Yesterday I went out for a second run in a row. I had the entire day to do it so I didn’t force myself to get up early and run in the cold. This, as it turns out, was not the best idea. So I decided to run after I went to the tax guy. To hold me over I scarfed a Clif bar and ventured out to receive the news (which wasn’t too bad). I took the bus, which to go to my accountant takes a couple of buses. On the way back I decided to take a little walk in order to only have to take one bus. After checking the schedule on my phone I realized I had to wait 25 mins which was ok as there is a coffee shop by the stop called Palio that has the best Mexican mochas I have ever had. Unfortunately they also have really good pastries and I found myself ordering a chocolate muffin with granulated sugar on top and a day old bialli covered with tomato sauce and cheese. They were all delicious and the mocha was still the best in Portland. It was only after I finished my bounty that I realized, Oh crap I have a full belly and I was going to go running. To top it off, my allergies go crazy this time of year (I blame the blooming plum trees) AND I am allergic to mil which I had in my mocha rather than soy (I have no idea why I did that).
I was not preparing well for a run.
I got home and piddled around for a few but eventually decided I really wanted to run despite my full belly. I geared up up and headed out. At first I was conscious of my fullness, but it soon went away and I found myself cruising along pretty well. As I got to the halfway point of my base runs I marveled at how nice it was outside. So in direct defiance of my promise to myself to take it easy I took the turn off for the longer run. The run was going really well, my lungs were doing fine and I felt great. I kept looking for the point when my body said “you are approaching the point of running too much, STOP!” But it didn’t happen. Perhaps a belly full of pastries and coffee is good running energy (I doubt it.) I then came upon Reed College and a headed up onto campus only to find myself doing an about face and heading off on my longer Reed path which ends up winding through the canyon. Once in the privacy of the wooded canyon, I even needed to remove one of my layers (which was of course the bottom layer) and tied my shirt around my waist. I continued through the canyon where I was later greeted by a chorus of geese and a lone crane. Everybody was enjoying the day.
Toward the end of the run I did feel a bit of pain in my hip again, more of a tightness. It occurred to me that I was getting a bit lazy in my form and that was the cause. So I refocused on lining up my body correctly and dropping my feet in alignment with my frame and the pain disappeared. The body focus I have established from practicing Chi Running techniques has really paid off and gotten me through a number of running problems, can’t say that enough.
During my cool down it seems like I finally getting past my back pull as I was able to stretch with ease. That night as I lay down watching a movie I went through my horizontal stretching routine and did my rubber band exercises as well. This morning I find myself a little sore and stiff, but everything seems ok. My back hurts a little, but I have a feeling that one I am up and moving around a bit I will feel fine. Hopefully you will be reading another post from me today about today’s run. We’ll see.