Today’s workout was scheduled to be a long run of up to an hour and forty five minutes. I ended up cutting my run short, when it was obvious that my legs were very tired.

I went to the park this afternoon, fully intending to complete my one hour and forty five minute run. It was obvious that my legs would be tired after my recent bike workouts, but right from the start of the run, they felt very tired.  

Running on tired legs doesn’t usually bother me.  I do it all the time, especially during the build to my key races of the year.  What typically happens is that after a mile or two, my legs warm up and finishing my workout is no issue. This afternoon however, my legs never got any better.

I was quite prepared to push through the tiredness to get my workout completed, but then another issue started to appear.  I could feel some tightness in the piriformis muscle on my right side.  This muscle is one of my gluteus muscles and I have had issues with it before.

This muscle issue, on top of the general fatigue that I was feeling, made the decision to cut my run short quite easy.  I immediately changed my route and ran back towards my car.  My run ended up being a little over an hour long.  This was plenty good enough considering the good week of training I have had.  I was not therefore, at all concerned about finishing the full run workout on my plan.

This evening, I am massaging that piriformis muscle with my percussion massage gun.  The gun has an attachment that is quite pointed in shape. This shape allows me to target the exact parts of the muscle that of concern.  It is a great device, and has already made me feel better.

I am happy with my decision to cut my run short.  Sometimes, it just makes sense, to listen to your body.