sub-3 or blow-up trying

Went with the family to our local track today.  I ran 2 mile warm-up and then 3 miles at a 7:19 pace.  Then ran a mile with my 9 year old who ended up running 5 for her personal best.  She ran all 5 barefooted.  Then I ran 16 strides barefooted on the soccer field- 100m each w/16 jogs back between runs.  Felt great for form and refreshing to my feet.  Finished by running 1 last mile with my 9-year-old.

Jogged to Whites Woods and ran the 5k trails course in 21:51 (7:03 pace).  Kept a nice easy flow and felt a little bit of zip in the legs for the first time since last Monday.  Jogged back to the gym...6.5 miles total.

Did a quick 2.5 mile run on the TM.  Picked it up to a 6min/mile pace for .5 miles.  Legs felt great, but hip still a bit stiff. 

9 miles total today.

Ran 5 miles from the gym with Rick.  It was hot and he hasn't been running for a while, so we ended up run/walking the last mile.  He's the one who got me in to running, so I felt good about being patient with him.  Also, todays run helped me to stay in a recovery mode.  Now that the soreness is gone from the quads/calves, I'm beginning to discover other sore areas- mostly my left hip.  Since I ran with sore legs for almost 20 miles in Boston, I ended up using almost an entirely different set of muscles than I am used to tapping into.  Lot's of hips/arms, since the legs had stopped working.  It may take another week or so to feel normal.

Ran a loop 8 miles to the track in 60:40 (7:35 pace).  Stopped to see the jr. high track team competing and then jogged 1.75 miles back home.  The hip is still pretty sore, but didn't start hurting until mile 4 or 5 on a steep hill going up.  Probably won't do any speed work until the hip starts feeling normal again. 

Ran with Rick on a trail run.  Nothing special.  He had a lot going on in his mind, so gave us a chance to talk.  Hip still a little sore, decided not to do double today as I ease back into running schedule.  Total of 4.5 and then did half hour of weights.

Ran 9 miles through the hills in 1:15:28 (8:23 pace).  Felt fine for the first 5-6 miles, then the hip started to hurt.  Mostly on the uphills and a little on the downhills.  Pain got worse so after 9 miles decided to run/walk the last uphill portion until I got home. 

Am being careful to remain patient.  Realize for 3 days after Boston was having difficulty walking or going on stairs.  Walking's fine now as well as flat portions of running.  It's the hills that aggravates things. 

Made solid progress today.  Headed down to the track with my 4 and 9-year-olds.  Jogged a mile and then picked up the pace for 2-miles (6:35, 6:31).  My hip started to stiffen, so I slowed down for 2-laps and then stopped to stretch.  Decided to pack it in if the hip was still hurting after I stretched.  Jogged two more laps and then picked up the pace again for 2-miles (6:32, 6:26).  This time I felt less stiff than before (very relieved)...jogged 2 laps, stretched again, jogged 2 more laps and called it a day.  I was proud that I was able to stop before hurting again.  Seems to be a step in the right direction.

Although my goal for the fall is a sub-3 (6:53 pace), I will be working this summer at making 6:30 more of a comfortable pace and once fully recovered hope to shift my 1-mile repeats workout at 6-min pace to 2-mile repeats at a 6-minute pace.  Still need to stay patient for another week or two!