Resting easy

I chose not to run yesterday to help my recovery from this cold. There are few things I dislike more than a hacking cough but that's been my experience since Thursday. Yesterday my wife and I went on a brisk hour walk in the neighborhood and I wore the SRRs which seem to contribute well to the workout. I'm becoming less skeptical as I use them. I think less is more when it comes to running shoes but as a training tool they seem to be helping me strengthen my upper hamstrings and glutes.

My mother and her friend are our weekend guests and we're planning to head out for a hike after lunch. If I can't run then at least I can get some activity in. Tomorrow, if it's clear that I've begun to recover well, I plan to go out for a 5 or 6 mile run. If not I'll continue my rest. It's the longest I've gone between runs while not tapering for a race. Another day of rest will probably benefit me more than running right now.

Anniversary day run and 700th post

Today's run (street): 3.55 miles

Today is my anniversary so I took a vacation day and spent some great time with my wife. It's also the 700th post on this blog. I wanted to get a few extra miles in this morning because I skipped Tuesday's workout. With a little more time to run I had more opportunity to cover distance than I usually do on during the work week. This morning's run was very tough. It felt harder than an 8 miler in the July heat. I'm hoping that my experience had something to do with this cold that continues to plague me. I want to avoid the need to call this blog the Emerging Complainer so I'll just say that my legs felt like lead and my form felt unbalanced over the entire run.

I wore my Brooks GTS 10's because I wanted a little extra cushioning since everything that can hurt was hurting prior to hitting the road. It was a strange sensation when I ran. I felt that my stride action was numb and that my glutes on the right side (where I usually have an issue) felt extremely weak. I always vow to resume my core workouts when I experience these feelings but I haven't been good about doing that. I don't exactly why I'm having so many sluggish runs these days. You'd think the fact that I run most days would contribute more to continuous improvement. I know things will snap back into place once I get rid of this cold. Despite the difficulty of today's run I beat yesterday's pace handily so I know I can move along if I need to.  I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow for an activity because I am home on Friday and that will provide time for a longer workout. I'm hoping for less pain and more gain. I'll be happy with less pain (I couldn't resist one last complaint).

Morning pity party

Today's run (street): 2.25 miles

I don't often skip two days in a row but I've been fighting a cold all week. I usually run well after resting two days but this morning's workout was taxing. I'm thankful that my cold it isn't any worse than it is. This time of year whenever I  feel run down I worry that I have the flu. You'd think I'd get a flu shot. When I got up my legs were hurting in unfamiliar ways and I attributed it to cold induced body aches rather than running. My pains ranged from my ankles to my upper hamstring and included shin and knee pain. Since I hadn't run in two days I wasn't concerned that the pain was related.

Today's rain was just starting when I stepped out and for the first half of my run it remained a drizzle. It was far warmer than when I went out on Sunday but not too uncomfortable. Strong winds were blowing from the south as I headed out the door. My leg pain dissipated as I ran but my legs still felt heavy and my pace was ponderous. I was glad to be back on the road but I wasn't really enjoying the experience. It felt like I was running with ankle weights. The rain picked up substantially after ten minutes and running into stiff winds didn't help. I was anxious to get through the run so I could relax with a cup of coffee before I hit the shower. My overall pace was abysmal but I did succeed in logging my first miles of the week. My head cold remains but I don't think running did me any harm. I'm hoping that tomorrow's workout will be a better experience.

What do you want to see on emergingrunner.com?

New look coming

At the advice of my wife I decided to forgo my usual workout this morning. I suffered through yesterday with cold symptoms and worried that it would turn into something major. I got to bed early last night and it seems like the extra rest has helped. I still have some vestiges of a cold but my energy level is much better. I would have liked to run a few miles today with the SRRs to work out the residual soreness in my legs from Saturday's run in Northport.  Still,  another recovery day makes better sense.

#It's still October but I'm coming up on my second anniversary of "The Emerging Runner" that will happen on November 18. Including today, I've put up 698 posts to date, my first post being a tongue in cheek declaration that I'm a real runner. Like last November, on the site's first anniversary, I'm planning to give the blog a new look. My son thinks I should have a slogan for the site so perhaps I'll add one. If anyone else has suggestions for new features for the blog please feel free to write a comment or send an email to editor(at)emergingrunner.com.

Good timing for my weekly rest day

As energetic as I was on Sunday morning, today I am very much the opposite. Last night I began experiencing slight cold symptoms and a decided lack of energy. I'm hoping it's a quick cold and not the flu. After my bout with pneumonia in January I don't dismiss concern that easily. I didn't bank any sleep over the weekend so it could be weakness due to lack of rest. I put in some decent mileage over the last few days but I doubt that would wear me out to this degree. As expected, my calves are aching after finally getting over the shock of running up the James Street hill on Saturday. My office schedule is tight today so I need to get through that. Tomorrow morning I have to give a talk to an industry group and I'm concerned about losing my voice before then. I'll rely on lots of coffee, my time-proven  miracle drug, to get me through the workday. I'm hoping to be back to the road tomorrow,