Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

I'm having a rest day today, mainly so that I could sleep in.  My legs and my abs are a little sore, but I think I can start running again tomorrow.  

Weekly roundup for Mon-Sun...

 Cut-back & taper week, total 32.67 miles

Mon 4.44

Tue 6.55 w/ .8 @ MP

Weds 3.47

Thurs 3.41

Fri off

Sat  14.8 w/ Half Marathon race

Sun off

51F, partly cloudy w/ stars. Wind 5-15 mph w/ gusts to 27.  Recovery run with some walking.  20 minutes strength & stretching.

Dead, sore legs, but a pleasant jog.  

Every now and then I feel like I should wear my Nike Triax shoes, which are relatively unused.  An easy day seemed to justify a little extra cushioning this morning. (These are my last pair of "traditional" trainers; every other pair is a racing flat of some kind.)  Well, I think I've finally convinced myself that no day is a good day for having heavy, stiff sheaths of rubber on my feet.  Maybe I can use them in snow sometime. 

Speaking of minimalist shoes... There is a lady who shows up at nearly all my races, from 5K to the marathon, and wins her age group, 65-69.  I called her the Beautiful Older Lady for a long time, until I learned her name.  She is very pretty. And very fast.  (In Saturday's half marathon she beat me by over 13 minutes.)  Anyhow, I said hello to her after the race and noticed she had the thinnest little shoes on.  When I admired them she said, "You know, they say you can't wear these in longer distances, but I've run marathons in them - and I'm not crippled yet!"  Not hardly, Speedy Beautiful Older Lady.

The shoes were some kind of Asics. They looked a little like spikeless cross country shoes.  The name of the shoe was across the back of the heel, but neither she nor I had our reading glasses along so neither could decipher it.  Blind Older Lady here.  She had friends to greet so we parted, but I'll be looking for that shoe. 

52F, mostly cloudy w/ a few sprinkles and some stars out.  Windy in open spaces.  Easy, slow run.  15 min core, upper body and stretching. 

Legs are still pretty dead, but feeling much better than yesterday.  It is crazy-warm here.  Just to the north a bit, they are fretting about lack of snow for the upcoming Olympics.  I was thinking this morning about the past two winters and how harsh they were, with lots of snow and ice in my neighborhood, and very cold temperatures.  Now I feel like I should be putting out tomato seeds. Couldn't we have something in the middle?  

50F, mostly cloudy and breezy. Easy run. 20 min strength work.

Recovery continues nicely.  The legs are starting to feel normal again.  :) 

49F, mostly clear and very windy.  Easy run.  Core & pushups. 

For some reason I am just having one of those tired days.  It sure is nice to still be in a recovery week - no pressure.   

42F, rain. General-Aerobic run w/ Leg Builder Hill, finishing up recovery week.

Once again, I was left with only my imaginary friends to run with at the club run (very few people and no one at my pace).  From that point on, it was sort of cranky run.  I didn't feel good on the gravel of the SVT and turned back after a half mile there.  I wasn't dressed for continuous rain, having foolishly trusted the weather forecast.  Cranky, but not a full blown pity party.  Better days are ahead I'm sure.