18-mile long run with Dave, Ben, and Jon. Ran up to Spring Creek Campground and back, so about half was on dirt, which felt good. Jon and I picked it up to about 6:00/mile pace for several miles during the second half of the run, and that felt pretty good. Ave HR for entire run: 143; Ave HR during "brisk" portion of run: ~160. My knee and back both felt okay, but still have a ways to go. If they feel good tomorrow I may do some light running and then back to the elliptical for next week. I'm having some weird issues with other areas of my body though. The outside part of my left quad is slightly numb. I've never experienced this before. My wife thinks it could be from a pinched sciatic nerve in my lower back. Although it doesn't bother me or affect daily activities, I don't like it when my body does weird things, so if it's still numb by Monday I'll give my PT a call and see what he thinks. Also, the bottom of my left foot from the rear of my arch to my heel feels "bruised". It's not a sharp pain, nor from a specific point location, but I'm always paranoid when it comes to foot pain because the first thing that comes to mind is "stress fracture". I've never had a stress fracture though, and don't know what they feel like. It could be my arch supports, so I've got a new pair of Brooks in the closet that I'll start wearing and see if that makes a difference. A lot of my random aches and pains just go away on their own in a few days, but I want to keep on eye on this. | 