Mighty leg weirdness

Day after my late hill run I was expecting to feel sore and stiff. "They" tell us that downhill running is THE best way of experiencing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), and that's usually true for me.

This time, though, I just felt tired. I applied a couple of regenerative/rehab tricks to freshen my legs and hesitantly, ready to declare a rest day at any moment, hit the road. I was craving something FLAT. So I chose some easy roads round the neighborhood, planning on ending up at Centennial track to round the evening off with some strides to remind my legs and my head that I am supposed to be a miler.

Weird: I started flying! I had to actually hold myself back at one point because I thought I was going TOO fast. On the track I was expecting to stagger through the 30 and 45 second strides, probably just about hitting top "speed" in the final 10m. No: it was pretty much effortless. I was WELL under 5-minute-mile pace on the strides while still staying in control.

Just goes to show. Something. Oh yes, I know... a change can as good as a rest. George emailed me after the trail run with some wise words: "For a miler, I think the benefit could be using that for days where you want to work the cardio system, some different muscles, and really not beat up the legs". At the time I read it, I said to myself, "Yeah, right!" But he was right.

So that was Restart Phase Day 23: 3.5 miles @ average 7:30 pace; 5 x strides of varying distances, fastest 4:30 pace; 1 mile jog home.