Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A good run today, but what have I done?

Maybe I should have thought this out
Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

Despite having my Garmin GPS, heart rate monitor and foot pod on my run today, I felt like a purist. That's because I chose not to use the metronome app. Instead, I tried to meet my targeted cadence only by feel. Like the old joke about hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop, today's run felt extra peaceful without all that beeping.

This change seemed to pay off, as I hit 87 SPM just by focusing on a brisk cadence. I felt some awkwardness in my gait for the first 20 minutes of the run, but still achieved a mid-9:00 pace in the process. I'll take that for now. I think I understand how much harder I'll need to push to get more improvement.

Things have gotten busier in terms of work and I spent much of the day on my laptop. I did take a break before lunch and got a flu shot a the local pharmacy. Although the CDC claims that flu shots don't make you ill, last year I felt very run down a couple of days after getting mine. I really hope that was just a coincidence. But if I have any bad workouts later in the week, I'll know what to blame.

5 comments:

  1. I haven't been running with my music lately and when not doing speed work, I forego my low tech watch as well. It truly is liberating, I agree.

    Flu shot season already? How long did you feel run down last year? Hopefully, just a day or two. Maybe I'll wait until after my marathon to get mine. I hope Walgreens gives you a little compensation for the free advertising! :)

    Is your Oyster Bay race a Halloween race? Will you dress up?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walgreens does not deserve free publicity. I ended up waiting 30 minutes for the shot and it was administered in front of three people who were also waiting for theirs. A far cry from when I'd get them at work, in private and with no waiting, at my company's medical dept.

      The affect of the shot last year was a mild headache, soreness at the the injection spot and some running fatigue during the next two days. You'd be fine to get one now.

      The TOB Supervisor's 5K is on Oct 19. It's not connected with Halloween. However, according to my wife and daughter, the way I dress to run on a normal basis constitutes a costume.

      Delete
  2. I have heard of, been witness to, and experienced overwhelming anecdotal evidence that the CDC is full-o-crap on this one. I always try to plan in some rest days after flu shots. I also avoid Tylenol and all other acetaminophen products as they are rough on the liver--they same organ just kicked in the teeth to generate an immune response.

    But that's just an ICU nurse's perspective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well you should know!

      I never take acetaminophen because of the potential for liver toxicity. Fortunately, I can tolerate aspirin and Ibuprofen and I always take the lowest recommended dosage.

      I'm going to try a run today but I'll go into it with lowered expectations.

      Delete
    2. That's smart, when my wife tries to push some Ibuprofen on me, I always insist that I intend to destroy my liver the old-fashioned way!

      Delete

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