standBack_iKnowRegexp

I had such a good run today. I was a little concerned that I was going to have a problem because the 20mins of week 5 day 3 was not pretty and neither was week 6 day 1 (and I went really gentle on week 6 day 2.) I thought if it didn't go well today I might have to go back and repeat this week, but after managing 22mins with good pacing, I think I'm ready to move on to the longer continuous running of week 7. It was also a really good feeling that for the first time my legs truly felt like they could carry me all the way. *happy glow *

I've used Spotify's running playlists for a few runs now. It now has a feature where it can take music you were recently listening to (and similar) and play the parts of the songs at your running pace. It works great, but I just have a association in my brain now where podcasts = "great run" as if it were a ritual; so I still prefer podcasts.

I'm not sure why, but I feel like I run much better listening to podcasts than music. With music sometimes I wind up spending myself too quickly even when I choose chiller music. And if I feel like I need to dig deep, I run with neither music nor podcasts and let my brain provide motivation. What about everyone else?

I would recommend using Spotify or Pandora in the background.

I'm w2d2, too! I've used this program (seasonally) a few times. For muscle soreness, I swear by hydrating and having a protein shake (or a meal with plenty of different kinds of proteins) afterwards. Gentle stretching might feel good, but it's never helped the soreness go away for me. For shin splints, I use compression and ice afterwards. If it is really bad and I can't sleep, I'll take ibuprofen, but I try to avoid doing that. I find that these things help prevent me from feeling bad soreness during my next run so I can do my best. If it gets bad during a run, try taking smaller strides or walking if necessary. Do what you can, but never overdo it when your body hurts; otherwise, it's harder to recover.