We ran a but under 10 miles last week and down the stretch I was fading fast. I had some tough pain around my left hip area and my thighs. Reflecting back on the run, I think I ran out of fuel; in other words, I bonked. It was a cold day, I think without question the coldest day I've run in yet, so that was a good learning experience as well. Learning how to cope with a cold day (about 40 degree), learning how the body warms up, learning how to put the shock of the cold behind you and to focus instead on the run.
I did bring up my hip pain with my PT and was shown that a possible flaw in my biomechanics that could be leading to the pain. I'm hopeful that the PT is right (I think she is), and so during tonight's 5 mile run I will try and focus and pay attention to how my hip is positioned during my stride. We'll see. Earlier this week my lower back really tightened up overnight knocking me out from a morning run. I could barely roll myself on to my side, so there was no chance I could have done a 5 mile run. For the first time in a couple of days I actually feel motivated to run.
This coming Saturday we're scheduled to run 11 miles which will be a new PR for distance. If my energy levels don't fail me and I can fight through the annoying pains I have during parts of a run, I'll feel reinvigorated. Right now I am feeling a bit down and depressed b/c I can't seem to run without pain during these short distances - how can I expect my body to handle 26 miles? One step at a time, I guess.
We ran a bit over 9 miles this past Saturday and I felt pretty good afterwards. I'm not sure I could have gone much farther but I wasn't feeling any bad pains. The weather was sunny and humid and a bit on the warm side. Having a running partner really makes the runs so much more enjoyable and they do seem to go by faster than I'm sure they would if I was running alone. It's a good feeling to know that each new long run is a new person record. This week's long run will be 10 miles and it's at this point that I think I'll begin to feel like a runner.
I did experience some tightness in my lower left leg, on the top of my left foot specifically. I'm not sure what this pain is or what I can do about it, but I did feel it once we started out running and after each water stop. I think it went away shortly but until it did, the pain was annoying.
Up next is a 6 mile run followed by two 4 mile runs. This is the last week we'll be running less than 5 miles on a short run day.
We ran 4 miles after work on Monday. This was the first time we ran after work rather than before and it did feel different. I was surprised. I think I felt better during the evening run than I do at times during the morning run, but I like the way I feel during the day after a run rather than waiting all day to run, so I don't think we'll be changing our routine - yet.
We ran 6 miles this morning and it was a tough run, in more ways than one. The route was tough - lots of hills and some doozies as well. Our other routes are relatively flat with an occasional small hill or two. Today's was a constant up- and downhill run and the few flat spots had uneven ground which made them a challenge as well. By mile 5 I was hurting but pushed on and made it to the finish line in a bit over 1 hour. Given the tough run I was happy, but I do want to get our run time down.
We may begin a different training program in which we divide up a run in to two segments - a one mile run to the gym, followed by our weightlifting and then finishing up our run afterwards. I think this routine will allow us to do some speed work, but I guess until we do it I won't know for sure.
We ran 4 miles after work on Monday. This was the first time we ran after work rather than before and it did feel different. I was surprised. I think I felt better during the evening run than I do at times during the morning run, but I like the way I feel during the day after a run rather than waiting all day to run, so I don't think we'll be changing our routine - yet.
We ran 6 miles this morning and it was a tough run, in more ways than one. The route was tough - lots of hills and some doozies as well. Our other routes are relatively flat with an occasional small hill or two. Today's was a constant up- and downhill run and the few flat spots had uneven ground which made them a challenge as well. By mile 5 I was hurting but pushed on and made it to the finish line in a bit over 1 hour. Given the tough run I was happy, but I do want to get our run time down.
We may begin a different training program in which we divide up a run in to two segments - a one mile run to the gym, followed by our weightlifting and then finishing up our run afterwards. I think this routine will allow us to do some speed work, but I guess until we do it I won't know for sure.
