Over the weekend, I had my last long run before we take on the Shiner Beer Run. It's hard to believe that we are leaving on Thursday! I had a 10 mile run on the schedule, and I was feeling really bored with the running routes/options in my area, so I decided to go run in my parents' neighborhood. My parents live just outside of Boulder, CO, and their area is an incredibly popular spot for athletes to train, but especially for road cyclists. I was so fortunate as a kid to have some of the best cycling routes in the nation literally right outside my front door. However, it was the first time I had ever chosen to take to these same streets equipped with just my running shoes.
I had a massage scheduled for 2:00 Saturday afternoon, so I knew that I had to get my run in on the earlier side for me, so by 9 am, I was chatting it up with my parents at their house, mentally preparing for running my all-time favorite easy bike ride, which is just over 11 miles total. It's amazing how an easy bike ride that takes less than an hour translates into a hard run that takes almost 2.5 hours.
It was BEAUTIFUL out on Saturday morning. Holy geez. I saw at least 60 cyclists, and 5 runners out there enjoying these last few days of amazing weather. Yes, you did read that ratio correctly. Like I said before, my parents' area is a mecca for cyclists, my dad has seen a great many international pro cyclists out on the road over the years. I remember that when I was in college and I would be out on training rides, I would see those brave few runners and think "damn, those are some tough, crazy people". I really hope the cyclists I saw were thinking the same thing about me Saturday morning, especially right around mile 9.5, when my feet swelled so much that every step hurt, and I was begging myself to not stop and call my mommy to come get me like a petulant 5 year old who has a bad play date. Instead, I just took a lot more walking breaks, and reminded myself that I got to eat whatever I wanted, AND have an incredible massage afterward. Somehow, food and a massage can motivate me to do just about anything in life. Maybe if I got paid in food and massages, I would work endless overtime at work and be thrilled about it.
Yeah, you're right... there are limits even to the power of food and massage. Apparently, these is no limit to my appetite after a long run, though, since I totally demolished an entire plate of Cafe Rio chicken nachos by myself for dinner that night. We didn't even know that was possible for a human to do.
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| From Pinterest... I was too hungry to take a picture of my food |
I also told Ammon that I was ready to go to bed at 6:45pm. Somehow, I managed to hang in until 9pm. It was a total miracle.
What do you do to recover after an especially long workout?
Way to go! Only a few more days until the race is here - eeeekkk!!!
ReplyDeleteFIRST OF ALL- I love what you've done with the place. Looks so good!!
ReplyDeleteSecond ten miles, you're totally hard core. I've been taking Shadow running after work, and I think we bust out maybe two? and I'm dead. I'm so proud.
ALSO- my old roommate was a cross country runner for UVU and she was so teensy and no one, I MEAN NO ONE could put away Cafe Rio like her.
How did the massage feel right after the run? Do you feel like it made you less sore? Or do you think it would have been more effective the next day?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing after a long hard workout is chocolate milk!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I usually crave french fries...
Someday I hope to be able to run 11 miles! The most I've ever done in my life is 6.5. You're amazing! But seriously? I laughed OUT LOUD over the nachos comment because Eric and I share them every time! And we both like food, a lot, but we can't finish those off on our own. So Cafe Rio nachos is the ONLY meal we share :)
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