Emily's training blog

Devra came over nice and early to do a run with me.  The plan was a 10 mile recovery run since we both raced on Saturday.  We planned on running an out-and-back, down to the river trail, out to Garder Village, and back.  We ran into flooding and a closed trail about a mile from the turn around point.  We turned around and headed back the way we came.  Instead of leaving the trail at Millrace Park, we got off at 4800S, and ran the road back to my house.  This made the run a little longer.

I could feel Saturday's race during the run.  I seemed to feel better about halfway through the run.  We kept a good clip, but nothing crazy.  I felt pretty good by the end of the run, except for the ever-present hip tightness that I need to get rid of.  Our total time was 1:12:55.

Today begins my fifth week of no chocolate.  It has been easier than I thought it would be to resist.  Of course, I have found some substitutions that probably make not eating chocolate obsolete.  For instance, I have discovered a love of snickerdoodle cookies, especially when they come from Paradise Bakery.  Four more weeks to go, and maybe I can tighten up the overall diet over the next month. 

I was going to give myself one more day of recovery before hitting any speedwork, but Devra had a fartlek scheduled today, so I decided to keep her company since my workout was similar.  In hindsight I could have used the extra day!  We warmed up two miles on the grass loop at Sugarhouse Park, and then ran a fartlek workout of 8 min. 5 min. 3 min. 2 min. 1 min. with 5 min. 5 min. 3 min. 2 min. 1 min. recovery.  It sounded much easier in theory!  We ran on the road at Sugarhouse Park so that we could get some strength work in on the rolly hills.  I struggled on the 8 minute interval, and then REALLY struggled on the five minute interval.  For some reason, I got a second wind on the 3, 2, and 1 minute intervals, and was able to keep up the rest of the workout.  I think the recovery intervals were longer than I usually do.  They were much needed today.  We ran a mile and a half cooldown to give us 9 for today.  It is so nice having a strong training partner.  Devra kept me pushing much harder than I would have if I had been by myself.

AM:  I ran an eight mile recovery run this morning.  I ran the 1300W to 2700W loop.  As I was running back on 5400 S, I noticed that some high school student lost their library books on the way to school.  (Chasing Fire and Mockingjay from the Hunger Games series.)  I thought of being a Good Samaritan and returning them to the school, but really didn't want to carry two hardbound novels while I ran.  I guess I'm not as altruistic as I should be. 

I felt okay on the run.  My left hip is still nagging, and I can't tell if I'm making it worse by the constant stretching and strength work.  I may be overdoing it a bit.  It doesn't hurt much while I run, it's just sore.  But, as I go through the day I really notice it.  Hopefully a couple of easy days will help matters.  I may cross train tomorrow if I don't notice any improvement.

4 miles to go this evening!

I obviously did not run another four miles last night.  My left hip is just so sore.  I heard it described in an article as "cranky butt" which is not a scientific description, but it is an accurate one.  I feel like one hard workout or long run away from injuring myself, so I decided on a couple of cross training days to hopefully prevent any serious mishaps.  On top of my sore hip, I woke up with back pain, either from sleeping weird, or last night's core exercises.  So, cross training seems the way to go.  I feel REALLY old! 

I rode my spinning bike this morning while I watched mindless television.  I increased the resistance every ten minutes for an hour.

My back was still so tight yesterday. It hurt even to breathe. After moving around through the day it loosened up, and the hip seemed to be improving too. so I decided to attempt my 15 miler. I need those long runs!

Devra showed up at my house at 6 a.m. with a surprise guest. Kristen Ogden came to run with us, so we had a nice little running group. Kristen only needed 12, so instead of doing the loop out 1300W and turning at the temple, we turned at 9000S and ran up to 2700W. We ran back to 5400 S, and back to my house. Kristen stretched on my lawn while Devra and I ran 2.5 more miles through the neighborhood. It seemed to go quickly with running partners.

I felt pretty good, which is to be expected after two days off. I still feel the tightness in the hip, and I will have to see how it recovers today. I think it is manageable, but definitely something to watch. But, I was happy to be running. This was my longest run since back in October.