Erm.. recovery. Sort of.

So it's been a few days since my first half-marathon. I planned on not running for a few days, and I've stuck to my guns. No running for the first couple of days. My back was more sore than it's ever been post-run, but it's gotten much better. Almost no pain!

Though I haven't been running, I haven't exactly been resting. I don't know what the protocol is on these sorts of things, but my work can be very physical. Monday was an office day, but yesterday and today were field work days (studying forest canopy cover), which means lots of hiking. Today we did about 8 miles. I'm not sure about yesterday, but I'm pretty sure it was about the same. With scouting trails, getting lost, and carrying packs and equipment, it's no day in the park.

It's kind of funny, because after running 13 miles, my legs felt great - take away the soreness of my feet and my back pain (oh, just those little things?), I could have kept running. My legs never got sore. Give me two days in the field, and I'm aching! Anyway, the next to days are office days, so I;m planning on a couple of short runs for tomorrow and Friday. Sunday is my birthday and I'd like to treat myself to a long run! I'm planning on running my favorite 8 mile route :)

You should all head over to Tim Wilson's blog and enter to win a pair of Mizuno shoes, a tech shirt, or a Strands goodie bag! Not many people have entered, so your chances of winning are high, but you've got to enter soon! The giveaway ends tonight (6/16). Also check out Rad Runner's awesome Arnica giveaway!

That's all I've got for now. Happy running!

Lazy Sunday

I've accomplished very little on this beautiful autumn Sunday. I managed to motivate myself to get outside to run (something I haven't done in weeks). My body has acclimated to the easy-faux terrain of a treadmill, so it was nice to give my body a little bit of work, even in a recovery run, which today (finally) was. I ran a mile-long out-and-back.

Mile 1: 12:09

Mile 2: 12:26

Not bad considering I've only missed one day of running in the past 9 days, yesterday I ran 4 miles, I ran outside in week, and I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my lower left back. It was nice to be outside for a change, and I think my body appreciated it. The slower splits are likely a result of my relentless running this week, as well as variegated ground. I like it, it made me happy to get some sun. I also thought the run would help loosen up my back a bit. It did while I was running, but now I'm all tight again.

After my run, I showered quickly and went over to have brunch (their breakfast, my lunch) with a group of friends that I haven't had a chance to spend time with so far this semester. It was really nice, and we had a huge array of food (mostly unhealthy), but I rationed myself well. Even so, I'm still full.

Besides by run and brunch fun, I've literally done nothing today. I slept in (until 9!), lazed, ran, and spent too much time doing nothing with friends. It was so nice to see them though, so I don't care much about how my work will kick my ass this week. ALSO, one of my friends told me how great I looked! Hell yeah.