New Kicks and A Bit Sore

So, when I said I wasn't sore on Monday, I guess I was lying.  On Monday, I took the day off to recuperate and clean some bathrooms.  But I also managed to get in a five mile recovery run - after I wrote my Monday post!  I went out into the drizzle and right away my legs felt like led.  I had no idea the toll those hills took on me!  Every step felt like I had five pound ankle weights on them.  Seriously though, until I walked out the door for that run, my legs had felt great.  I had worn my compression socks for almost 24 hours.  It wasn't my calves that were killing me, it was my quads!  I managed to finish the run at a decent pace and head home to roll, roll, and roll some more.
5 miles 39:30 7:54/mi pace
I was able to keep my pace pretty even and other than my legs feeling like LED, I finished the run and headed home for my date with my bathrooms.

Tuesday when I got home I waited for my hubbs to come home and hit the bike with me.  He hasn't had a chance to ride along side of me for a few weeks and I was really looking forward to it.  He is a great coach for me; he counts off my splits, reminds me of my form and breathing, and of course, in all his wonderful sherpa duties, carries my water!  I love that!  But right away my legs were tired again!  It was so frustrating because I hadn't felt it all day when I was at work, and I even wore heels yesterday.  I had on the schedule 8 miles.  For the first time in I can't even remember how long, I couldn't finish my scheduled miles.  We started our route, had an overpass hill to climb, started picking off my miles, but then I hit mile 3.5 and my right quad just froze up.  I couldn't take a step without it feeling just plain awful.  We were at least 2.5 miles away from home still, too.  So Ari decided he would give the run home a chance and we switched.  This sounded great to me, but I forgot one minor detail.  We had Lilly our puppy in the bike cruiser attached to his bike.  This adds almost 60 pounds!  I was struggling to keep up with him, which is pretty sad considering Ari runs an 9+ min mile.  I lasted about 1 mile on the bike and told him lets switch back.  I wasn't ready to throw the towel in just yet, and we switched back.  Needless to say Ari was happy to switch - he is a biker, not a runner.
Back on the road, my legs were still heavy, but not cramping.  That little brick workout was brutal!  I managed to finish up my run at a really decent pace.  In fact, my last .4 miles I rocked out a 7 min mile pace.  I just wanted to finish.  I was soooo bumed, so defeated.  I hadn't finished what I wanted to start.  The weather was beautiful and I couldn't manage an extra 3 miles.  Needless to say, that when we got home I rolled, rolled, and rolled some more.  I slapped on some biofreeze and we took Lilly to the dogpark for being such a good girl on the back of the bike.
5 miles 38:51  7:46 pace

This is Lilly in her bike cruiser.  Not her favorite place to be but she tolerates it!

I was really bumbed too, when I got home from work and saw that our UPS guy hadn't dropped off my new shoes yet.  I ordered some new kicks from Road Runner Sports with their big shoe sale and was anxious to try them out.  I am a real shoe whore right now.  I now have 5 pairs I am alternating in.  I just love new running shoes and I love switching them up everyday.  I have alway loved, loved shoes.  But it's said now, I am more excited to spend money on new running shoes instead of the lastes cutest new pair for Franco Sartos.  Ah, such the life of the runner.

My new shoes.  Nike Women's Air Max Moto 7- the Lance Armstrong version

I am not a huge fan of Lance, but I loved the yellow and you can't go wrong with your shoes saying LIVESTRONG.

Today I think will be a rest day.  I haven't had one in seven days.  And with my quad still tight and heavy, I think it would be best to cross train a bit.  I think I will hit the bike and work on my core.  I really need to get back to my usual sit-ups and push-ups.  I have neglected them with all my racing lately and I know that they will only help me more when I am tackling CIM for 26.2 miles in December.

Enjoy your Wednesday peeps, it's hump day!

Happy Running! :)