.... a girl that will show up at 5:30 in the morning on a dark winter day to run deserted trails with a guy that she doesn't know.
Vanessa and I belong to a club called Triathlon Connection and she posted on the calendar that she was looking to run 12 miles on Saturday at 5:30 in the morning in Marshall Canyon. She might as well have been sending smoke signals directly to my house. That is EXACTLY what I was looking to do this weekend. So I shot her an email saying that I'd love to join her.
Within a few minutes of running with her, I was made painfully aware as to why this 22 year old dental student did not consider the threat of running with an unknown person. And here it is, at any point she could have simply run away from me and I could not catch her. Suffice it to say, Vanessa is fast. She wasn't wearing black velvet tights, but don't think I didn't spend a few minutes wondering if they were one in the same.
We ran a 12 mile run on some of the prettiest trails in the area, just north of La Verne. It is hilly and the pace was pretty quick. I haven't downloaded the numbers yet, but I think we held high 8's for most of it. It was certainly a quicker pace than I would have run on my own. I appreciated her knowledge of the trails in the area ( she's been running there every weekend since she was 15) because my last run in this area I got lost and added 3 uphill miles to a 22 mile run. I will certainly look to run with her again.
All in all, my body is responding pretty well to longer runs. I have some aches and pains after that aren't all that fun to deal with, but I know that they will eventually become less and less as I add more miles to my training. The hip flexor is my biggest issue because it is not going away. I will figure out a way to stretch it out.
I ended the night by dousing my pain in a 32 ounce Newcastle Ale while watching UFC 94 with my friend and training partner from Muay Thai, James. It was a much hyped showdown between BJ Penn and George Sain Pierre. GSP dominated BJ in a fight that showcased GSP's amazing conditioning and BJ's lack of any such conditioning. Kinda a let down, although I was happy to see GSP win and won $1 on a bet with James. The other fights on the card similarly were lack luster, but it was a fun night anyhow and the beer did it's job.
One thing that I am becoming more and more assured of is the amazing benefits of Mona Vie for recovery. This is my first real season of training with the juice and I am seeing some amazing benefits. The one thing that I can really point to is how fast my body is healing itself. Good nutrition definitely has a big effect in allowing your body to do what God created it to do, heal itself and having spent some time with the scientists from Mona Vie recently, I am convicted that this juice with 19 fruits from around the world specifically chosen for their anti-inflammatory properties provides some really good nutrition for my body. For example, last night I had to ice the inside of my left ankle because it hurt so bad, and this morning there are hardly any signs of pain. Also, it has been a pattern that when I lift my training miles, I'll get a cold. This has not happened this year. In fact, I haven't been sick yet- and trust me, my kids have tried to get me sick- the little germ infested midgets :)
No comments:
Post a Comment