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| Drowning is Pretty Scary, I'd Say... |
Over the weekend I had the amazing chance to run a long run, back home in Indiana, with my very best friend in all the land who just happens to also be my best running buddy, too! She was doing her last long run in preparation for the upcoming Flying Pig 1/2 Marathon in a few weeks, and I was game to test this feeble ankle just so I could once more visit the Holy Grail of running...the double-digit long run. Since we haven't run a long run together in forever (lest I forget that harrowing 5K from a few weeks back wherein I managed to run a PR while WALKING on 3 HOURS' SLEEP while DEHYDRATED) so I was more than happy to spend the miles talking, laughing, and...yes...gossipping about all the people we know.
I wasn't all too certain how my ankle would feel about this deal since the longest I've run in the past few months is just a paltry 6 miles at a time. However, any runner worth her mettle knows that your mind can take you twice as far as your body when it's completely distracted by girl-chat. Word? I was more than happy to go the distance and was elated when I got out of the shower to the first signs of.....LONG RUN BUTT PAIN! You can have lots of different sorts of pains...from sitting-to-long-at-work pain to driving-all-day-in-a-car pain, from I-did-too-many-freaking-lunges pain to I-just-mowed-the-yard-with-a-push-mower pain. However, there is nothing sweeter to a runner than that tell-tale fatigue, the utter exhaustion of a butt well-used over 10 or more miles. And when you haven't felt that pain for a few months, you'll welcome it right back home with open arms like a prodigal son returning home. Trust me. You will.
I left Indiana pretty happy with myself for 1) accomplishing everything I set out to do while I was there (i.e. driving all over God's green earth to see everyone I needed to see) and 2) doing a long run. Upon my return to the Peach State, much eating of Chinese food and merriment ensued as my reward before it was time to put down the chopsticks and hit the pool.
Since I had not been in the pool in almost a week, I knew I needed to get my scantily clad self back there to put in some laps. This triathlon is quickly approaching and I am, well, let's just say...unprepared in the water. Now there is an understatement for you. But still, I realize my deficiency so to the pool on Monday it was. This gave me all day Sunday to rest and recover, and my butt was feeling awfully proud and pretty fine by the time Monday night pool time rolled around. After about 30 minutes of swimming like a fish (read here: struggling to not drown while still appearing to look super athletic) I felt I'd warmed up the water enough with all my strokin' and hit the showers. All-in-all a pretty easy evening.
And I kept feeling all positive and perky about my swimming prowess all night long. But then....I woke up Tuesday morning. Apparently not swimming for an entire week after you'd already worn those swimming muscles in will set you back....back to that butt pain you had when you first started. Maybe it was the lingering fatigue from the 10-miler or the 3 easy miles I jogged on the treadmill before swimming (and yes I said J-O-G...sometimes it's perfectly acceptable), but either way, my muscles were speaking to me on maximum volume. Throughout the day, things didn't improve much at all, probably all that pesky sitting I tend to do as a ssssshhhing librarian. All I know is that by the time my easy 4 miler rolled around on my training schedule later that evening, there was absolutely nothing EASY about it.
So, tonight it's back to the pool. I'm counting on minimal muscle soreness tomorrow instead of a replay of Tuesday. Here's hoping, anyway. It's time to get this swim endurance thing taking care of so I can kick some Irongirl Booty come May 20th!
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