon after running a hard marathon, but I'm just not quite ready to acquiesce and put away my racing shoes for the year. Plus, I have always kind of liked the 15k distance... not too long, not too short. And it will also be nice to race again in this beautiful October weather we've been having. Snow and cold will most likely be coming soon which makes it a lot tougher to race. Mine as well enjoy it while I have the opportunity, right?

Friday's workout: 5.1 miles > 40:42 > 7:59 pace

Sunday's workout: 5.1 miles > 35:50 > 7:37 pace

Miles last week: 10.2