Weekly Recap 12/4/16

I can hardly believe it’s been a month since the Monumental Marathon already. I still find it hard to believe that I ran 2:57, and I have to check the results now and then just to be sure.

But now that it’s been a month, it’s time to get back to work!

Last week was a solid mileage week plus a Thanksgiving Day race that, while not spectacularly fast, reassured me I had some speed still. But that race also flared up the nagging hamstring ache that has persisted at least since early October. It was an injury that didn’t seem to be affected by running — just basically everything else. Bending to get toothpaste out from the bottom cabinet. Tying my shoes. Doing the traditional scissors in Pilates class. I had it worked on the week I ran the Indy Half Marathon, and it was better but still not 100%. Since it didn’t bother me running, I just let it be. Obviously I made it through the marathon okay, and I hoped with some down time, it would go away.

And then I went to spin class twice, and it didn’t like that. Ohhhh-kay. Then I raced a 5k on it. Ouch.

After walking around all last weekend complaining about my butt, I made an appointment to see Dr. Kyle Bowling at Kentucky Sports Chiropractic.

 

Monday: Nothing like dry needles in your arse at 8 a.m. Monday morning! Turns out the left side of my hip is rotating and causing my hamstring to have to do extra work. Some dry needling and hip adjusting, and by Wednesday I was pain-free for the first time in months. More hip flexor and hamstring stretching for me — and fortunately Jasyoga has 5-minute reset videos for both! 6 easy miles on the treadmill in the evening.

 

Tuesday: I was apprehensive about my first speed work since the marathon — 8 miles with 5 at steady-state I wasn’t sure I was ready for it, but the only way to be ready is to do it. I did run this on the treadmill which allowed me to a) avoid rush hour traffic in the dark and b) set it and forget it. I haven’t run steady-state pace in weeks, so by running it on the treadmill, I could start to recalibrate my sense of pace and effort.

Wednesday: Easy 4.5 miles, a little quick, for which I blame my husband. Taught Pilates after.

Thursday: Taught Pilates strength then 6 miles “moderate” on the treadmill. Have I mentioned I don’t like running in the dark? I can tolerate it in the morning, but drivers are worse in the evening.

Friday: 4 miles after work. Got dark fast! Took twice as long to get home that afternoon — frustrating. Did Jasyoga that morning.

 

Saturday: Oh right. Long runs. 12 miles solo from my house, felt good until mile 9 and then just tired. Fought through and stayed consistent, though — but a far cry from doing 12 miles with speed work for a normal Tuesday! My low back felt all out of wack on this run. More Jasyoga when I finished.

 

Sunday: 5 miles, 39 minutes. Where were these legs yesterday? (I had 9 hours of sleep so that probably helps.) Nice progression — 8:07, 8:00, 7:44, 7:36, 7:33. I was daydreaming about fast races. Stopped for a bagel at 4.3, then crammed it in my vest pocket for the rest of the run.

Totals: 45.5 miles run, 2.5 hours Pilates and Yoga.