Sacramento American River

Time: 69:23
Distance: 11 miles

Ran from Tara and Tim's house down to the river. I looked up and mapped out a route in my mind before setting out on the run. I had a general idea of how to get to the river and my planning paid off. I made it to the river in about 10 minutes and then settled in along the bike path. Before this venture I would have told you that there is nowhere to run in Sacramento. I would have been greatly mistaken. The first marker I saw along the path was at 11 miles and from there on I was taking splits. Hit consecutive miles of 6:12, 6:05, 6:00, 5:56.

The outside of my left shin was rather tight, so at 35:19 I stopped and stretched before heading back. I was able to loosen the shin up quite a bit by using a "Beware of Mountain Lions" sign. I don't believe that urban Sacramento would have any such beast, but the sign claimed that they were especially attracted to children. Anyway, on the way back my shin felt fine and the splits were 11:41 (2 miles), 5:50, 5:47.

My breathing was in control, but the legs continued to lack the same fitness. Still not worried about it b/c the pace was clipping along. It was a little cold this morning, thankfully I was dressed properly with a couple of long sleeved shirts. At the start of the run I had planned to do some strides once I was done, but the pace was quick enough to get in a good workout. Sooo, I bagged that idea.

Here are some quick thoughts of how to get my legs to feel better:

• run slower
• stretch after running
• elevate legs
• ice legs

The first few options are definitely possible. Not so sure about icing. We'll see.