Every week I seem to have an "excuse" as to why I felt bad or did poorly but then I still manage to make first in my age group. Last night was not the case. I ended up 3rd in my age group, barely.
The race started out okay, Pigeon came by to surprise me which was really nice. She was out for her own run and remembered we had our race. She even climbed the bluffs and cheered me on as I ran past. I needed it.
From the start I noticed my right quad was tighter than normal. I tried stretching before the race but it didn't seem to help. The minute we started running it just sort of seized up and felt as if it would spasm or cramp at any moment. For the first 3 miles it did not get any worse and sort of stayed "semi-cramp like" which was okay with me except there were 2 or 3 other runners were using me as their pacer. I offered to let them pass and they responded with a "nope, you're setting a great pace" which of course was nice to hear but internally I was struggling.
At the turn around spot I actually stopped and tried to drink some HEED thinking that perhaps it was an electrolyte imbalance. Before the race I drank some coconut water which is full of electrolytes and potassium. Still, it didn't really seem to make a difference and my quad was getting worse the more I ran.
The trail back has quite a few uphills. The quad would lock up and then on the descent I would lose strength. One kind runner actually ran by me and said "becareful, you're favoring a bit" which I knew I was, it was pretty obvious with my gimpy gait. I finally just thought to myself "What am I doing? Why am I trying to kill myself on this run!? You have a half next week! Chill out girl!" So I slowed up considerably, walked the ups and tried to take it a bit easy on the downs. I placed third in my age group and really, the first two ladies were pretty darn fast so I doubt I would have caught them even if I was feeling 100%.
Today my quad is a rock and it feels weird just sitting at my desk let alone walking. A runner friend mentioned low-iron and I admit my vitamins are gathering dust on the shelf at home. Part of me thinks that the Western States Training Day did me in and that I never properly let myself recover. Who knows but for now, I will take it easy. Tomorrow I will try and run and see how it feels but if it feels too tight, I will call it a day. I have a call into Dr. Lau too hoping for some magic.
A little magic happened yesterday for the Peanut! It was "bike day" at daycare and in an effort to help her over come her runner bike fears, I brought her runner bike with us that morning. My thoughts were if she saw the other kids riding their bikes, she might be more inclined to ride hers. It worked . . . at least for a little while!
Taking it real slow . . .
Future bike model?
A treat from Jamba Juice with Dad
Pam, I'm so sorry to hear about your quad! Take care of yourself and let Dr. Lau do his magic on you :)
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