I got up to run with Marsha, but waited 5 mintues before deciding to hit the road. I texted her that I'd taken off. I'm not a good waiter and I dislike making other people wait. Time is such a precious commodity. So me and my headlamp headed off down the dark road. It was a dark morning after that thunderstorm around 4:00 a.m. I ran down the road, avoiding puddles, listening to the wind in the trees and cat tails along the side of the road, watching the eeiry illumination of the cattle and horse's eyes from my the light of my headlamp. And, for the first time since SG, I felt my muscles strong again. I have a myriad of other aches that have plaguee me --muscle weakness and spasms in my hams/priformis/lower back. They always take a beating after a race. I've become more regular about the stretching again. I know I should have done more of it last week, but I always running slow miles is the best rest. And for the record by saying I do my stretching-- I don't mean stretching in the 'warm up' or 'cool down' sort of way-- I mean before my feet hit the floor in the morning, after running, several times at work, and then before bed. These stretches have kept my hips and knees stronger and pain free. But when I become lazy and don't do them, I can tell. I only need that much stretching during high mileage months/and after races. But I'm sure doing them (or Yoga) regularly would keep me from breaking stuff while running. | 