Accountability -- Day 15

Giving the lie to the adage "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning," It's been a nice warm day with only scattered clouds here in Pleasant Town. Z called me from work on his lunch and suggested I relax in the recliner and turn on the air conditioner. At the time we spoke, I was wearing a shirt and two light sweatshirts over it. I'm a warm-weather lover and have no use at all for AC unless it's 90 degrees out! Besides, I had already done my morning workout and was still energetic enough to eschew reclining. Truth in posting: That righteous behavior went by the wayside later in the day.

What I did: Finding that I am very stiff from Sunday's 10K, I went out the door gingerly. My left glutes and IT band were barking even at a walk. I set my Gymboss timer at 1 minute intervals, which is a great setting because as you warm up you can easily count how many minutes you're comfortable moving before you need to slow down and walk. I was only out for 3 miles--a recovery run--so I didn't need to worry about losing count of my minutes; it didn't matter if I did. 

For the first mile I pretty much ran two minutes, walked one. As I warmed up I increased the running segments from two minutes to three or four, depending on my whim, and for the final mile I just ran, albeit at a reduced pace. 

When and where I did it: I slipped out the door as the sun was coming up, at 6:09 am. I went through the western segment of Kottinger Park and then turned left on Kottinger Street. I stuck to that road until I hit Bernal Street, at which point I jogged into the eastern part of Kottinger Park and did the small loop there that circles two picnic tables. 

I stopped briefly at a table to do some crunches and push-ups and dips--much easier than running on this particular day. From there I retraced my steps. Before long it was game over--thank goodness. Time for a smoothie and some foam rolling!

How it felt: Okay, really. My weak points have always fallen along that left leg chain, hip to sole of foot, and I've gotten to know when I am truly hurt and when I just need to give the pain a couple of days to abate. My rating for this run would be high simply because it was a beautiful day, but the aggravation of being so stiff would probably lower its score. Well, it's my blog, and I'll skip rating this run if I want to.

Photos:

The one at the top of the page is the red dawn. The photo of the tree in the middle shows the view from the perspective of a person (me) lying on her back on a picnic table. I feel like I should apologize for all the tree images I post, but I'm not going to do it. As you might expect from someone who lived in Berkeley for more than 30 years, I love trees. I even hug then when no one is looking. They give us life, y'know. If this tree seems boring, enlarge it by clicking on it, and enjoy the light feathering gently over the limbs.

I photographed the mosaic bench because it's cool. I am sure my friend Jacque has already seen it in person, but I wanted to post it in case she hasn't.

Keep on running!