No Pep In My Step

I went out for an easy run this evening.  Normally, after the first ten minutes or so I get into a pretty good groove and feel pretty good.  Tonight I just wasn't getting there.  I never got comfortable, even though I wasn't running particularly fast.

After about 15-20 minutes I thought about stopping, but then I went through my personal inventory.  Nothing hurt.  Nothing was especially uncomfortable.  My breathing was good.  My stomach was ok.  There was no real reason to stop.

Since I didn't have reason to stop I pressed on.  In the end, I completed six miles in 55 minutes, 30 seconds.  I planned to do 6 miles in an hour, so I was pretty close.  I'm happy that I persevered and got through the mileage, but I wanted to look at what made the run unenjoyable.

The first thing that popped into my mind was that I might be a little tired.  Yesterday I spent several hours pitching batting practice and I was a little sore and worn out.  Then I didn't sleep well.  I think these two items were the main culprits in my difficulties.  On top of that, I didn't eat or drink much today.  I'm sure that played a role.

So as I sit here drinking my chocolate milk and eating a PB&J I'm already thinking about tomorrow.  I planned to do another hour for about six miles after my son's baseball game.  Hopefully with a good night sleep and some good food tomorrow night's run will feel a bit better.

No Running, Just Baseball

As you know, I coach a 15 year and under baseball team.  Playoffs start on Wednesday and we will most likely face a pitcher that throws a very good curveball and changeup.  The last time we faced this kid the team had a lot of difficulty hitting off of him.  Tonight I had the bright idea to throw batting practice for the kids, but throw lots of curveballs and changeups to keep them off balance and get them used to waiting on the pitch.

By the end of the night the kids were hitting pretty well and their confidence is pretty high.  That's the good point.  On the down side, three hours of pitching with lots of curveballs has my shoulder, hips and back very worn out.  I won't be running tonight as planned.  At least I can consider this a good cross training workout.

Today has become a non-running day and Wednesday will likely be a non-running day.  I plan to do a smi-long run tomorrow, rest Wednesday, run semi-long on Thursday and run easy on Friday and Saturday.  That will get me back to a long trail run on Sunday.  It's a loose plan, but it's a plan.