13 miles!

I joined a new Fitness List Serv at CDC and through that found a small group running at Stone Mountain on Saturday. It's 5 miles all the way around, so we went around twice with a small group of women runners. We did a 3 minute run/1 minute walk interval, and it went really well, especially since the course is pretty hilly in parts.

I learned quite a bit in my group run. First off, someone had my GPS watch, the Garmin 305 Forerunner, and she told me how to set my watch to beep at my desired run/walk intervals. This is a huge weight off my shoulders since I don't have to calculate the desired time to run and rest. If you are familiar with my math skills,  you know what a good thing that is. It also keeps me from having to look down and pay attention, which is especially nice when I'm running with the dogs, holding the leashes.

I also found about a great website podrunner.com where you can download house and techno playlists that are designed for runners, FOR FREE. Still have to figure out how it all works, but I really need some new running music for those runs indoors and when my long runs are not with groups.

Since the run around the mountain was only 10 miles, I needed 3 more to complete my goal. So I drove home and finished my run with the dogs. They had been so disappointed when I left in the morning with my running clothes, so I was happy to get to take them out around the neighborhood for 3 miles, though I was very tired that I wanted to cut it short.

My legs were pretty sore and tired after this run. I hope I haven't over done it...I hadn't done my 11-12 mile run 2 weeks ago, so 13 miles was kind of pushing it. But after taking 2 weeks off for my ankle, I was eager to get back on schedule. After having my amino vital recovery drink, a clif bar, and some chocolate milk, I stretched for about 20 minutes. After showering, I wore my Zensah compression sleeves which are supposed to help with recovery. My legs were pretty sore, and as this was the only time I've ever done 13 miles for a training run rather than a half marathon, I wasn't sure what to expect in the morning.

This morning, I woke up and my legs were kinda sore at 6 when I got up to feed the cats. I went back to bed, and when I got up at 10, I felt pretty good. I've been hungry all day though, so trying to balance a desire to lose some weight before my Hawaii trip and my need to eat to make sure I'm recovering well. I credit the run/walk intervals that kept my legs fresh even when I wanted to give up on those hills (and the pace of the group that was faster than I would have gone towards the end).

Glad next week's run is only 7 miles. Next long run is March 6, in Hawaii, and is supposed to be 15-16 miles, so we'll see how I fit that into our trip. We're going hiking on a military base which should be lots of fun, complete with kayaking that I've been wanting to do for a long time.