Clearly, having my hair done yesterday worked wonders on my pace
as the miles flew by and I ran like lightning (that’s if lightning speed is
around 9 minutes, 47 seconds). Granted I
only had my hair trimmed (can’t risk not being able to get it into the crazy
ponytail/bun thing that seems to be the only thing that will keep it under
control while I’m running), but perhaps it’s the luscious color or the
perfectly texturized layers that made me drop like a minute off of my recent average
pace and got me back closer to what felt like a much more fluid stride. While
it’s possible that it has something to do with my rested parts and
significantly lower weekly mileage, I like to think that it’s at least in part
due to the fine work of my amazing friend/hairstylist who has kept me laughing
and my locks looking as good as they possibly can for the last zillion years
(thank you my friend.. what would I/my hair do without you??).
I was loving the weather this morning during my run (cloudy, cool
and no wind – small miracle!) and, thanks in part to the return of the magic tape, experienced less aches and pains than on
Monday. The only exception was a nagging dull ache in my hip which I think is from compensating
for my knee and/or foot recently. The interesting part was when I realized that
I had fewer miles to do and could give speeding up a whirl, my feet and knees
felt better which I’m guessing means that I’m jacking up my stride when going
more slowly because things hurt… such a vicious cycle!!
I’m trying to counter
some of the funky stuff going on with my joints and muscles by upping my
rolling & yoga in hopes that it will help work some of the kinks out before
race day. I can say for certain that the
rolling for sure works small miracles each and every day despite sometimes
bringing tears to my eyes (not the happy kind… the kind that arrive when
something really hurts but you know you must carry on despite the pain and
suffering) and the yoga seems to help as well despite the fact that my pigeon
pose is still so very angry and not the least bit “happy”… at least the
instructor on my Yoga for Runners DVD doesn’t make us chant like the instructor
who told Bendy she was “such a happy little pigeon” did (I can’t help but tease
her about that… she can bend like a pretzel while balancing a glass of wine and
carrying on a conversation so she totally deserves and can handle it!).
Today’s photo is taken from the end of the pier/dock thing that
partially encircles the waters at Aquatic Park (I made it big so you can sort of make out the Ghiradelli sign on top of the brick building).
It’s got great views of the city, the Bay and Golden Gate bridges and Alcatraz
so if you’re looking for a different perspective on the sites, I highly recommend
taking a walk out there. It’s located at
the base scary hill that I’ve been running up and is part of the race course so
if you want to work off the yummy Ghiradelli chocolates and work up a sweat, take a crack at the hill but be sure to avoid
the tourists who often fall over when trying to dismount their rented
bikes at about 1/3 of the way up (it’s really steep and I would totally do the
same thing… actually, I’d probably fall over well before the hill as biking isn’t
my strong point.. especially turning and stopping.)
15 more training miles and 11 days to go…
7 miles, 1hr 8min 35sec, Avg 9:47 (see? like the wind!!)
Cheers,
SF runner in training
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