Another Long Run

Today, I completed an 18 mile run today. After cocktails, dinner, and a charity event, where I managed to limit myself to 3 harty glases of wine, I was a bit concerned that there might be an adverse effect. There probably was.

I came in at 8:44 per mile. If I could keep this up for 26.2 miles I would be a mere 14 seconds per mile off a Boston Marathon qualifying pace for 45 year old males next year. That's the good news. The bad news is that I was sore about an hour later. Usually, when I am sore, the recovery time is long. That means slow runs and no progress for a longer time than I want.

Bob, the massage theapist, suggested I keep a couple of ice packs handy. I took his advice. It felt great keeping my knees iced down for 45 minutes. Later, I was pretty stiff, but the pain and stiffness seemed to dissipate much quicker than in the past. The verdict? Consider the ice pack.

So, ice is good, but why am I suseptible to joint pain and stiffness? I come back to our disicussion of hydration in my next post.