Injury Update

Sub-title: Half Marathon Training Week 13!
Sub-title 2: Time to get my act together! 

My superstitious side has hesitated even writing this out, BUT I am relieved to say that I ran 31 miles last week and had no IT Band pain. (I knocked on wood after typing this so my superstitious side feels better, even if I sound nutty!) And I’m not the only one doing better – my husband was able to start swimming this week and he has a lot more fluidity of motion when walking. His physical therapist thinks he will be able to start running again in June. Happy news!

So what did my peak week of training look like? Well, not what was on my training plan.

More important though were those important 2 words in the notes section of my training log: Pain free.

Wednesday I ran at home and something I’ve been dreading happened . . .

I watched the final episode of the last season of Scandal on Netflix. My time with Olivia Pope & Associates has been my absolute favorite and I don’t know how I’m going to replace it. I tried a few not-quite-tempo miles in the middle to see how they felt. My knee felt fine through them and afterward, but I felt like I was working really hard those 3 miles.

Saturday was my long run and it was the first time in awhile that I felt excited for a long run. It was also the first time in awhile that I prepped the night before – laying out my outfit, getting my fuel together, and making sure my watch was charged – instead of realizing the morning of that my battery was nearly dead or I was out of GU. The first 6 miles ticked by quickly and each mile on I was subconsciously holding my breath. Would I start to feel tightness outside on the outside of my knee? Would I need to stop? By the time I got home 7 miles later I felt a huge sense of relief. Here’s hoping that I’m able to successfully keep any further IT band issues at bay. Now I’m off to MYRTL!

What’s your favorite series on Netflix? Any podcast suggestions?

January Wrap Up

And just like that we’re already done with the first month of the year. I have a friend whose husband will always answer the question “can you believe how fast the year/month/day/etc has gone?” with “Yeah, actually I can.” It always makes me laugh, because I definitely fall in the camp of never believing just how fast time can go. This month was no exception.

This was far and away the highest mileage month I’ve run when not training for a marathon. I love numbers and progress, so it makes me happy to see my mileage going up and my pace coming down. This is a trend I’d like to continue through 2016!

Weekly Training: January 25-31

Monday: Gym – Still diligently working on my arm PT exercises (rows, external and internal rotations, and stretching) and for the first time in nearly 2 months I’ve had no pain in fully extending my left arm. I’ve been able to completely use my arm without babying it and it is such a welcome relief to not have pain anymore. Hurray! In an effort to keep any IT Band issues at bay, I’ve also been doing clamshells, side lying leg lifts, and bridges following my PT exercises.

Tuesday: Plan: 2 x 1600m (60 sec RI), 2 x 800m (60 sec RI) – Actual: 10 min w/u @9:24, 2×1600 @7:47 w/400m RI @10, 2×800 @7:41 w/400m RI @10, .6M c/d @10 = 5.5 miles @8:40- I backed way off RLRF’s prescribed pace (7:30) for the 800s, because I think 7:30 is too fast for where my current fitness is. Being able to complete the whole workout was a good sign that this was the right move.

Wednesday: off

Thursday: Plan: 1M Easy, 5M @ Mid Tempo, 1M Easy – Actual: 1M @9:32, 5M @8:36, 1M @9:26 = 7M @8:50 – Eh. I got through it, but it was mentally hard. I’ve been listening to podcasts at the gym, but it’s just not the same as watching a great show on Netflix. 

Friday: Plan: 6M Easy – Actual: 6.5M @9:23 – Finally! A run that felt really good! After 2 weeks of really mediocre runs, this one felt super easy and like I could run forever. Running at home while watching Scandal and Making of a Murderer helped it fly by. 

Saturday: Plan: 13M @HMP+30 – Actual: 13.1M @ 8:51 – My husband’s been a pretty successful  recreational marathoner. Whatever his goal has been – run a marathon, BQ, sub-3 – he’s always met it. I think part of what makes him so successful is that he doesn’t shy away from being uncomfortable. He knows that it’s going to be hard and hurt and he’s just okay with that. This is something I’m trying to get better at. Before even starting this run I started talking myself out of trying to hit a certain pace or running the whole 13 miles. The first few miles felt a bit sluggish, but at mile 3 I saw my husband and kids who were out doing errands. After stopping to say hi and giving my girls a hug I felt better. I try to only occasionally look at my pace when I run, so by the time I looked next I was already at mile 7 and feeling great. It was then that I decided to go for the whole 13 miles without worrying that it was too fast/too far/too hard. What was the worst that would happen? I’d have to stop and walk? At the end of my run I was REALLY happy that I’d finished it. It was a big confidence boost that breaking my half-marathon PR this spring was a real possibility. Splits: 1) 9:00 2) 9:15 3) 9:19 4) 8:40 5) 8:34 6) 9:05 7) 8:55 8) 8:36 9) 8:50 10) 8:39 11) 8:56 12) 8:34 13) 8:40

Weekly Total: 32.1 miles