Sunday, October 5, 2008

Oct. 5: Test 1, Test 2...Test, test...

It has been one week since the Berlin marathon. During that week I have doing zero exercise, eating rich Bavarian food in the German countryside, and hitting Oktoberfest in Munich for the mind-warping 1 litre + beersteins. So, today I decided to stretch out the legs a little just for a little test run to assess how things truely are.

I ran 3 miles at an average pace of 7:53 min/mile. (I am glad that this is my first run after the marathon or I might be a little concerned!). Both of my little-cows (calves) were burning from the beginning, which was not a surprise since these babies were the first to go in the marathon! I did not have any pain in my right leg shin, which prevented me from running for the entire 2 weeks prior to Berlin (talk about a taper!).

It was good to feel the fresh wind on my face, light rain, and the fact that I was back in Paris! Believe it or not, I did not even look at my Garmin during my run!! I know, hard to believe, but I was running today because I WANTED to, not because I felt compelled to. I found that about 3-4 weeks before Berlin running was starting to become a bit of a chore...I find that I feel this way near the end of all intese training seasons. So, I will be taking the next couple months to give my body and, more importantly, my mind a break before the next goal (I think I already know what this will be, but I am going to try and enjoy Berlin just a little while longer before I move on! I will wait until I have to dust the finisher's medal before I look to the next horizon!)

Sadly I find myself alone today. Jennie is in Italy with her parents and my 2 virtual training partners have already returned to Houston. I already miss them and wish I could rewind a week so that we could hang out together all over again! They are 2 of the best drukens I know!

A+

No comments: