Great run this morning, I ran just 9 miles at the river with Jim. We ran so much faster and it was a good realization that I just need to be running at the river- I have such a long stride, I just can’t execute it at Westminster where the trails are tight (my legs don’t recover when they can’t stride out… )we get in the habit of visiting and goofing around and therefore run a little slower, which isn’t the best. My new objective is to run more at the river (which is what my coach has always asked me to do).

My kids are off of school today, so I don’t think I’m going to do my 2nd run.  I’m still having all kinds of hormone issues, so my doctor will probably reduce my mileage even more- I’m going to the doctor today for hopefully more blood work to see what I can do to get my system back in order.

I had 2 great days of running, yesterday I ran with a bunch of friends and it was a blast- Nancy Stewart (who is probably the premier women’s runner of her age but has taken a break from it), Julie Collins who is a good friend, Steph Orman, Tuba, and my friend Jim. It was just a great group, everyone gets along and supports each other to run well and race well. We’re all trying to get together for lunch soon, and I hope to run with them again soon! My legs are finally freeing up but I have to be careful because when running with people that are slower than you, your running biomechanics change- when that changes, you increase your chance of injury.

Your body actually runs most efficiently at a pretty steady clip, so what we all have a tendency to do is slow down when we run together… and I am the worst culprit of that because I love running with my friends.  But if I increase my pace, I actually feel better and recover faster.

Remember, the faster you run, the more you’re pumping blood through your vessels and increasing your chances of removing lactic acid, so you want to run just below that anaerobic threshold -  that’s where you’ll get your best recovery miles in.

So today I ran a 6:30 pace for 9 miles and it felt fabulous! this is the first time in about a month where I felt that my legs were beneath me and they were going at a pace that felt comfortable and they were recovering!