Resolution Runners

This morning I got to the bike path at the same time I did on New Year’s Day, but instead of being the second car there, there were already several cars parked and vacated. By the time I finished my out-and-back one mile spur, the parking lot was filling up and new cars were streaming in. By the time I finished my run, one of the parking areas was nearly full! I’m sure many of the people were getting back to their usual routines or starting their spring marathon training, but I can’t help but think that a number of them were making good on their New Year’s resolutions.

It was fun to see the people wearing new gear –the couple wearing matching jackets, the woman with the shiny new running shoes, the many people in bright tops not yet faded by washing. The only thing new I have is my new iPod Nano. After I lost my 4th Generation Nano after the GW Parkway Classic last year (damn hole in my pocket!) I had dusted off my 1st Generation Nano. 

It had such a small memory that it couldn’t fit all of my playlists, but it did the trick. In November, Apple notified that my old Nano was covered by the replacement program due to a possible problem with the battery. I waited until December to send it in, and received my replacement a few weeks later. I was thrilled to open the box and see that they had sent me a new Nano!

It has more memory and more features–I am glad to have the radio again and need to try out the Nike+ feature. As I told my husband, this kind of customer service is why Apple has such loyal customers!

It was a gorgeous January morning–sunny and in the mid 30’s. I felt pretty good–I seem to have fought off the cold that was threatening me on Thursday–but I didn’t feel particularly pumped. I was relaxed and happy to be out running.

My plan was to run 9 miles at a comfortable pace. I felt a bit off during the first mile, but then saw that my pace was fast for a warm-up mile. I felt good for the next few miles. My ITB was nagging but not too bad. Somewhere in mile 6-7 my ITB got worse. When the tightness moved up into my glutes/piriformis region, I stopped to stretch, but that didn’t really help. As I resumed running, I tried to breathe through the tightness, willing my breath to release the tension (trying to put my yoga lessons to good use!). By my last mile it did feel somewhat better, although I can still feel the nagging tightness as I’m walking around. I took some time to stretch before I got in my car to drive home, and spent some time on the foam roller while I waited for my big pot of coffee to brew.

I will keep rolling and stretching this weekend, but I’m afraid that I may have to re-think the first week of my training plan for the RnR D.C. Half Marathon. I’m not sure my ITB will like the speed intervals I planned for Monday!

Garmin Data
Total Distance: 9.0 miles
Total Time: 1:24
Avg. Pace: 9:20 min/mile
Split Times: 9:23, 9:14, 9:23, 9:35, 9:16, 9:31, 9:23, 9:18, 9:03

Have you made any running resolutions?