Today, I thought was a good day to get back out there and run. Then again, I thought, maybe I should rest one more day. Maybe I wasn’t ready. Avoiding additional injury after all is my number one goal. But I just couldn’t stand it. I had to know. I wanted to see if I could do it.
I took off with painful glutes (which I believe I have self-diagnosed the problem, more for a later post), beneath breezy skies. The weather was cool, almost cold. Despite the glutes I felt comfortable. I ran up Cholla Trail focusing on form. Form, form, form – column straight, no bending at the waist and mid-foot strike as much as possible. It gets pretty steep on Cholla, so keeping that mid-foot strike is not always doable.
Before I left, my husband said, “stay off uneven ground,” and I laughed, like that’s possible on the trails (but we suspect it’s part of my glute problems – uneven ground, that is). I did keep my eye on the trail and attempted to stay on even ground. Much of the time that was not possible.
But I did have fun. Lots of fun. And I sweated loads too, like I always do in the recovery period.
The rolling hills of West Ridge were pretty empty. I saw 2 runners, and half a dozen or so hikers. Top of the World was EMPTY, a peaceful, tranquil and windy experience. I needed that.
Top of the World:
At the top, enjoying the wind, acting just a tad SILLY:
After stretching at the top, I headed back the same way I came. And I focused on keeping my pace up on the uphills. I could do it. Though I felt like I could put in more miles, I kept it to a minimum. Besides – I had to work this evening and had still lots of chores and pick-ups to do.
Miles logged this morning: 6.24
Elevation gain: Approx. 1,200 ft.
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