I Hurt All Over... But NOT In That One Spot!

Good news, guys -- I ran today and my leg didn't hurt!

I mean, it hurt in the normal way of being tired because you're using it, especially when you went to a yoga class yesterday that focused on legs, but not that one place that it's been really hurting for a week. So I call it a win.

There were a lot of things I noticed/thought about/realized today during my run, so this post is probably gonna be relatively piecemeal. If you like bullet pointed lists more than flowing paragraphs, this post is for you.

• I like running with people.

Natasha, my running buddy for the day. She got some compliments on her awesomely bright shirt.

When I go running with people, I feel much less like I'm exercising and much more like it's a social event. I push myself more because I want to keep up with them and I enjoy the time because I'm spending it with someone. As some of my grad school friends would point out, this is the extrovert in me coming out for sure. I have many friends who probably like running because it's an excuse to be alone...

• Saturday mornings are more interesting than weekdays at the Rose Bowl.

There were a couple hundred recruits running together and chanting as they went.

And a police car announcing them and trying to make jokes.

Lots of little kid soccer games to watch.

Horses. 'Nuff said.

There were also some UCLA kids training for triathlons. We saw them getting off their bikes and changing into running shoes, and even saw one girl kinda wipe out as she was transitioning. 

• However, I think I might like going on weekdays after work better.

And this is why.

Yes, my car had been sitting in the sun for 90 minutes, but also EIGHTY-TWO DEGREES!? It was probably a few degrees colder outside, but that's too warm. When I go after work, the sun is going down, so the second half of my run is completely in the shade and the world is cooling down anyway. Not so this morning. That might be enough to deter me from running on Saturday mornings in the future. 

• I should probably eat before I go running. And bring water with me.

In a lot of ways, I really enjoy working out first thing after I wake up. The problem is, that usually means I don't eat before I go. In some ways, that's good because I don't get sideaches from food; but also that means I haven't put any fuel into my body in many hours, which isn't necessarily ideal for running, and especially for long runs. All that to say, perhaps it would be a better choice not to run in the morning?

• Apparently my legs like my old shoes.

If you can't tell, they're the ones on the right. My poor new blue shoes must feel neglected since nobody likes them.

I don't really have a serious problem with this, but I do worry/wonder about what will happen when the red shoes get worn out. I bought the second pair so I wouldn't have to stress about finding shoes when I needed them in case I was busy or something, but now I don't know what I'll do if I can't wear the old ones anymore, since my Achilles/calf doesn't seem to like the less worn in ones. Hopefully Lydia the trainer has some suggestions...

• And finally, I'm not in awesome shape, but I'm actually not doing too bad.

And I still have some time! Today, Natasha and I ran/walked the first 3.1 miles in 37:47, then I did another 1.3 mi in 18:58 (which included stopping to say bye to Natasha and walking part of it, and then finished the whole 6.1 mi in 1:26:03 total. I probably ended up walking about half of the 6 miles, but that's pretty good considering I only really started running 2 weeks ago, I had run once in the 9 days previous, and I was trying to take it easy on my leg. I'm not 100% where I'd like to be, but I'd say I'm doing pretty well given my current situation.

And I have 10 weeks to improve. Hopefully my leg will decide to cooperate.