This weekend I ran my first long run in quite a while. (I’m not sure there’s any logic behind this thinking, but I’ve always considered 6 miles the distance that I can call a weekend run a long run.) I was shooting for 6 miles, but forgot to start my watch, and ended up going about 10k. I didn’t mind the extra bit of running, and really the whole run felt terrific.

I haven’t had a great weekend run in a while, and I really wanted this one to be a win, so I decided to run/walk it. I needed my legs to feel less brick like, and run/walk always works for that (for me). For the first 3 miles I ran for one song (~3 min) then walked a minute, then for the next 2 miles I ran for two songs (~6.5 min) then walked a minute, and for the last 1+ mile I ran the whole time.

The running sections felt fast and easy, and I ended up with an average 10:30 min/mile. I would have preferred to run closer to 10 min/mile, but this is not bad for me, especially for run/walk. I like lengthening the running sections as I get further into the run. It usually results in a quicker second half, which always makes me feel awesome.

In other news, my right calf has been giving me some trouble on and off by being tight and sore. I wore compression socks all day long last Thursday and Friday, and after my long run on Saturday, and now it feels fine.

Compression Socks for the win!

I’m not sure whether running in compression socks has ever done anything for me, but I’ll take this as proof that they help for recovery. I have 3 pairs now, quite the little collection, and all different brands. I’m thinking of writing a little review/comparison soon. Get excited!

Now, a few questions for you folks:

Do you ever run/walk? What distance makes a long run? Compression socks: yay or nay?