Recovery or Re-Active???

So I decided that this was going to be the weekend to attempt an hour run. Boy, does that sound funny...'attempt' an hour run. Used to be that that was a short run!

I'd run a couple of times on the dreaded treadmill for a half hour before doing some weights, but that had been about it since IMCDA. My heart rate stayed nice and low for those tests, so I thought it was time I got outside and ran for an hour.

My legs were a bit tired from my gym workout on Saturday. In typical Susi fashion I went from doing one set of squats the week before (and feeling it I might add) to jumping right in and doing three sets of 15 reps of squats, lunges, AND step ups. And yes, the old arse cheeks and quads were quivering for quite some time after that...why do they insist on locating gyms on the second floor of buildings?! Thank Pete for handrails!

The morning weather was looking a bit dodgy, and I had some puttering around to do so I opted to go for my run later in the afternoon. Turns out I picked a great time to go.

I put on my IMCDA duds - yes, I'm still basking in the glory that was my race - got out my trusty sneakers and out the door I went. I was very happy to be outside and running, even if my legs weren't quite sure that this activity was such a good idea. Second day pain was not going to be fun I don't think.

I assumed my legs did not want to deal with running down the beast, so I did a wee detour and ran down past the new home construction near my place, then headed to one of the pathways in the lower neighborhood.

I figured I'd better watch my heartrate as I am still trying to gauge my recovery status. I feel quite good these days, but I don't want to mess with the body, so I have been paying much attention to the little things that might indicate what percentage recovered I am.

As I started up the first incline I looked down and noticed my heart rate jumped to 160 bpm. Huh. Well now, that's a little excessive is it not?! It's just a minor hill. A blip even. Perhaps it was because I hadn't yet warmed up?

I had a wonderful time once I got on the path. Aside from the wiff of dog doo every once in a while, it smelled wonderful there. The rains sure do bring out the scent of the trees and flowers. There were a ton of tiny birds flitting about too, taking advantage of the generous amounts of seeds in the feeders.

One hilarious sight were these two young girls in their backyard. They were jumping around on their trampoline. (You know, the new kind with the net around it. What's with the net anyways?? I mean hey, if a kid falls off cause there is no net, do you think they are going to attempt that manoeuver again?! I think not. How else do you learn not to do dumb arse things?! But I digress.)

So they were jumping around like normal, but the funny thing was they put a sprinkler underneath it so there was water spraying up at them. Well I have to say their laughter was absolutely infectious. I couldn't help but smile and laugh with them. There were having an absolute blast. Had it been a bit hotter out I might have asked to join in all the fun too!

Eventually I was back on the road again and headed down to the lower pathway that follows the river. The pathway is still blocked from the damage that happened when the creek rose up early this summer. I hadn't been down there to check it all out, so decided today was a good day to do some exploring.

As I got down to where the creek has a little run off, I was in awe of the damage. The power of Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me. Rather large trees had been pushed along here and the pathway was completely washed away. You could see where the water had rushed by and formed new tributaries. Wow. All that was left were mounds of dirt and rocks, rather than the smooth red shale pathway that normally resides there.

I did a little hop, skip and jump to get around all the rocks, tree branches and mud. My mind started wandering to off road running... One of these days I'm going to run out to Ribbon Falls and back darn it. That was my goal this summer - to do more trail running!

I didn't have to go too far through there to hit my 30 minute mark. The legs were feeling great, although still a bit sore from the day before. I was just happy to be running outside so it really didn't matter.

Oh, I almost forgot! I was 'told off' by the cutest chipmunk ever! I heard this somewhat angry chirping as I was about to go onto the blocked pathway. I looked up and there he was. Likely telling me I wasn't supposed to go down there. Every time he chirped his little fluffy tail would twitch. I could help but laugh and told him he was adorable. I think that pissed him off even more as the chirping got louder and more frequent. I decided to leave before he flew out of the tree and went for my jugular. I didn't see him on my way back so I assume he went to find someone else to tell off. Grumpy little chipmunk.

Once I turned around I had the 'bonus' hill to climb. Again, my heart rate skyrocketed. Granted I could have walked up the hill to bring it down, but my stubborn streak got the best of me. I did slow my pace a smidge so my heart rate came down a little bit, but I kept running. It was then I started thinking...was my high heart rate due to the last remnants of fatigue from the race or was it just because I hadn't run for a month? This would be a question to ask Coach Greg.

It has been a month though, and I do feel recovered, so my bets are just that I haven't been running and the heart needs a few more runs to get used to things. It was really awesome being outside running again though. I totally lucked out with the weatehr too because after I'd gotten home and showered a rather nasty storm literally blew through! Tons of lightening, chunks of hail and house rocking thunder! Good thing I was inside!

Peace out my friends.