Leg Abuse

Topic: Jelly Legs
Key Words: High Repetitions, Endurance, Angry
Word Count: 374
Tomorrow's Topic: The End of an Era?

Yesterday (Saturday) was the one week countdown until Houston FIT's Fall Marathon training program begins. I know that there will be enough peer pressure to make sleeping in on Saturday unacceptable; so naturally, on my last free weekend, I slept in! I woke up at 5:30AM and was all ready to go for my final Saturday run with the Knuckleheads, and they were even running my favorite course, but I decided to pass. Laziness, don't be a victim like me!

So instead of the long run, I did a leg workout at 24 Hour Fitness. My plan for leg workouts this marathon season is low weight, high reps; squats, calf raises, and hamstring curls. Last marathon season I did the same exercises, but focused on strength ... higher weight. I think endurance training in the weight room poses the least chance for injury and, since I haven't done it before, it's worth a shot.

Seeking to punish my legs, making them feel like they were in the late stages of the marathon, I decided to run at Memorial after the leg workout. Simply put, my legs felt like jelly. My lungs were laboring more than normal, and I thought my heart might pop out of my chest. I was even in an agry mood, and am normally an excellent angry runner, but it was a difficult three miles. I think the theory of a run after a leg workout is sound, and I think I will try it again, but maybe I'll stick to the treadmill, and shoot for less miles than I did yesterday.

Today I rode my mountain bike for about an hour. Nice day, nice trail conditions ... legs were a bit tight ... but good all in all. Softball tomorrow, so running seems unlikely.

In the late stages of a run, you are supposed to pick people out of the crowd, and will yourself to catch and pass them. In true tiger form (War Eagle!), I like to pick the young and weak ... for the record, the kid in this picture "ate rocks"! I smoked him down to the finish line of last weekend's Astro's Run!!!