Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Perfect Mornings

Lots of running lately.  Been exploring some new routes around town and keeping up with the regular outings in Rock Creek with Rob.  Hopped in a 9k cross country race, a 10k here in DC, and a 5k up in PA over the last month.  Having a blast.  Things with work and wedding planning have been absolutely nuts, but when I can get enough sleep I feel pretty great.  Just some very minor issues with PF in my right foot but nothing like last summer.  Even that improves the more time I spend in minimal shoes, and the more I pay attention to proper down time.  There's a caveat, and it's that I can't just go out willy-nilly and expect things not to hurt the next day.  If I exercise a base level of awareness and avoid certain movements (which I'm convinced are just bad habits - motor patterns I've lived with for years) then things are fine.  This is just neuromuscular retraining, kind of an awesome topic that I've been geeking out about a bit, and it reminds me of certain ideas in more popular threads like Chi or Pose running, or even more recently - some of the stuff Matt Fitzgerald has been putting out.  Been talking a lot about getting to the track but the most I've been able to do are hill repeats, which are comparable.  But I miss the simplicity and regularity of the 400m oval.  Soon.

Yesterday AM, explored Charleston, WV on foot.  Somewhat cool but very humid morning left me drenched upon return.  Only saw one other runner, by the Capitol complex.  Charleston's landscape is ruled by the appurtenances of the chemical industry - tanks, rail yards, stacks, warehouses.  A 2x3 array of barges drifted down the Kanawha River as I strode against the wind along a cracked concrete path.  Harkened back to mornings of floating along the Delaware River in Port Richmond where I'd see enormous barges of trash and the occasional freighter.  Yesterday's barges were much larger and full of coal.  Gmaps says 8.2, but I feel like I was moving a little quicker than that.

Haven't done a full pavement run like yesterday in a good while, as there are so many trails and dirt paths around DC that they're almost hard to avoid on runs.  This morning I'll try the run commute to Bethesda again, along some virgin trails (to me) and a balance of sidewalk.

These mornings have been absolutely perfect.

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