Pain is just weakness leaving the body

This week has been a power week for gym time and trail running. I am sore from shoulders to toes and walking like I just got off a horse, oh boy does it hurt...but it hurts so good. Cowboy has been hitting the gym hard with me and between the two of us the house if full of grunts and groans as we attempt to unfurl our bodies and ambulate around the house. I've been pushing myself a little extra, doing 30-45 minutes of hard treadmill work followed by weights and planks. It feels good to be getting myself back into shape with the weights instead of just running. Next week-ish I am going to start getting in the pool and re-familiarizing myself with the world of swimming, one I am not extremely fond of. I've also dusted off my trainer to get ready for indoor exercise with snowy weather approaching. Sometimes I just need to break up the monotony of things. Personally I'm terribly excited to get my snowshoes on and trek through the back country!

Today, the pup and I headed out to Mt. Galbraith for some "hiking". I declared it a hiking day due to my hobbling walk and overall soreness of my abductor and, more specifically, adductor muscles. I kept telling Cowboy, "Argos and I are just going for a short hike." While I was chatting I was pulling on my running clothes and pack. "Uh huh" Cowboy says, "A hike."

We did actually hike quite a bit of the first uphill part, a few jogs in between but mostly a hike up. Argos kept looking up confused at me as if saying, "What the heck is this walking shit?" Who needs a personal trainer when you've got this furry beast itching to run all the time. He's motivation enough. Believe me when I say I pay dearly if I don't get him out. The 'tude rages deep in this boy if he doesn't get his exercise, plus he's so darn adorable when he's a happy bouncy boy. "Be patient with me little man," was all I could reply to his confused looks.

Once we got to the loop I couldn't contain myself further and broke into a slow but determined gimpy jog. Eventually, the soreness lessened and the run began to feel really good. As I ran I remembered getting to my fourth and fifth days in multi-day staged racing where the soreness pervaded my entire body. Getting up in the morning off my sleeping pad was it's own battle and plodding out to the start line was filled with mixed emotions. Once the gun went off, working myself up into a run developed in stages- going slow and kicking it up little notches at a time as the soreness lessened and the muscles began to warm. It's like stepping onto a treadmill and slowly increasing the speed as your body grows accustomed to the discomfort. This is what today felt like.

The run, although a short 4.5 miler, was much needed. Sometimes the best medicine for post exercise soreness is more (gentle) exercise.

Here's a great nutrition article from RunnersWorld.

I love articles that debunk the "egg is bad for you" myth:

One egg fulfills about 10 percent of your daily protein needs. Egg protein is the most complete food protein short of human breast milk, which means the protein in eggs contains all the crucial amino acids your hard-working muscles need to promote recovery. Eat just one of these nutritional powerhouses and you'll also get about 30 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin K, which is vital for healthy bones. And eggs contain choline, a brain nutrient that aids memory, and leutin, a pigment needed for healthy eyes. Choose omega-3 enhanced eggs and you can also increase your intake of healthy fats. Don't worry too much about the cholesterol: Studies have shown that egg eaters have a lower risk for heart disease than those who avoid eggs.

Also interesting is sweet potatoes!

Just a single 100-calorie sweet potato supplies over 250 percent of the DV for vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, the powerful antioxidant. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, iron, and the two trace minerals manganese and copper. Many runners fail to meet their manganese and copper needs, which can have an impact on performance since these minerals are crucial for healthy muscle function. There are even new sweet-potato varieties that have purple skin and flesh and contain anthocyanidins, the same potent antioxidant found in berries.