Long Run Leisure

On Thursday I posted about how awesome it is to be a third of the way done with my training plan. I thoroughly enjoyed my rest day Friday. I took it easy at work, went out to lunch with coworkers, and really did nothing of consequence Friday night. It was wonderful!

Saturday was a little crazier. Every summer our neighborhood has a community yard sale. This year the weather didn't cooperate and it was misting and overcast all morning. We still took a chance and put out all the junk treasures we had to offer. Shane's parents also set up with us. Between getting up at 6 am, setting up all our stuff, and sitting in the drizzle for hours I was already worn out. Shane took the opportunity to advertise our race to all the people browsing plus the local churches and businesses that were offering food and refreshments for the bargain hunters.

Ash and 'baby' at the park.

When Shane returned I went to get up from my chair and something in my left knee popped. I almost fell over and caught myself on the edge of our table. There was no pain but I knew something wasn't right. I waited a little bit longer before doing my scheduled 8 miler. It was supposed to be at marathon pace but I ended up running 5 miles pretty slowly and then doing the last 3 near tempo pace to come out almost at marathon pace for the average. My knee was still stiff and a little tender last night. After everything I gave up and went to bed at 8pm. I guess I needed it because I slept for almost 13 hours!

Today I felt better and my knee was stiff but no longer aching. I figured I'd give my long run a try. My husband kindly agreed to take Ash grocery shopping with him while Gem stayed and played at home. Being that Gem is 7 she can easily entertain herself for three hours so this worked out well. I hit the treadmill and decided to break the run up into 4 mile segments. After each 4 mile portion I took a Gu and drank about 6-8oz of water before starting the next one. It helped me stay fueled and hydrated but it also helped me stay aware of my knee. After slowing down my knee would be stiff again and it took me 2-3 minutes to loosen it up. It never gave me any pain though or I was prepared to shut it down and miss mileage for the first time this cycle.

After I finished (in 2:54:49), Shane had already put away the groceries and made gnocchi for lunch. I wolfed down my portion and then drove down to the corner gas station to pick up some bagged ice. I had a feeling the 4 trays in our freezer wouldn't be enough today. Our hot water tank went out a few days ago and the new one is like super-powered or something. Even when our faucet is on fully cold the water is still warm. Even with 7 lbs of ice I only shivered for a minute before the water started to melt the ice and I warmed back up.

Yeah, I rock the Disney princess wash cloth!

Luckily, the ice bath seems to have done its job. My knee is no longer tight or tender. I took 2 Advil after my ice bath and then focused on rehydrating and staying moving. We took the kids on a walk to the park where we played for about an hour. Dinner was a quickly thrown-together pulled pork BBQ, corn on the cob, and salad. It's really amazing how quickly the weekends go now that my long runs take up a significant portion!

Do you take ice baths? Why or why not? And how do you stay connected with family and friends when you're devoting significant time to training?