[S]he Conquers Who Endures

15 min w.u. 3 x mile @half mar effort with 1 min rest 10 min c.d.

Treadmill at 1% incline; AM workout; 9 min/mi wu for 15 mins then 3xmile at 7:30/7:35/7:35 min/mi; 10 min cd at 9:15 min/mi; Average HR 151 bpm; 6.06 mi in 51:14; was not feeling this workout. I think I'm running my "easy" mileage too fast or the trail run Saturday was a little tougher than I thought on my legs. PM: 1.5 h Prana yoga, felt good to stretch out the piriformis. Went to ortho today, said I don't have labral tear or femoral neck stress fracture, but have piriformis syndrome. Need to go to PT!

40 mins easy

Cambridge, MA; 55F 88% humidity; Avg HR 158 bpm; 8:54 min/mi AP for 4.93 mi in 43:53. Piriformis felt better after yoga last night.

15 min w.u. 12 x 1 min on, 2 mins off 15 min c.d.

Cambridge, MA; 52F 87% humidity; Avg HR 159 bpm; ONs Avg 6:50 min/mi; 7.09 mi in 1:02:11. Piriformis is feeling better. No pain during ON/OFFs, pain reached a 3 during cd, then felt fine after stretching out and foam rolling.

105 mins easy

Cambridge, MA group run; 61F 88% humidity; 197 ft elevation gain; AP 8:14 min/mi; 12.76 mi in 1:45:02; I think I ran this faster than I was supposed to, I ran with a friend and wasn't paying attention to pace at the beginning; very surprised how good piriformis felt; legs were nice and shaky towards the end; stretched well, walked 2.5 miles home, then soaked in an ice bath and wore compression the rest of the day

Blue hills trail run; 61F 88% humidity; Avg HR 140 bpm; AP 10:00 min/mi; 152 ft elevation gain; 4.03 mi in 40:15; calves were super tight and sore from yesterday but felt nice and loose at the end; piriformis A-ok!; stretched then soaked in epsom salts

35 mins easy with 6x100 m strides

Cambridge, MA; 68F 88% hmidity; 9:25 min/mi AP for 2.47 mi then 6x100 m strides AP 6:05 min/mi. Avg HR 158 bmp; 3.57 mi in 35:06; woke up feeling dead tired (7 h sleep last night); I went back to my normal eating routine this weekend - "cleaner food" - I'm wondering if I didn't get enough calories and/or my long run was too hard of an effort

15 min w.u. 3-4 mile tempo, 3 mins rest 8 x 30 secs on, 1 min off 10 min c.d.

Cambridge, MA; 55F 67% humidity; 8:05 min/mi AP for tempo; 6:39 min/mi AP for ONs. Avg HR 160 bpm; 8.38 mi in 1:11:37; Soleus muscles were super tight and sore; effort felt frustratingly hard; Hopefully just evidence that I pushed too hard on Sat; definitely did not feel recovered. This is one of my slowest tempos in over a year. :(

Trying to backlog my blog!! So far behind, ahhh!!!

Boston, MA; 55F 62% humidity; 9:28 min/mi AP; 140 bpm avg HR; 4.23 mi in 40:02; I was targeting a 9:30 AP for this run since my legs have been feeling pretty shot; this pace felt really good and I had a nice spring in my step towards the end.

40 mins easy. 

First session at PT today for my hip/piriformis syndrome. The therapist said it would be ideal if I do not run because I have no control or stability in my hip. But she commented that I do have a lot of strength in my hip - because of all the work I have been doing on my own. This reminds me of last summer when my PT in Chicago figured out I'm not activating my glute. I think I need to run to try to mentally fire my glute. My pain has been going away too, so I will back off running if things don't continue to improve. For now, I'm keeping the faith in my legs.

15 min w.u. 3 sets of 300, 200, 100 @ 5k effort with 200 jog between reps, 2 mins between sets. 10 min c.d.

MIT track; 52F 82% humidity; 300s Avg 74 sec; 200s Avg 51 sec; 100s Avg 25 sec; AP for all: 6:41 min/mi; Avg HR 152 bpm; 5.71 mi in 51:02. My energy felt great on this run! I tried to focus on activating my right glute, I could feel a difference during the cd and my right glute muscle felt a little burnt in a good way.

Chicago lakefront. 14 miles AP ~8:35 min/mi. Right glute super fatigued by mile 11ish. These shoes felt shot and too small. Ordered the new Peg 30 in a bigger size, why not go back to the shoes that I was getting fast in?.

40 mins easy

Chicago, IL; 48F 81% humidity; Avg HR 146 bpm; 9:20 min/mi AP; 4.29 mi in 40:01; felt nice and easy

1hr strength and PT exercises.

15 min w.u. mile, 1000, 800, 400, 200 @ Half mar pace, 10k, 5k, mile effort with 2 min, 90 sec, 1 min rest 10 min c.d.

MIT track; 61F 68% humidity; mile in 7:21, 1000 m in 4:22 (7:01), 800 m in 3:26 (6:54), 400 m in 1:38 (6:34), 200 m in 46s (6:10); 5.85 mi in 48:13; glutes were sore from pt exercises performed yesterday; energy was great; legs were fatiguing at 800m

40 mins easy with 4x100m strides

Cambridge, MA; 50F 87% humidity; 3.48 mi @ 9:45 min/mi AP then 4x100m strides @ 6:11 min/mi AP; Avg HR 149 bpm; 4.02 mi in 40:04; quads were so sore from PT exercises and last night's track; it felt good to shake them out; surprised at how good the last 2 strides felt; legs felt dead but energy was good

55-60 mins hilly terrain

Newton hills; 50F 100% humidity; 360 ft elevation gain; AP 8:22 min/mi; 7.17 mi in 60:03; I don't know why I always negative split this course - it's out and back with the first half all downhill and the second half uphill ending at the top of heartbreak; I felt really strong heading uphill - finally felt that nice push without anything hurting!; effort ~ HMP I think

14-15 miles with last 20 mins at MP effort

Sarasota, FL - Legacy trail bikepath; 78F 96% humidity; so hot, air so thick! Tried to run an easier pace it got so hot towards the end the 20 mins MP miles were pretty tough. AP for entire run: 9:12 min/mi, MP miles were: 8:27 min/mi. 15 mi in 2:18:09. My right glute had slight pain on/off throughout most of the run, after mile 12 there was somehow no pain!! It's feeling much better than last weekend post-long run - progress! :)

35-40 mins easy

Bradenton, FL - Robinson's Preserve trail run; 79F 89% humidity; Another hot run; 9:18 min/mi AP; 4.3 mi in 40:02; I only had heavy/fatigued legs on this run, which worked themselves out towards the end of the run; first run no hip/glute pain! Even after a long run - so pleasantly surprised. :)

40 - 45 mins easy with 4-6x100m strides

Bradenton, FL - Robinson's Preserve; 73F 100% humidity; First 3.39 mi at 9:07 min/mi AP then 6x100 m strides AP 5:52 min/mi; 4.88 mi in 47:16; Felt good tried to slow my pace

15 min w.u. 3 mins, 2 mins, 1 min, 1 min, 2 mins, 3 mins fartlek. Equal recovery between(Paces between mararthon-10k) 15 min c.d.

Cambridge, MA - treadmill, 1% incline; 3 mins: 8:05/7:54 min/mi, 2 mins: 7:30/7:24 min/mi, 1 min: 7:18/7:05 min/mi; 5.68 mi in 50 mins; I realized was able to concentrate more on my form on the tm than outside, also, 7:30 pace and faster changed up my stride and felt really, really good on my hip, better than slower paces! I love, love, loved this workout and was really sad on my last 3 mins when I knew it was going to end.

35 - 40 mins easy;

Cambridge, MA - Charles River run with Cambridge girls; 37F 87% humidity; 9:28 min/mi AP 4.25 mi in 40:16; Felt super easy and finished feeling recharged; I graduated from the chiro yesterday! Only go in for maintenance now, and PT talked about dropping back soon to 1x/week instead of 2 - more progress. :)

15 min w.u. 5-6 x mile @MP with 1 min rest 10 min c.d.

Cambridge, MA; treadmill at 1% inlcine; on's were at 7.4 MPH (8:06), off's between 6-6.4 MPH. Felt very relaxed after the first mile. Hip/glute felt the worst at the 5th mile repeat, but not too bad. The 6th mile repeat felt better. Tried to resist dropping the pace as the run went on. 9.49 mi in 1:22:00

I just completed 3 weeks of PT. I can already tell a pretty decent difference in my right leg strength. It's much more controlled and feeling a lot stronger and less wobbly!! That's after only 3 weeks! I'm starting to allow myself to believe my legs will be back for training for Boston 2 Big Sur...

Then went to PT where my therapist asked if I was seeing a psychologist. I burst out crying and realized I still have a lot of mental issues dealing with this injury and the Boston bombings. Guess it's time to see a sports psychologist! I think it was a very good session getting me further on the path to running success - the mental game is so important.

14-16 miles with 10 mins pickup at the end

Niles, IL; 46F 49% humidity; 16.16 mi in 2:19:27, 8:37 min/mi AP; 10 min pickup at 7:45 min/mi AP for 1.29 miles; hip/glute felt even better than last week; tried to concentrate on not overstriding on right side and sticking the landing; I was intimidated by the pickup towards the end, but was surprised it wasn't as bad as it seemed

20-25 mins easy

Chicago, IL; 54F 38% humidity; 2.91 mi in 25:03, 8:36 min/mi AP; my hip/glute had zero soreness from yesterday and zero during the run!! I think because it's been 3 days since the last strength session

40-45 mins easy with 4-6x100m strides

Cambridge, MA; 52F 43% humidity; 4.07 mi in 9:17 min/mi AP; then 6x100m strides AP 5:21 min/mi; 4.86 mi in 46:48; strides feel really, really good and are a lot of fun when your right leg is less gimp!!

15 min w.u. 8-10 x 400 @10k pace with 90 secs rest 15 min c.d.

Cambridge, MA; 10 min wu outside then the rest on treadmill at 1% incline because apparently the track is closed at 5:30am; ended up doing 11x0.25 mi because I forgot to hit my lap function at one point. All 0.25mi's were at 8.6 MPH (6:58 min/mi), offs were at 9:40 min/mi; 7.88 mi in 1:07:07; my right glute was sore at the start because of PT exercises on Sunday, but the soreness did not get worse on the run.

Finished with a quick 30 mins of hamstring strengthening and core.

40-45 mins easy

I felt adventuresome so decided to go exploring in downtown boston on my easy run. Ran down Beacon street to Boston Commons then out towards Funeil hall (didn't know the President will be there this am!!) then back up Longfellow into Cambridge. I started with a slightly tight right hammie, so tried to focus on not overstriding on that side. I don't know what it is about hills, but my legs always feel better after running them. I finished feeling like I had strong, football player legs. A new route I will definitely go back to!

Instead of static stretching after my run I tried out some "Active Isolated Flexibility" stretches since I am now scared I fray my attachments with static. Haha:

http://runnersconnect.net/running-interviews/active-isolated-flexibility-an-interview-with-industry-pioneer-phil-wharton/?awt_l=2mBZDy&awt_m=3t9y6Oe0qL9xBIP&awt_l=IU5G6&awt_m=3bn0_q0vWM5ttIP

It felt good and I loosened up, so I guess I'll give it a whirl for the next couple weeks.

Finished up with some serious foam rolling and hardcore core and upper body work only since my PT is going to obliterate my right glute later today. 

15 min w.u. 8-10 x 1000@MP with 1 min rest. 15 min c.d.

This time I found out when the MIT track opens in the morning. 1000m repeats would be too hard to calculate on the tm. :) I should have done my research to figure out what splits I should be running. I also need to learn how to measure distance on the track - 2.5 loops on a 400m track apparently is challenging for me. I set out and my watch said I was hitting 7:30s-7:40s, definitely not my MP right now. I kept slowing myself down to try to hit closer to 8s. It felt super easy and then figured out later when I calculated the pace based on the split time and track length, I was hitting closer to 8:12s - boo! 8:12s did feel too easy, which makes me happy and this ended up being a pretty long workout for me. My right glute held up very nicely. My splits were: 5:12, 5:13, 5:11, 5:08, 4:58, 5:04, 5:12*, 5:09*, 5:00*, 4:57. *are the splits that were longer than 1000m because I can't figure out 2.5 loops on the track in my head.

Finished up with some core, upper body, and PT exercises. I've finally mastered balancing on my right leg and my single leg squats are becoming easy. :)