Earlier today I completed the longest run of the training program so far, and the longest I have every undertaken. The ten mile route was made up one full lap of Central Park, and a second, shortened lap between the 102nd St transverse and terrace drive. I wasn’t too worried about this run given that I had completed a 9 mile route the previous week and the course avoided the Harlem Hill. The additional mile on top of last week’s effort did not significantly alter the workload.
The run itself was uneventful. I felt fine through the first lap, but the second time around felt some discomfort as I started the triple threat down the West side. I stopped to walk for a minute at the crest of the first hill, and started up running again after the feeling subsided. For the rest of the route everything felt good and as I eased up around the Guggenheim I actually felt like I could go another mile or two.
Thankfully I didn’t. Shortly after completing the run my quads started to feel like they were on fire. Hours later and I’m still feeling pain in both legs. I can’t figure out why all of a sudden I am feeling like this. I stuck to my training plan all week, and did nothing strange this morning prior to the run. I also hydrated as much as previous runs. I’m kind of lost, but I’ll keep an eye on things over the coming days and see how my recovery goes. I also think getting a good race-day routine down will help me avoid problems in the future.