Every run these days begins with pain. The hip never feels good on the first step. Sometimes, after 4-5 miles, I forget all about it. I don’t know if it’s because the hip stopped hurting or I stopped noticing, or maybe because something else hurts more. The good news is, I feel better as I go, not worse. And though I always pay for the 20 milers in the days to follow, it’s worth the price.
Hobbling through marathon training, hanging on by a (possibly torn) thread, this isn’t my long term plan. When Boston’s over, I’ll go get the MRI and maybe the surgery and most definitely to the root of things, one way or another. When Boston’s over, I’ll take whatever break I need to take from running so that I can still be running when I’m 80. But I have two weeks, 6 more training runs and 26.2 all-I’ve-got miles to run before Boston’s over.
My training began back in mid-September with a stress fracture and zero miles for six weeks. It wasn’t until January that I began logging double-digit runs or completing anything that remotely resembled a tempo run. My mileage has been light compared to my first (and most recent) marathon, and at most I’ve strung together 7-8 miles at marathon goal pace. It doesn’t feel like enough.
But guess what? It IS enough. It’s enough to get me to the starting line. It’s enough to get me to the finish. And for everything in between, my heart and my mind will make up the difference. So instead of dwelling on where my training has fallen short and all the hurdles/ injuries that have kept me from the workouts and mileage I’d wanted to do, I’m going to spend the next two weeks focusing on what I have done, how far I’ve come, and not put caveats on what I’m capable of. Whatever my body decides to give me on Patriot’s Day, I’m going to take. It’s going to be ENOUGH.
Here’s a recap of the last week and a half, picking up where I left off last log:
Mar 25-29
Wednesday – 6 miles easy – Ouch. Hip was hurty. But weather was nice, so there was that.
Thursday – Off
Friday – 20 miles (8:28 avg) The good –my hip really wasn’t a factor in this run! The not very good– I was just plain tired on this run when I really wanted to be strong. During the middle of the run my paces really slipped and I stopped a bunch of times for 5-10 seconds, here/there to eat or drink or clear out my nose. (Cold was still bothering me.) By the last 5 miles I was really trying to focus and pick up the pace, but that didn’t really happen until the last 2-3 miles. The last mile was 7:49, and think the mile before that was 8:10, so I did manage to go a little faster. My legs didn’t feel sore or tired….I was just tired overall.
Saturday – off
Sunday – 7 miles (7:58 avg) with 6 at GMP. Running in the afternoon is always a bit more difficult for me….I am usually more sluggish. So I was a little nervous that I would feel awful on this run. Thankfully that wasn’t the case. My hip did hurt more than in the past couple of runs and hurt after the run (darn!). But other than that, this went pretty well. First mile was 8:34, then 7:49, 7:46, 7:50, 8:07, 7:51, 7:40. I wasn’t trying to go faster than MP, but I seem to not be able to pace myself correctly. This didn’t feel easy but it didn’t feel terribly hard either.
Week total – 39 miles, 1 hour aqua jogging
Mar 30 -Apr 5
Monday – 6 miles easy. Nice run with my friend, kept the pace very easy and though my hip wasn’t feeling great, I forgot about it for most of the run, probably distracted by the good conversation.
Tuesday – 1 hour deep water running
Wednesday – 7 mile tempo (8:15 avg) – 2 mile warm-up, 10 minutes @ 7:50, 8 minutes @ 7:40 , 6 minutes @ 7:30, 3 minutes recovery jog in between. I was feeling very fatigued and my hip was hurting, and whenever I checked my heart rate (after each tempo set), it was relatively high for the paces I was doing (160s). I had poor sleep the past few nights because of my son being sick, and was feeling achy and worn down. I am not going to let myself dwell on how awful this felt (and how easy it should’ve been!) because I know it’s just one of those days/ weeks!
Thursday – off
Friday – 16 miles (8:36 avg) Took the hilly route for an out and back, total elevation gain (and loss) of 768 ft. The first half my hip did feel a little uncomfortable (worse on the downhill). But by the end, it felt fine. The final 2 miles included a 1/2 mile long hill with a fairly sizable incline. It was tough, but I got it done!
Saturday – Off
Sunday – 6.3 easy miles with strides – Started this run feeling very very uncomfortable. I considered bagging the run after a mile in. My hip was just really sore. I ran on the turf and track while my son played soccer. In spite of the snow, it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. Thankfully, after 4 miles, the hip started to bother me less. And by the time I was ready for strides at the end, it felt almost normal! This is a reminder to me that the beginning of a run/race is not always a true indication of how things will go. Boston might start off feeling rough, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to run a great (at least great for me!) race.
Total for week – 35 miles, 1 hour of aqua jogging.
Posted by Basil. Check out more at Salty Running.