Penny

18 miles at 8:24 avg pace, with mile 16 at MP (7:19). I was going to do the last two more miles up tempo, but couldn't. The entire run was brutal; 82 degrees and about 85% humidity.

I had to stop so many times, so my overall time (with stops) probably would have been much longer. Hoping that its "time on your feet" that counts in these long runs, as both ones I've done this cycle have been awful!

Easy miles at 8:17

Easy miles at 8:09 pace. Ran along the Schuylkill trail in Philadelphia. Beautiful weather... last few miles I was dipping into the mid-7s pace wise, with the wind at my back and low humidity + 65 degree weather.... ahhhhhhhh, I remember what its like to enjoy running hahaha.

Last "threshold" workout before Philly Half RnR. Workout was 6x1 mile repeats at HM pace, with 3:30 mins jog recoveries (I found that doing "distance" recoveries only encourages me to move slower and/or walk, whereas I jog at a reasonable clip for time intervals)

Splits: 6:48; 6:38; 6:45; 6:34; 6:37; 6:34. Recoveries were all between 8:35-9:00 pace.

I have never, ever run this fast. Probably the best HM workout I've ever done; even best workout, period. I have no idea where this speed came from. It was a morning run, so usually my legs are a bit slow to wake up. I also ran on an empty stomach; only coffee before hand.

Here is what I can surmise: (1) lots of carbs last night (I ate ALL the foods! An entire large bag of pop chips, reese's peanut butter cups, a small bag of tortilla chips and an energy bar in addition to my dinner - hungry girl, haha!); (2) weather was perfect here in Philly (here for work); about 65 degrees, and light breeze, low humidity; (3) had enough sleep; (5) perhaps I had this fitness for a while now, and Ive been battling some reasonably tough weather lately. But I honestly think I am just eating appropriately (albeit not terribly healthily last night) with enough calories in a way that I haven't been doing in previous training cycles. Im certain that has made the biggest difference.

Whatever it was, I really can't get over it. Part of me is wondering if somehow my garmin was wrong. Every time I tried to dial the pace back, I fell back into the comfortably hard LT pace feeling that I'm used to, and these are the paces that came out; i.e. I wasn't pushing it. By the end I was definitely fatigued, but not ridiculously so.

Anyway, it has given me confidence for a strong HM next week. Lets hope the weather is good!

40 mins elliptical in the hotel gym. I was really surprised at how good my legs feel after yesterday's session, and was going to do a few shakeout miles. But added to my run tomorrow, I would've been running 60 miles this week - which would be my highest mileage ever, and if anything, I wanted to have a slight cut back week this week.

Nice long stretch and foam roll.

P.S. Jake, if you read this, I am in the airport drinking my first ever diet mountain dew and I love it. Very important  running nutrition/fueling information.

a.m. Very easy miles about 8:40; legs felt slow, so I let them set the pace.

p.m. 30 mins elliptical (easy) and leg strength workout at the gym.

6 x 15 jump squats; then 3 sets of 15 x standing lunges  (20lb), 15 x side step ups (10lbs), 15 x single-leg deadlifts (15lbs).

Easy miles at 8:24 avg

Easy miles, maybe around 8:45 pace

Easy miles on treadmill at 1.5%... probably around 8:50 pace overall.

Very easy miles at around 9 avg pace... very hot and humid this morning!

Have a very tight hip flexor and a bit of resulting groin pain... it seems like there is always a "niggle" in the week before a race for me. A drop in mileage making my body relax a bit more... or perhaps its more in my head than anything else ;o)

Sprint to catch my bus to Philly after being told the wrong gate number. #gottalovegreyhound

Full recap HERE

Gun time: 1:30:24 for 13.1 miles at 6:54 pace

Garmin time: 1:30:23 for 13.32 miles at 6:47 pace.

Splits: 6:57, 6:37, 6:59, 6:51, 6:52, 7:00, 6:46, 6:53, 6:47, 6:47, 6:36, 6:40, 6:39 and 6:18 for the last 0.32.

Weather was perfect, nutrition was great and I felt good the whole way (ok, except the home stretch which I was running at 5K pace!). I just sucked at running the tangents and they cost me at least a minute or two! Although running the tangents is part of racing, Im secretly claiming this as an unofficial sub130 for myself haha!

But the biggest success of the day was pacing. I was aiming for a comfortable first half, holding pace til mile 10, then pushing it the last three miles, which I did. I have never negative split like that ever. So massive win there. All in all, a great day. I love this race!

ETA: Its just over 1 year since I ran my first half marathon; both race, and the first time I'd ever run that far. Ive come a long way in a year.

I suspected yesterday, but today is confirmed; I pulled/strained something in my hip flexor yesterday. Cant step up with my left leg. Its not really a surprise; my hip flexors have been super tight (even with stretching and rolling, though probably not enough) from sitting at a desk all day. Hopefully wont keep me out of the game too long. It feels like it might be more than a couple of days though :(

Hip flexor a teensey bit better. Still cant walk up stairs with it. Focusing on rolling it out (it is so so tight) and stretching my IT Band, hips, and glutes.

So frustrating, as I barely feel like I even raced on Sunday, in every other respect!

Day 3.

Feeling a lot better; can step up now, though not 100% weight bearing (just don't want to push it). The pain is more like a 3-4.

Discovered the source of the injury I think. While rolling my hip flexors, I rolled a bit further down on my outer quad and IT Band and they were on FIRE. I guess I've neglected them a bit. I dont think its a stretch to say that the tightness in my quad + a bit more tightness and immobility in my hip flexor forced the underlying muscles to work a bit too hard.

If I keep improving like this (and stay on top of stretching and rolling) I feel like I should be good in a couple more days. Not pushing it though... using this as an opportunity to work on my overall flexibility, especially in my quads and hips; they are always terribly tight for me from sitting at a desk all day.

This really is quite the self-indulgent series of diary entries; but I like tracking the progress of injuries as it keeps me feeling like Im on the training "path" and helps me put things in perspective if/when I get laid off again down the line.

Today I woke up with a lot more mobility and less pain in my hip flexor. Pain of raising knee to chest is about a 1, discomfort in hopping on that leg is probably a 2-3. Tomorrow I'll give the elliptical a go, if there is no pain, and I expect to be able to gradually begin running in a few days time. I don't mind if its longer; Im just relieved that this seems to be just a muscle strain rather than a serious tear or something.

40 mins elliptical, no pain. Yeehaw! I definitely cant run yet; will probably be a few more days. But its good to find some cardio I can do in the meantime.

+ arm/upper body weights.

65 mins elliptical + core

40 mins elliptical.

Hip flexor set back - feels worse than it did yesterday. Not sure whether it was being back at the desk or the cross-training. So another rest day tomorrow. Really hoping that Im not losing gargantuan amounts of fitness. I am certainly losing gargantuan amounts of sanity, not being able to run :(

Had a sports massage last night. Didnt help. Im a little achey today, because of my several "hop tests" yesterday, which probably made whatever it is, worse.

At this point I'm pretty well convinced I have a femoral neck stress fracture. It hurts on impact, which is the big difference between something bone-related and something muscular. I have a doctor's appointment for next Friday, which I have to pay for out of pocket (couldn't have picked a worse time for my health insurance to be screwed up).

My feeling is that Hartford HM and Philly marathon are definitely out. Even if I am running by November, there is no way I would be in shape to put in a marathon effort; and it would risk reinjury too greatly.

Im trying trying trying not to freak out about how long I could be off running. Best case scenario (assuming SFx) is 6-8 weeks. But because its in the femoral neck, its more likely going to be several months. The one upside is that I can walk with relative ease, and almost no discomfort at all, so I dont think Im doing damage by not using crutches or something (which would be IMPOSSIBLE in NYC).

My plan is to continue to rest til Saturday, then head to the pool for either pool running or swimming (if either hurts then I'll do the other). I want to maintain some leg strength and upper body strength, so will try to do some weight sessions next week that dont induce any discomfort. Oh and I'll also be trying not to eat entire pans of brownies or snapping at people because Im not getting my running fix. Attempting to keep big picture in mind: I still have my legs. Im not starving or in abject poverty. I have a great job, life, husband. There are many worse off people in the world; and I can definitely spend some of this free time getting back to some volunteer/pro bono work.

And yet....this sucks.

Upper body workout. Barely broke a sweat, but arms felt like jelly!

Cant believe how much Im sleeping at the moment, given how Im not running. I hope its my body trying to repair itself!

Swimming, 40 mins. Tried pool running but my hip hurt so I stopped and swam freestyle (2km) with no legs. My upper body definitely got a workout, but I never felt like I got my heart rate up.

Its amazing fall running weather here today. Ugh.

Tomorrow is the last day I can switch over my full marathon to the half at Philly, which I think Im going to do. If, per chance, my hip heals in the next month, I might still be able to run a HM. But at this point, I dont think Im going to be able to put in a full effort for the marathon, and I dont think its worth it to try, given the high injury risk with that distance.

40 mins swimming. I think I might have barely gotten my heart rate up into the 120s-130s.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I get to see my sports doctor, finally! I'm really excited to get underway with a recovery plan, even if it involves a ton of rest. Hip feels better today. Again, still a ways from running on it, (and I darent try the hop test)... but I'm now not feeling anything when I walk.

Today I also changed over from Philly full to half. I'm really sad, because I wanted to run a "big city" marathon before I left the US. Been here 5 years, and will be returning home to Aus in December. Anyway, I think if I am up and running this month sometime, I may be able to pull out a PR at Philly in the half; or else just jog it for fun.

So thats that. No more marathoning in 2013.