Just Let It Be Over

Everyday isn't going to feel great. Today was just one of those days. I could tell that after yesterday's double runs with very little recovery between the two that for whatever reason, my legs just weren't bouncing back. They felt dead the rest of the day, and when I tried to fall asleep last night, I had trouble sleeping because they were bugging me so much. Nothing localized or anything, just general achiness (sp) and restleness.

When I woke at 5:30, I wasn't looking forward to the 17 miles that I was planning on running, but I was determined to get it in. I do a lot of my mid-week runs as part of my commute into work. I live 23 miles from work, so if I want to do a real long run, I will just run door to door. That works good from a mileage perspective, but you have to run through some very shady areas on the way in and there are no drinking fountains on the way in either. Normally I would just bring a few bucks with me and stop at a gas station for some water along the way, but truthfully, I don't really feel safe even stopping in a store in most of the areas. If I'm in motion, I'm OK. If I stop, I feel like I could be a target. So I stay in motion..and usually end the run very thirsty. I also have a 17 mile route that I do more often, at least once a week and sometimes twice a week. This one I take the train for a little while and then run about 8 miles on the roads, and then another 9 on the Lakefront path which gets me into work. This one is better from a logistical standpoint, because once I'm on the lakefront path, the drinking fountains are plentiful and the threats of gunshots go way down. I also like it because once I get off that train, it's basically no turning back. It's either run the 17 miles into work, or die trying. Sometimes I can't give myself options. I also have a 9 mile route, where I take the train even further and it lets me off right at the lake, where I pick up the tailend of the 17 mile route. That's my favorite and the one that I get to do least often. It get's tough to coordinate running into work too many times during the week, just because I need to bring clothes and food in the day before and plant them in my locker at the gym and well, all that work just isn't worth it for a 9 mile run.

So today, I did my 17 mile route. It was one of those days that I needed to have no options but to gut it out and finish the run. My stomach was giving me problems and my legs were sore and I generally just wanted to be doing something else. But I finished and actually my overall pace of 6:40 wasn't too bad. Hopefully, I'll bounce back from this one better than I did yesterday, as I would like to do some tempo work tomorrow before I leave on a camping trip with the family for the weekend. This running thing is easy. Camping with a 2 and 3 year old. Now that requires endurance.