Bret

AM - really painful, horrible run this morning due to what I think is an inflamed periformis muscle that is causing issues with the sciatic nerve on the left side from my upper hamstring.   I had tried a new set of stretches / exercises yesterday for it and actually felt really good in that area by the end of the day - but when I tried to run this morning...not so much.   

AM - 3 very slow miles on the trail with Finn.  Did some more research on the periformis and discovered some guidance on a PT website that a lot of people think that the muscle is tight and needs to be stretched and that's actually the opposite of what is needed - instead contracting the muscle with exercises will allow it to properly heal.  That checked out with my experience in stretching it a bunch and feeling much worse and painful as a result.   So I did the basic contraction exercises (mainly clam shell) late yesterday.  Avoided crossing my legs when seated and generally tried to stand or lay flat for much of time - and then did a very easy jog this morning that I expected would need to include some walking, but happily it did not.   Hopefully the healing progression will continue over the next several days and weeks.  

AM - 3 miles less painful but not ok yet. 

AM - 3.25 miles a little faster - still problems but gradually improving. 

AM - 3.5 miles - hoped to be over the problems with the periformis/hamstring, but only marginal improvement today.  

AM - 4 miles with Finn partly on the golf course - quite hilly.   First part of the first mile was ok, but the injury continues to give me issues.   Seeing a chiropractor later this afternoon.  

AM - 3 miles on the new trail with Finn.  The upside of requiring dogs to be leashed now on this trail is that I do not need to give him a bath after we run on it.   When he is off-leash he's all over the meadows and brush and mud.  They have also put signs up to limit the use to just the recently finished part of the trail; the trail is only about 2.25 miles out and back.  However it has a loop around a pond that is about 350 yards or so and it is relatively flat.  So I did a few circuits of the pond and will consider this as an option for training workouts - the surface is soft and quite similar to an old cinder track.  

The injury to the periformis/hamstring is incrementally better day-to-day; some days the increments are only marginal.  I would like it to be much further along than it is - but as compared to a week ago - the improvement is not insignificant.  Last Wednesday I could barely run 12 min pace due to the injury.   Today I was able to run about 9:45 pace for 3 miles - which is not great - but as compared to the last couple of days, the pain/weakness was less - perhaps a 4 out of 10 which is the lowest I have had in over a week.   Went to the chiropractor yesterday and his assessment was that this was not a sciatica nerve issue and that he really could not offer any treatment, noting that I had done physical therapy with this injury back in December/January and would encourage me to continue with the exercises they had given me - or alternatively go to an ortho or physiatrist to perhaps get an injection for pain relief.

AM - 4 miles with Finn in the neighborhood - marginal improvement on pain level at times in the hamstring - and average pace is improving - but this felt like a grind for much of the run probably due to all of the hills/ups and downs.  Just need to be patient...certainly going in the right direction and not getting worse.  

PM - 30 mins of deep water running / aqua jogging.  Have not done this in many years, but found the aqua jogger belt in my garage and headed out to the pool at lunch.  Watched a few videos about it and remembered how I really did not like it when I did it previously.  But to my surprise, it was not really all that bad this time - and after I warmed-up a bit and got more comfortable, I was able to keep a steady HR at just under 120 bpm.   I have read where you should do timed interval workouts - I may give those a shot too.  I am estimating 3 miles for the 30 mins of effort as the equivalent to a dry-land run.   Hamstring pain was somewhat noticable, but did not have the level of discomfort of the run I did this morning.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan and the dogs on the trail - I was able to maintain a decent sub 10 pace with not too much discomfort and weakness.  Good to catch up with Dan and hear about his vacation to Italy.  

AM - 3.5 miles on the Milton trail from Wood/Phillips Road - out and back with Finn.   Finally felt a bit more strength or less weakness in the hamstring this morning.  First couple of miles were mid to low 9 min pace, but the last mile and a half was sub 8 mins which felt like significant progress especially considering 9 days ago, it was so painful and weak, that I could not manage much better than 12 min pace. 

AM - met Greg for a run from downtown today.  Good run at just under 8:30 pace - still some pain and soreness in the hamstring but much improved.   

AM - 5 miles with Finn before church - hamstring was a bit tighter and achier than yesterday - pace was slower too as a result. 

AM - 5.25 miles with Dan and the dogs on the horseroad trails - very warm today even early in the morning.   Hamstring was marginally better than yesterday but still annoying. 

PM - 30 minutes of easy deep water running in the pool.   Giving the equivalent of 3 miles of running on land. 

AM - 6 miles with Dan and Greg and with my dog (Greg's dog is no longer enthusiastic for a run each time he goes, and Dan's dog is really not built for running very quickly or very long).  Super warm and humid for a 6 am start - I think it was 75 degrees with humidity in the 90% range but more signficantly the dew point was in the 70's.   My weather app said it was "dangerously humid".   Anyway we ran at a decent effort of near 8:30 pace for most of the miles with the last couple of uphill miles seeing my HR crest over the LT and perhaps Finn's as well (he was not in favor of adding any more distance to the end of the run when it was proposed).  Hamstring was incrementally better at the beginning of the run today versus yesterday - and I am thinking it may have something to do with the deep water / aqua jogging I did yesterday afternoon.   Hoping it is allowing for better blood flow to the muscles without no impact.   BTW pool running is only marginally more saturating/wet than running outdoors in the current hot and humid conditions.

PM - 30 mins of deep water running after my workday.  

AM - 3.25 miles with Dan and the dogs on the new Milton Preserve trail behind my house - super warm and humid - dew point was 75.  Feels like temp at 6 am was 86 degrees.  Busy schedule today - in the office and then a flight to London overnight for work. 

AM - over night flight to London - meetings beginning at noon - so I quickly did a 1 mile run provisionally cover my streak in case my schedule kept me from getting a run in the evening.  
 

PM - squeezed in a 3 mile run before 8 pm local time - running on fumes with minimal sleep.  Perhaps pushed the hamstring a bit too much on this one. 

AM - after a full nights sleep, I was able to enjoy a leisurely sightseeing run of nearly 13 miles this morning. The hamstring was quite sore and so I kept the pace easy though it was quite fatigued toward the end. Ran from my hotel through Hyde Park, through Westminster and along the river Thames to Tower Bridge and return. Beautiful weather quiet a good start to the weekend

AM - 4.5 miles with the guys and the dogs on the new trail.  Hopped in the pool after. 

AM - 3 miles on an unseasonably cool morning before church.  

AM - tested positive for COVID yesterday evening - feel kinda crappy - just got a couple of miles in to keep up the running streak.   

AM - day 2 (.5)? of COVID - ran easy 2 miles to keep the streak going.    Felt worse as the day progressed yesterday and no better this morning.  Hoping for improvement today. 

AM - beginning day 3 of COVID - no fever for the last 12 hours - which is an improvement.  2 miles on the trail.  Felt ok - but kept the effort easy - feeling like if I pushed at all, I may start feeling bad.

AM - got up feeling reasonably improved - still fatigued and congested a bit - but well enough to go an extra mile this morning.   Hopefully the gradual trend back to normal will continue.

AM - 3 miles with Finn around the neighborhood. 

AM - 5k with Finn on the horsetrail roads - pace is getting better.   

AM - 4.25 miles on the new trail with Dan and the dogs.   He just returned from dropping his son at camp up in PA.  Feeling a bit fatigued this morning - assuming it is COVID related. 

AM - 5 miles with Dan and Finn on the horsetrail roads - really felt like this was way more of an effort than it should have been.   Yesterday I took 2 naps - which I never do - and today I just felt heavy and slow.  Hamstring was hurting too.   We actually ran a relatively decent pace but it felt hard in the heavy humid summer air.   My only consolation was that as soon as we stopped, Finn immediately laid down - indicating that he was worn out from the effort as well.   

AM - 4.75 miles with Dan and the dogs from his place.  A bit slower pace because his dog is slow on leash - felt less COVID fatigue today too.

AM - 4.5 miles with Dan and the dogs on the new trail.   We had a fair amount of rain over the last couple of days, so the trail was a bit muddy in places and it was quite heavy/humid out, so the effort was fairly slow-paced.   The hamstring does better with easier efforts.  

PM - 30 mins of deep water running - equivalent of 3 miles I suppose.

AM - just under 5.5 miles with the guys and Finn on the horsetrail roads.  Day 850 of my run streak. 

PM - 2 miles of deep water running - I used the "indoor running/treadmill" setting on my garmin to record the distance.   I think the watch records the distance based on the movement of the arms.