Easy run

Today, I decided to do an easy run following my long run on Saturday, but the easy run made me question the logic of taking a rest day yesterday.  I actually didn't feel too bad or too sore yesterday like I thought I would, but I was definitely sore today as I ran.  My calves were tight and my right hip ached and I wonder if I did myself a disservice by not running yesterday to get some of the kinks out.  In any case, my easy run wasn't quite as easy as I'd hoped due to the soreness, but it was still nice to get outside and run.  I was aiming for three miles, but I had a meeting this afternoon that I needed to get back to the office for, so I ended up doing about 2.36.  It should have felt like a really short run to me given that I ran 7 on Saturday, but it didn't feel all that short.  Tomorrow, I have a date with some hills during my run!

I am on day two of my crunches and planking routine and while it's not a great streak, it's progress.  I love the way my abs feel after doing crunches, but I am still learning to love planks.  I probably never will, but I did push myself to do a third plank tonight instead of just two.  I am only able to hold each plank for about 20 seconds, but as my core gets stronger, I hope to increase the length of each plank.  Who knows, I may even throw in some crazy side planks down the line.  Way, way, way down the line.

I appreciate the feedback you all gave about loosening my shoestrings to help alleviate the sensation of my feet falling asleep when I run! I remembered today to loosen my right shoe, but not my left.  It felt a bit strange at first having the shoe a bit looser than normal, but I do think it helped my foot from falling asleep.  Now the trick tomorrow is to remember to loosen both shoestrings.

I'd love to know what you would recommend for chafing.  I don't normally have problems with chafing, but on my long run on Saturday, I had some issues with the waistband of my capris riding against my skin.  It wasn't awful, but I would definitely like to avoid any further chafing, particularly since my long runs are going to increase over the next few weeks.  I've heard great things about BodyGlide and I've also heard that using regular Vaseline can help, too. I'll be honest, the thought of putting Vaseline on before a run is strange to me because I'm not a big fan of the consistency and I imagine BodyGlide has a similar consistency, but I also could do without the chafing, so I'm willing to give it a try.  How do you deal with chafing while running?

"Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them."