At 39, I ran my first race ever yesterday in D.C. (The First Annual Run for the Parks 10K). You guys were with me the whole time. I finished ahead of approximately 76% of the pack – 633 participants ran it. I started in the very back and I have to say, it was nice to effortlessly whiz by droves of people. I should have pushed myself a bit more (I matched my best training time approximately, but was off of my goal time by 45 seconds), but lesson learned. Next time I’ll race. 😉 I celebrated this morning with a half-marathon ‘fun’ run in the cold rain and finished that in under 2 hrs. without ever thinking about speed – just staying steady. Cold, wet feet and legs – not fun. My breathing never being strained – fun. Being able to run a 10K race and wake up the next morning and run a half-marathon – A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT OF FUN! Thanks Danny (and the gang).
Recovery Update: I feel fine. I had a little soreness afterward (left calf/achilles and a little soreness where the right foot was dorsiflexing). It was just so damn cold and wet I got to a point where my feet were numb (it had nothing to do with the Chi method) and I must have sprung off the forefoot a bit (somewhere around mile 9 and 10). I noticed the sensation coming back at mile 11 – that, probably having to do with the electrolyte tab taking effect. I initially thought the numbness was strictly sodium/potassium depletion – it’s always hard to remind yourself that you can get dehydrated in the cold and wet too. I then stayed hyper-conscious of my gait. I’m ready to run tomorrow. That sounds like a pretty good recovery time. The only other time I’ve had to sit out more than a day, since doing the Chi method is when I built my weekly distance amount up too fast (from approximately 25 to 43 miles in one week). That week I did a 20-miler and my feet shuffled through the last 5 miles of it and it put me out for 5 days. I keep telling myself that I have two choices, “gradual progress” or inevitable boredom on the couch.
Clinton H
