Just to follow up on my recent post about the turkey trot I jogged on Thanksgiving:
Today I ran the second of the two 5Ks I signed up for before I realized I’d done something to my legs in the half marathon.
My approach to this one was the same as it was on Thanksgiving: No running training in advance, just some walking here and there. Lots of stretching and walking in pre-race warmups, but no running — save every step for the race. Once the race starts, jog it at a consciously slow and noncompetitive pace. Run until the troublesome right calf complains, and be ready to stop when it does.
Somehow, the calf never complained … and while I was waiting for it to start, my pace kinda crept faster and faster. I ended up beating my Thanksgiving time by two-and-a-half minutes. Even kicked a little bit at the end.
I am totally powerless to explain it, but I appreciate it.
It’s actually kinda fun to run from the middle or back of the pack after all these years trying to be near the front. I have to be sure I don’t get too used to it. I still have my eyes on getting up somewhere closer to where I was.
(I did discover one hassle of starting further back, more so today than on Thanksgiving. Today’s race is the kind of family-oriented community race that lots of local kids run — or run/walk. The standard operating procedure for kids under 13 or so is to run a little while and then suddenly start walking, usually with no great regard for surrounding traffic. Kids that age also aren’t all that fabulous at holding a straight line; they’re not in your way until they are. I think it’s great that they’re out there running. I just wish some of ’em would start a little further back, and/or grow some radar.)
Anyway. The 2022 racing season has come to a close in positive enough fashion. We will see what the fat man manages in 2023. He hopes he’s not done yet.
Neck Pickup 