December 28, 2015 - January 3, 2016
This is my first week back into running since my injury at the Santa Hustle Half Marathon back in December. That injury really threw me a curveball - every time I would tape up something on my leg, the pain would migrate someplace else entirely. After getting a foam roller (I normally use Yoga Tune Up balls), I've been able to pinpoint it to an IT band and glute muscle issue. The foam rolling and light runs have really helped. I still have some knee pain, but it's difficult to tell anymore what is a new injury and what is an old injury for me. I've had problems with the left knee since a surgery in 2009, so to say I'm used to knee pain is definitely an understatement! Let's look at my week in marathon training:
Monday 12/28: Dynamic yoga (15 min) from Nike Training club. I also discovered a ganglion cyst in my wrist this week. It seems like my injuries are trying to keep me from all the things keeping me sane!
Tuesday 12/29: 3.1 miles. This was my first run since my injury and I'd be lying if I said it felt great to be back out there. Not only was my leg still pretty sore, I could NOT figure out my gait. I kept running normally with the right foot and running tip-toe style with my left foot - a limping kind of run. I felt out of shape and generally crappy the entire run.
Wednesday 12/30: Competitor (45 min) from Nike Training Club. I didn't feel like working out AT all, but I did it with some slight modifications to protect my left knee. I felt much better after finishing.
Thursday 12/31: Wipeout (30 min) from Nike Training Club. I killed this workout on NYE to help myself stay awake. I promptly crashed at 12:01 a.m.
Friday 1/1: 5 miles. I was nervous doing this run, mostly because of how poorly my 5K went on Tuesday. I felt kind of cruddy the first two miles or so, but I had been actively working on my gait and it all clicked into place around 2.5 miles in. I ran strong for miles 3-4 and then hitting mile 5 I felt amazing. My last mile was my fastest. I also ran for the first time with my new Garmin Forerunner 10 - which I bought myself on Christmas morning with a giftcard (thanks mom and dad!)
Saturday 1/2: Active rest day.
Sunday 1/3: 7.01 miles. I started off with a short walk before beginning the run today. Around 2.75 miles into the run I got a stitch and needed a short walking break for about a block. The stitch worked out and I was able to run again. I was feeling stronger than I did on my five mile run earlier in the week and when I looked at the Garmin and saw I had almost 6 miles in, I decided to run for 7 instead, just because I felt strong. My training plan had me down for 9, but I knew that would just be too far to push it, as I was starting to feel tightness in my Achilles tendon and knew I shouldn't push on. I did Leslie Fightmaster's Yoga for Runners when I got home.
How did your runs go this week? Are you actively training for any races right now? My next race is the Strawberry Plains Half Marathon on 2/6/16!
