"Makes me that much stronger,
Makes me work a little bit harder,
Makes me that much wiser,
So thanks for making me
a fighter."
~Christina Aguilera
I hit my first little speed bump this week in the form of an unhappy left hip. After crushing Week 5 and hitting some quick paces during my speedwork, Week 6 told me to slow my roll. My left hip did a little something funky a couple of times during Week 5's long run and felt tight and achy afterward, but by Monday morning I felt ready to tackle my tempo run.
MONDAY
5 miles with progressive tempo for 3 miles
I opted for a progressive tempo run...1 mile to warm up, 3 miles that each got progressively faster, 1 mile to cool down. I should've known by how hard it felt to shave just a few seconds off each tempo mile that my body was fighting me, but I pushed through and chalked it up to sticky and humid summer running. But as the day went on, my hip got louder when voicing its displeasure. No big deal, I had easy miles on tap for Tuesday. We got on with our day and had some fun watching the solar eclipse.
NASA approved cereal box eclipse viewers
TUESDAY
Easy 7
The views on these early morning runs never get old. It's incredible to watch the sky change colors as you go through the miles, ending with an entirely different look than when you started. I had 8 miles on my training plan, but right around the time I took this picture at mile 3, I knew I'd be cutting this one short. My hip was tight and sore and wasn't getting looser as I continued my run, so I aimed to finish 6 miles. By the time I hit 6 miles, I was just down the street from my house and realized the hip finally felt good, so I got in an extra mile (and a teeny tiny bit of redemption). It was another hot one and I was thankful my sprinklers were on when I got home.
The rest of the day included a whole lot of foam rolling and hoping for the best.
WEDNESDAY
4 hill repeats
Another day, another gorgeous sunrise. Not to mention the gorgeous company.
It may have taken all summer, but I finally got a sunrise oceanfront run in with Kristy. Yippee!!! The hip was feeling better, but it seemed like the tightness had shifted to my hamstring. With no set mileage in mind, I just wanted to increase my effort a smidge going over the Rudee Bridge. No all out effort, just picked up the pace as I climbed the hill and kept it super easy on the descent. I finished with 4 miles in the books and stretched a ton before getting in the car and heading home.
I had my own personal massage squad at home that night too. Even though they don't enjoy my picture taking much these days, they were troopers to give me some good karate chops to the hammy while we watched America's Got Talent.
THURSDAY
Spin
It had been months since I had last gone to MY Ride, so I was pretty excited to get back in the saddle. Even without the music, this class delivered the drenching low impact workout I was craving. My left hip was making little but significant improvements with each passing day and each smart choice on my part. I was beginning to have hope for Friday's 16 miler after all.
FRIDAY
16 miles
For some reason, this run didn't scare me like Week 5's 15 did. I wasn't stressing out about fuel and hydration the day before and I didn't wake up with that nervous pit in my stomach. It could be that I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete all 16 miles if my hip started acting up, so I didn't put as much pressure on myself. I got up and got out the door in about 40 minutes (my new long run double french braids are a bit time consuming, but holy moly is it worth it!). Lucky me got to share the first 6 miles with Ryan, who had no idea why I was taking a picture of our shoes when we finished.
Still unsure of how far I'd be able to make it, I set out with every intention of doing all 10 I had left. 2 miles in, I stopped to stretch.
Yup, right there in the middle of the bike path at Sherwood Lakes while people ran and walked their dogs right by me. It was a pattern I continued for the rest of the run - run 2 miles, stretch, repeat. It kept me out for what felt like an eternity, but it was worth every stretch session. I finished feeling decent and my hip was no worse for the wear.
Not sure why my watch didn't congratulate me on my longest run to date (well, since owning this watch, at least), but I celebrated by downing a bazillion ounces of Tailwind, water, chocolate/peanut butter/banana smoothie, and iced coffee afterward.
SATURDAY
5 easy miles
Here's something that never would've happened the last time I trained for a marathon...I ran 5 miles the day after running 16. There's no way I would have ever even dreamed of doing that the last time...part of it is that I feel I'm simply more fit than I was last time, but it has way more to do with how much smarter I am this time around. My easy runs are easy. My ego has been kicked aside and I'm doing what's right for my body. If I run 16 miles too hard, I'm not recovered enough to get those easy 5 in the next day. It's a lesson I learned the hard way, but I'm thankful to have learned it nonetheless.
I got a late start on this run but it wasn't dreadfully hot out and I didn't suffer much. I couldn't help but think of how many times I'd run this very route while training for the last marathon I ran...it was winter so these crape myrtles were barron, but I'd always see a bluebird in this little stretch and be reminded of my mother-in-law and her battle with cancer. She loved birds and seeing them out here on this path always made me smile. There weren't any birds out during this run, but I was still reminded of Peggy, putting these otherwise unremarkable miles in the meaningful column.
Then I enjoyed some R&R on the beach for a bit by myself.
Glorious. All of it.
Finished up a great day with a great evening...there's definitely a fall chill in the air these days, and even though Ryan and I could've easily gone to bed at 8pm, we made the push to squeeze a little more summer fun (and s'mores) into the day.
SUNDAY
Rest (P90X3 yoga)
Sundays are usually 100% rest days for me, but my body was craving some ohms and asanas when I woke up. That's the beauty of the P90X3 series...they get the good stuff in and they get it in quick. This yoga video has a few basic poses for strength, a few for balance, and some great stretches toward the end.
Week 6 finished with 37 miles and considerably less soreness in the hip than what it started with, and leaving me to wonder what kind of fun Week 7 has in store for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment