Working out the kinks

Last night I went for my first run since my 5K race on Saturday. My legs felt rested and I was anxious to get back into it.

Oh let's be honest: I was only supposed to rest on Sunday, but Monday I felt lazy and figured I'd "treat myself" (read: excuse for laziness) to another rest day since I worked hard on Saturday. Well Tuesday flew by and I was thinking up yet more excuses for putting off my run another day. Around 4:30 I had an inspiring talk with my sister and decided it was the kick in the pants I needed to get back on the wagon. So I headed home, changed into the first remotely-athletic clothes I could find in my living room (brand-new running pants from weekend shopping, wrinkled t-shirt and mismatched socks) and headed out the door.

It felt amazing to be back outside, the wind in my face, as I got my Couch to 5K iPhone app going. After walking for about 3 minutes I realized my shins were incredibly tight. This is fairly remarkable considering I had not one iota of shin pain during my race, but I suppose the strain was there and an extra day off didn't help matters.

I kick into high gear and start my run section, which was 28 minutes (this would have been im-freaking-possible back when I started the program). I run on a gorgeous trail around a wooded pond in my neighborhood, and it brings me such joy. Last night, however, the trail was a mess. Ever since the leaves fell off the trees a couple weeks ago, they have collected in dense patches and kept the ground damp after rain showers. This makes for a muddy trail in sections.

Picture the scene: Here I am, happily bobbing along in my new running pants, jamming to my music, and *SQUISH* go my sneakers into a muddy patch. I hike up my pants and tip toe through that section, and resume running. Run run run *SQUISH* You get the picture.

After about a mile I realized I could not keep this up. Between dodging the mud (which was rapidly collecting on the bottoms of my new pants, curses) and navigating in increasingly diminished light, I had to abandon ship for safety reasons. I dislike running on pavement because it's harder on my knees, but my only option was to head off the trail and jog on the sidewalks back home. Also, my neighborhood is HILLY. But I ran every single blessed hill, because if I was going to give up my much-loved trail I was going to embrace the cursed sidewalk. It was slow going but I ran out the duration of my 28 minutes that way. My shins were absolutely killing me by the end. Hopefully now that I've worked them out my legs will be better for the next run.

On a positive note, my lungs were workhorses and felt super strong the whole run. The first time I checked my timer was 17 minutes into the run when I had to head off the trail, which is a vast improvement over my usual 8 minute check (and then subsequent, mildly panicked 3-5 minute checks after). Even though I still run slow as molasses, I'm happy with my progress so far in terms of strength and endurance.

I'm planning on a nice, crisp run tomorrow morning in a fruitless attempt to launch a preemptive strike against Thanksgiving calories.