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Running Weekend

Humidity Sucks 10-Miler 
How is it Monday already? Didn't the weekend just begin? At least we had that time change finally. I am not really happy about it getting dark so early, but at least it won't be pitch black until 7:15 in the mornings now. Always a trade off I suppose.

Saturday morning we got up planning on a 10-mile run. While I understand Jason's desire to take it slow on Saturday mornings, as in sleep in, watch cartoons, eat a leisurely breakfast and THEN go for a run, sometimes waiting bites us in the butt.

It's hard to believe that a week ago we were wearing sleeves and capris for our half marathon. This Saturday I had on shorts and a sports bra as it was steadily climbing into the 70's. And the humidity was 97% with a front coming through. So it was hot, humid, windy. And the sun was out in full force too. Gorgeous day for sitting out and enjoying, but not so much for a 10-mile run.

I decided to give my new calf sleeves another shot for a run. So that certainly didn't help with the heat. My legs felt so heavy from the very start. And we kept letting the speed creep up too fast. I don't know if we were both just subconsciously wanting to get the run over with or what. But we were hitting close to half marathon pace repeatedly.

We stopped at mile 5 because I had to re-collect myself. I stretched my legs, took my GU, and tried to refocus. Humidity just zaps me. Plain and simple. We got going again and ended up making a quick stop at our house at mile 7 to get more water. There was no way I could finish another 3 miles without getting more water in me.

After the quick water break, we headed out again to finish the last 3 miles. I do think the brief break helped, and also knowing there were only 3 miles left. Those were probably the best of the miles done that day.

We both got in and went into recovery mode. Stretching, rolling, all that fun stuff. I cleaned up and put my calf sleeves back on and then we headed out for lunch. We opted for Pizza Cafe because we could enjoy their patio. It might have been the last patio day for a while as the weather has cooled back down again.

My sister was in town meeting a friend. So we ended up joining them for a glass of wine before heading back home. Then we ended up playing pool for several hour Saturday evening. We hadn't played in ages. Usually I'm too lazy to stand around and play pool even though the table is just sitting right there in our house. Sad right?

All in all, it was a really good day. It's hard to beat a nice, relaxing patio lunch and being able to spend some time with your sister.

Sunday Fun Run Day
Sunday morning I got up and met up with my friend for a run. The plan was 4 easy miles, but it ended up being 5 (fast for me) miles. But a really really good run. It was only about 50 degrees (huge difference from the previous day), low humidity, and sunny. I felt so much lighter and energized. You'd think after a 10-miler I'd be too tired to run again. But I felt great.

I felt great enough to keep up with A's pace. My first mile was my slowest and it's mostly because it was all up hill to get to where we were meeting: 9:04, 8:33, 8:28, 8:26, 8:37. I just went with the pace rather than try to fight it. It felt good, never incredibly hard. I was working, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't struggling.

I did not wear my compression socks or calf sleeves for the run. And don't think I'll use them for running in again honestly. Each time I've worn them my legs have felt horribly heavy. I asked my friend if she felt that way and she said yes.

So, after our zippy 5-miler, I got home and stretched out and rolled then put on my compression socks for the duration of the day. For the first time in about a year, my feet are not tender after a run. Is it the compression socks or coincidence? Not sure, not going to question it, but I'm going to keep on using those socks and sleeves after every run now.

How was your weekend? Did you take advantage of the time change and get some extra sleep??


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