Bruised Ribs

So, the ribs haven't gotten much better since Monday. They're definitely bruised pretty good. Not exactly a comfortable feeling, especially when trying to sleep at night.

However, today's run was encouraging. A very good amount of discomfort at first but it dissipated significantly as the run went on. Hopefully the same will hold true for the 50-miler on Sunday. I'll just hike up my big boy pants and deal with it, but I suspect I'll be fine.

Funny moment at the end of the run. A former cross country runner who graduated two years ago was on a run and approaching from the opposite way, yelling my name at the top of his lungs when he saw me. I was excited to see him also, but was not about to embrace him in the big bear hug that he was about to give. I yelled "Bruised ribs!!" at least four times while pointing to my side before it sunk in and he lowered his arms. Whew.

Pace is guesstimated as Kate has my GPS watch but I know the distance is accurate.

Ran 6.2 miles @ 7:55/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Slightly hilly.
Mid 50s, overcast, humid.
Saucony Virrata, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

Case of the Mondays

Pretty meh run today. I think I definitely bruised a few ribs yesterday stuffing cardboard boxes into a tall container, only to have it slide out sideways and I fell with it. My right ribcage landed on the edge of another container pretty hard.

Not a big deal. It has a dull ache that I didn't feel any more than usual when running and it feels better than yesterday. Still, a bit distracting. Plus it was humid out and I was just plain tired from kind of a long day. None of that added up to much good, apparently.

A bright note though, stopped at a stream and watched trout hitting hatching caddis flies on the surface. Despite running past this stream literally hundreds of times, I haven't fished it yet. Might have to soon after seeing that.

Rest day tomorrow, per the taper. Yep, I think I'll go fly fishing.

Ran 3.8 miles @ 9:48/mile pace.
Trails.
Very hilly.
Mid 70s, partly cloudy, humid.
Saucony Kinvara TR, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

Cathance Trails

Great fun today over in Topsham. Kate and I headed over to meet up with Ryan. Kate graciously offered to watch his daughter so we could run and we hit the trails at the Cathance Preserve.

Ryan is pacing me on the final 15.5 mile loop of my 50-miler next weekend at Pineland, so we talked a lot about goals and strategy. Stoked to have him running with me, I know he'll get me going in that final loop and not let me slack.

The run itself went awesome. A little over nine miles at a solid moderate pace. Legs felt great. Afterwards, we headed over to Oxbow to sample a few barley sodas and purchase growlers. Then we met up with Danielle for sushi. That hit the spot.

Day off tomorrow from running. Gone fishin'...

Ran 9.2 miles @ 8:56/mile pace.
Trails.
Moderately hilly.
Lower 60s, partly cloudy, breezy.
Saucony Kinvara TR, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

Wheel and Run

Yesterday, I wheeled a 5K course for a race that'll take place this morning. We knew the course, but I wanted to make sure we put the start and finish lines in the exact right places. Once that was done, I ran it.

All in all, pretty uneventful and not very exciting. Looking forward to a trail run with Snowman later today. He's pacing me for the last loop at Pineland next weekend, so that will be a prime topic of conversation for sure. 

Walked 3.1 miles @ 18:34/mile pace. 

Ran 3.1 miles @ 7:32/mile pace. 

Paved roads. 

Slightly hilly. 

Upper 60s, partly cloudy. 

Saucony Virrata, shorts, short sleeved shirt, cap. 

An Introduction to Chi Running

My good friend Jeremy needed some guinea pigs. He's about to become certified as a Chi running instructor and was looking to practice coaching the technique, so I happily said yes when he asked if I'd be interested.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I did it more to help him out, but walked away with a lot of information that has the wheels turning in my head. It all just seemed incredibly logical.

I'll continue to experiment with what I learned for sure. It's not easy and requires practice, but at the same time it seems quite natural, as contradictory as that sounds.

Oh yeah. This was my first real road run since Boston.

Ran 2.5 miles @ 8:44/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Moderately hilly.
Upper 70s, partly cloudy.
Nike Waffle Racer VIII, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

Rail Trails and Brook Trout

Ran from the school today for the first time in a while. For the past month, I've been opting to just head home and run the trails from my house since they have more to offer. That being said, was looking forward to changing things up a bit and hit the rail trails from work.

Had planned on eight miles but was feeling good so opted for ten. Run went well with a loose progression throughout. Legs are feeling great, looking forward to the 50-miler in a week and a half. Main goal is to break my PR on that course (8:23:37), which should be doable. Will go for a sub-8, which I think is possible but I'll need a good day.

On a totally non-running related note, had a really good day fly fishing yesterday. Caught four brookies. After I caught the one in the pic below, on the very next cast I caught a 14" one that put up a good fight. Decided to take that one home for dinner. Quite good.

One of the four I caught, this one using a nymph imitation.
Despite how the pic may look, my grip was quite gentle. 

Ran 10.4 miles @ 8:19/mile pace.
Rail trails.
Slightly hilly.
Lower 60s, partly cloudy to overcast.
Saucony Kinvara TR, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

Recovery Run in the Rain

Woke up at dawn (4:30am) and decided to be a bit productive. Got a lot of work done on the portfolio for my creative writing class, the equivalent of our final exam. After that and a couple of Americanos, I laced up and hit the trails.

Pace was very easy, though I was pretty amazed...and pleased...at how my legs felt after yesterday's long run. Legs only felt a wee bit tired and there was no soreness at all. Still, kept the pace very slow and just enjoyed it.

Light rain had just began when I started and picked up to a moderate fall. Then at about halfway it ended. I was hoping for rain during the long run yesterday, but nice to get it today. Feels good to run in with it being warm out.

50.2 miles for the week. Still planning on very light running the next two weeks leading up to Pineland. Maybe just upper 20s for mileage this upcoming week and mid-teens the next.

Ran 5.4 miles @ 9:51/mile pace.
Trails.
Mostly flat.
Around 60 degrees, overcast, light to moderate rain then humid.
Nike Waffle Racer VIII, shorts, short sleeved shirt (shed halfway).