September 22nd: Back to Work

Ahhh... It felt so good to get back out there this morning.

I logged 8 miles at almost exactly 10:00 per mile. That's slower than what I've done previously, but I wasn't really focusing too much on time today. Instead, I really wanted to pay attention to form, and obviously, I needed to be sure my calf would hold up -- and those two things are really interrelated concepts, aren't they? I actually wanted to go a bit longer, but I ran out of time because I had to go pick up my daughter after a sleepover.

First of all, I really want to thank everyone for all your advice over the past week. I really took a lot of it to heart and I think incorporated it into my workout today. As I said, I focused a lot on form over time, and I iced down afterward.

My route was pretty similar to the last long run. Out to the water and along the walkway. Apparently, I'm not the only one who doesn't really care that it's supposed to be closed. There were a lot of people fishing today. I have no idea what was running. It was also very breezy down by the water. In the direction I was going when I took this shot, I was running right into it.

I also went down to Pirate's Cove park, and -- surprise -- Old Bridge has fixed its wood walkway, which Sandy also took a big chunk of. I've been looking forward to running it, and it was so pleasant that I did another loop and ran it a second time. It affords a little bit of a different view from what I see in Cliffwood Beach. There's the Verrazano out in the distance.

Anyway, as I said, I ran relatively slowly so that I could really pay attention to my form. One thing I've realized is that I bounce too much, so I focused on my footfalls. No high kicks or bouncing, make sure to land mid-foot and not on my heel. And part of doing that is running through your hips, through your gut. Lean back and let your big glutes and hamstrings do the heavy lifting and take pressure off of...drumroll...your calves. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I also felt plenty of stamina when I finished up my 8 miles.

Well, considering I did this the day after a big Rutgers game and tailgate, I feel pretty good overall. Not sure if tomorrow is another run or a gym day. Might depend on when I wake up.

Total mileage since starting the blog: 38.5.