Leg Training to the Max

I decided this weekend to forgo the 5K and Saturday, and instead spent that day (most of it, anyway) cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

Sunday was another story. I went out to do an 11-mile run, featuring 3.1 miles uphill to start, and then 8 miles of downhill to finish. Running up the hill was a real test of my will, as I watched runners I had passed early on roll past me easily. I found stride and strength in the middle of the run, breezing through the next four miles at a brisk pace, and feeling like I was using no energy to do it. Then my body started to rebel with less than 3 miles to go. There was pain and stiffness in my back and my legs, and I could feel panic starting to creep into my breathing. I reverted to the lessons of my yoga training, and focused on deep breathing, and relaxing the muscles of my shoulders. It wasn't easy, but I finished just one minute under my goal.

That evening, I had volleyball. I was worried that I would be tired and sore, but I kept stretching periodically throughout the day to stay loose. I found I had plenty of energy, getting up for blocks, scrambling to cover open spaces, and generally playing as hard as I could. I shook off a couple of bad serves early by again focusing on breathing and relaxed strength.
We won the first match to get to the final, and we played hard against the top-seeded team we faced there. In the end, it seemed like a couple of my teammates ran out of gas in the third and deciding game of that match. I told them that they will need to work on conditioning in the off season.
After the game, we had our season-ending pizza party. Since they had no bottled water, I had a root beer. I am paying for it today: my stomach feels like crap.