Friday, July 23, 2010

Five Photo Friday

Yet another early evening run yesterday and yet another sweat-fest. A little over 10K with some great company (including Juliana who hung in there for what turned out to be one tough run).

During both Wednesday's 10-miler and last night's run, my legs felt as though they were on the verge of cramping up. I was able to shake it out both times, but unfortunately neglected to take any precautionary measures. Last night, about an hour post-run, my muscles in both legs ceased up in tight and painful cramps. After a few moments of misery, they finally subsided and I was able to hobble my way into an epsom bath for relief. I also popped a SaltStick cap (better late than never?) before bed.

This is something I've never really dealt with before and it seems my body is reacting to the constantly hot and humid weather and excessive sweating that comes along with it. I'm going to start taking the salt caps a bit more liberally over the next little while to keep the cramps at bay.

I'm planning to head out for a short run after work today and I'll be racing a 5K tomorrow as part of a relay team for the Muskoka Sprint Triathlon. The race starts at 4PM (and I won't be running until closer to 5) so Sunday's long run is sure to be interesting.

***

And now for Five Photo Friday, RunningLaur-style. Some snapshots from last weekend's adventures at Bruce Peninsula National Park.

I love lakes



We hiked to this beautiful almost tropical-looking place known as "The Grotto"



Crystal clear and ice cold waters of Georgian Bay



View from the bluffs



Sunset Silhouettes

29 comments:

Aron said...

I HATE CALF CRAMPS!!! I haven't had problems running, but for some reason get them in one leg cycling. I woke up with one the other night and it was TERRIBLE :( owieeee

Anonymous said...

Ugh, hope the salt tablets work!! :( The constant sweating really does take its toll - keep drinking all that h2o, too :)

those pictures are gooorgeous. Tropical is definitely the word - you'd have no idea you weren't on some secluded island ;)

RunningLaur said...

Wow, beautiful! It looks deceptively warm in photos I'm sure :)

N.D. said...

so gorgeous!!!

Heidi said...

What a beautiful location. Good luck with your runs this weekend.

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

AMAZINg photos! sucky about the cramps thanks for the reminder, I need NEW salt stick caps.

GOOD LUCK in your 5k

MCM Mama said...

Beautiful pictures!

I've been sucking down nuun like it's going out of style lately.

Felice Devine said...

Love the 5 photos.

Good luck with the race tomorrow and have a good weekend!

Teamarcia said...

Love the pics! Ahh to be in some of that cool blue water about now!
I've noticed calf cramping issues lately too.
Have fun and be safe tomorrow!

Indi said...

Its been a huge issue for me as I sweat a ton in this heat and humidity! I use S! Caps and have ordered a sampler pack from Hammer nutrition as I've heard the Endurolytes help. Gotta find a fix"(
THose pics are awesome..makes me want to be there:)
Good Luck tomorrow!!

funderson said...

Holy cow...SO pretty

justme said...

beautiful photos

ajh said...

Gorgeous photos! I envy you your trip there.

Lily on the Road said...

Love Georgian Bay yet haven't been there in five years.

Banana's, banana's, banana's, and as much as I hate to say add salt to your diet, please do.

add spinach too.....I make a smoothie in the morning, in the blender add;

2 oranges peeled,
1 green apple, cored, but I leave the peel on,
hand full of spinach,
ice cubes,
banana (sometimes)
1 cup of water.

Blend and drink, it'll help...

have fun at the Muskoka Tri...

Mark said...

I want to be there, now!! Looks so cool....hope the cramping stops...stay hydrated my friend!

Unknown said...

best wishes for your leg of the sprint tri!

rinusrunning said...

The pics looks good and the red sea are hot and not so cold like this lake!.
Have a nice wekend.
Rinus.
www.rinusrunning.nl

Char said...

I'm not a cramp-sufferer but I've heard that everyone sweats differently as far as salts are concerned. You must be a salty sweat-er. Bet you can't wait for the weather to cool.

Jamie said...

Calf cramps are the WORST! Hope you can keep yours at bay.

Sweet pics! Have a great weekend!

Badgergirl said...

Love the pics! Boo to cramps.

Have a great weekend!

Oz Runner said...

good luck on the race....the grotto looks like a beautiful place...

Marky Mark said...

I feel cooler just looking at those photos! This is tough running weather.

Nicole said...

I hate having issues with my calf muscles! They were tight for like one week and i swear it killed me. I finally went and bought some zensah leg sleeves and they helped a ton! Compression those babies! UMMMM those pictures are BEAUTIFUL and it looks SO tropical! I'm JEALOUS! Grotto looks AMAZING!

Jess said...

Beautiful pics! That water DOES look tropical!

Melissa said...

Gorgeous pics!!

Anonymous said...

Yes those pics are gorgeous! :) Hope your race today rocked!!

A Toronto girl out West said...

I'm with you on needing salt in this weather. I've found myself totally depending on Gatorade as of late but I think I may hop on the Nuun wagon.

Oh and your photos are SICK! Can you believe I've never been up there? Clearly a must do next time I'm in town. Okay so next time because next time is for my dress fitting and it's a quick in and out. But likely next Spring! :o)

Laura said...

I have never had any issues with cramps except for this past Wed after a brutal spin class - I wasn't the only one. We were instructed to take in Gatorade or Cytomax asap by our coach. This helped but the cramp I had in my calf was unbelievable.

Julie D. said...

oh my goodness, that looks amazing!! how beautiful!