Return to the Lakes

I made it out for my long run this weekend…7 miles. I have now run that distance 3 times in my running life…if all goes according to plan, pretty much every week's long run for a couple months will be the longest distance I have ever run! I am increasing slowly though, only half a mile a week with some cut-back weeks factored in.

I went down to the Lakes again…haven't been there since my snowy run in late April. But, I was thinking that the Calhoun/Harriet loop was the perfect distance for my scheduled run, so why not? I was up pretty early, so I made it down there before it warmed up too much. It felt much better than my last run there. Of course, last time I wasn't really prepared for that distance. It wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected - I guess maybe since it was early still.

Then this morning I thought I would attempt a 'recovery run'. I usually have the day after my long run as either off or XT, but I want to add in a 5th running day. I went out on a loop that is just over a mile in case I decided it was a bad idea…but at my turning point I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to keep going and extend the run to 2 miles. Turns out this wasn't too smart - I should have stuck with the 1 mile. Just over a mile into the run my legs started hurting. My legs typically don't bother me during runs - I get some minor shin splints after runs sometimes, if I am increasing mileage/speed etc, but not usually pain during a run. It is nothing serious, just some soreness I think. Anyway, I pushed through to the end of the run and my legs feel fine now (except those shin splints of course). I guess I will have to watch that post LSD run and keep it really short until I know I can handle more. What do you do the day after your long run?