After Monday’s struggle, I knew I needed to really take caution for my next peak run so as not to risk injury. Luckily the two days of rest and rejuvenation I had on Tuesday and Wednesday were much needed. As for the muscle cramps, a friend suggested I may need potassium so I picked up some bananas on my way home that evening and started eating one a day. So far I haven’t had any muscle cramps since.
Tuesday I was so sore, I felt like I could barely get around without needing a walker. Instead of doing the cross training I was supposed to do, I did some stretching, breathing, muscle massaging and yoga. I think it was exactly what I needed because the next day, the soreness was about 90% gone.
On Thursday, my peak run day, I had done some research on stretching before a run. I came across a few articles about dynamic stretching. It’s different from static stretching in that it propels the muscles into an extended range of motion. If you do a Google search on dynamic stretching, you’ll find a variety of images that show what dynamic stretching is.
I decided to try some of them, making sure to stretch my legs out, even my feet and ankles. I also decided to do a longer warmup walk. I reduced my sprints from 3 minutes down to 2 and increased my recovery time to 3 minutes each cycle. I was able to maintain that for the first half of the run, but for the second half I cycled between fast walking and recovery.
I felt like I was back, and maybe not back to where I was before, but I was definitely in a comfortable place.
Afterward I was starving. I think my body was really just needing some iron honestly. I’ve been eating a lot of white meat lately and I think it was time for some beef. What did I do after my workout? I drove to the nearest Five Guys and ordered a bacon cheeseburger. It could’ve been a healthy indulgence had I not ordered the cajun fries to go with it, but it was so worth it (I’m not posting a food photo for those of you who are susceptible to food influence, but if you’re curious you can visit it here. It’s obscene–you’ve been warned).
Since then I’ve had 2 more workouts. Friday I did 1.5 miles and Saturday I did a 1 mile leisurely stroll with Izzie at a new park. Well, it was an older park than the one we usually go to, but it was new to us. Izzie is so observant. She usually knows that when I put on my workout clothes and take her with me (without her seatbelt harness) usually that means we’re going on a car ride to the park. She was so excited, she was already eagerly waiting to be let out of the car and we hadn’t even left home!
It was a small but beautiful park surrounded by mature houses. The trail was paved and somewhat neglected. It looped around a modern playground in a sort of clover-shaped path. I could picture myself living in that neighborhood, walking with Izzie to the park on weekends. Although it wouldn’t be conducive to distance walking, it would be a nice change for when all I need is a 1 mile easy walk.
Pretty soon we’ll probably start expanding our locations to other parts of the area. Carrollton has a decent parks and recreation division so I wouldn’t mind exploring other areas. It’s always good to discover new places.
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