I felt I was moving at a rabbit’s pace but it was more like a rabbit on a turtle’s back or something: I ran 8.1 miles in Central Park this evening at a surprisingly slow 7:49 pace. No one passed me but I guess the half pizza I ate after yesterday’s 20.04 miles–with its sodium and my high liquid intake (meaning fluid retention)–made me heavier and slowed me down a lot. Post-run, I weighed close to 180 lbs., so I guess that confirms my theory. But regardless, though I started this week on Wednesday, I crammed in 50.67 miles this week. Incredible, especially considering I feel pretty damn good! Here are my deets for today’s run:
Injurywise, I suppose what’s to report is what I didn’t experience. I think yesterday’s ice bath made quite a difference on my legs … that, and maybe sleeping in compression socks … because this morning I felt NO PROBLEMS with my legs! They felt great! It really is unbelievable. The only thing physical to report for today’s run was … heartburn. The pizza was coming up a bit.
The temperature was 74 and pretty cool, though given my sweating a bit more than yesterday the humidity probably made an impact: It was about 70%. I kept pretty even splits despite being so slow. I even picked up the pace toward the end, mostly because I was trying to catch a guy just ahead of me. I could tell from the beginning I was pretty slow because I was listening to The Flaming Lips’s album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which I’ve synched to the course, and I was far behind where the songs usually change. Without a physical explanation, I reasoned the pizza I was lugging, along with retained fluids, and maybe a little bit of muscle weariness, led to the slower speed.
I’m drinking a protein shake I made. I also took a couple laxatives to speed things up inside. Tomorrow is a rest day and I will take advantage of it. Hopefully the rest of the week will let me continue to train with considerable mileage.
EDIT: I’m taking Naproxen 500mg, but not just before my runs. I’m on Day 3 today. I just read that fluid retention may be related to taking naproxen, and I was noticing a little flab under my arms that I thought would be leaner in light of my running. I’ve also had some digestive surprises I won’t go into, and maybe shallower breathing (seen when I run). So, is naproxen interfering with my running and explaining some of these results? It’s to be seen.