Running Diary 4/12/2011

After running a fairly quick 10 km last time (quick for me, anyway) I decided to take it easy with a free run of whatever distance felt good to me at the time and whatever speed felt comfortable. I didn't want to push myself at all. I still managed a bit over 6 km and ran at various speeds, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. I tried to concentrate on a regular breathing rhythm, and running with looser arms than I usually do.

The more I run, and the more I read about it, the more I realise that exercising is as much about recovery and looking after your body when you're not training. Cooling down after exercising can help to reduce, or even avoid sore muscles. A few weeks back, I was getting some pains in my lower back and backside after exercising, but I now ensure that my run finishes short of home, so I have to do a cooling down walk. Since then, I've started feeling better after running.

Today when I started to run, my legs felt a bit heavy which was one reason that I didn't push things too much. Recovery training is an important part of an exercise regime and my last run had come just 36 hours before this run, so I took it easy. As it was, my run today felt pretty good once I'd shaken the cobwebs from my legs. And, of course, if the views are good when you're running, then it is an extra incentive to get out!

Melbourne CBD in the distance on the left. This was taken from the end of North Road near Brighton, with Elwood the nearest beach.