Run to Improve

I decided to go outside today and run 3 nice and easy miles. My knees hurt a little in the beginning, but towards the last mile of my run they felt fine. I think that it may have been from running 7 miles the other day, as I have not run this distance in a while. Someone else told me that the muscles in your legs take a while to warm up in the cold weather, so that could have also been why they felt a little tight during the first 2 miles. 

I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go for a 7 mile run outside. My legs were a little stiff from yesterday, but running on the pavement helped them adjust back to normal again. I kept a 9:30 pace the entire run so that I wouldn't hurt myself after 2 days in a row of long distance running. I felt surprisingly good the entire run, as I have not ran this course in a while, and enjoyed myself. However, my legs began to feel a little heavy on the last mile so I slowed down to an easy trot. My plan is to rest for 2 or three days and then start back easy again. 

I haven't ran more than 4 miles in a while, so I decided to try 5 miles on the treadmill. I'm preparing for a 5 mile race coming up, so this was good practice. Although I do not particularly care for running on the treadmill (it's kind of boring), I decided to give it a go. I felt absolutely fine after the first 3 miles and kept an 8:30 pace for the last two miles. I finished 5 miles on the treadmill around 43 minutes and felt fine. Although this was not my fastest time, I was able to plan ahead and see what I need to work on in the future.