Going Long (again) in 2024

Six easy miles at the slow end of my range:  9:12/mile.

For some reason, my left hamstrings knotted up something fierce at the end of my run yesterday.  It even made walking difficult.  I kneaded and foam rolled and stretched as much as I could all day.  Today - better.  Although I could feel the hamstrings during the run, they are much better now.  Will continue to work on them today when I can.

A good long run in ideal conditions:  17C/62F under sunny skies.

My goal pace was 8:18; I ran the 1st 9 miles at a pace of 8:15, which I am happy with.  Every mile was within a few seconds of that pace.

The last 3 miles I turned it up and ran them at 7:31  7:31  and 7:28 - all good stuff and I felt comfortable enough doing it.  

My left hamstring finally loosened up enough so that it was not so sore, but on the run I felt the right hamstring a bit too.  But both are far better than yesterday and the day before.  More stretching and foam rolling - everyday!  My iliopsoas is the main pain, but that is ongoing and I've just learned to live with it.  Daily stretches, with ultra sound thrown in on the side - seems to keep it manageable.

I'm not sure what happened, but I was very sore today when I ran.  Specifically, my left hip was in agony from the 1st step.  The pain was close enough to my iliopsoas to confuse me, but I'm not convinced that is what it was.  It felt more like my hip extender.  

Anyway, I pushed through the 6 miles at the slowest end of my easy range - a 9:13/mile.  The second I stopped running, the pain went away and I was fine the rest of the day.  Lots of stretching.  I'm curious to see what happens when I do my speed work at the track in the morning.

Speed work today.  I really need a pacer to help!

Goal was 4 x 1200m splits at 4:57/split.

Actual splits were:  4:58  4:51  4:51  and  4:54.

Breaking it down, I was okay with the 1st split.  The second one did not go as well.  I was a few seconds behind pace at the 200m mark.  Since I was 1 second off pace on the 1st split, I was concerned by that, and I picked up my pace.  Too much, it turns out.  I think I ran flat out, and by the 300m mark I was dead and wanted to give up.   Didn't know I was running that fast, and knew I couldn't keep this up for the entire workout.  So, I slowed right down and jogged to the 400m mark where I noticed that I was AHEAD of pace, sitting at 1:37 for the lap, even with the slowdown.

So, I took a time out and had a good talk with myself.  A bit of a lecture, actually, about focus, motivation, and all that sort of stuff.  Then I completed the final 800m of that split, and the final two splits as well.

It was tough going for sure, but I'm happy with the outcome.

Physically, my left hip was still a bit of a nag, but not nearly as bad as it was yesterday.  And my left hamstring still has that dull ache.  I just left a message with my massage therapist to see if she can slip me in this week for a session.  I can't seem to loosen those muscles up - I'm hoping she can.

An easy 46 minute run.  Still tight in the left hamstring and hip; just got a message from my massage therapist - she has an opening this afternoon, and so I'm hopeful she can do something to loosen things up for me.

This was a 7 mile tempo run, and I nailed it finally.  Really tried to focus on running even splits.  They were 7:38  7:40  7:37  7:38  7:34  7:39  and  7:38.  So, I'm happy with the results.

As to my body:  spent an hour with my massage therapist yesterday, and she focussed entirely on my left leg.  Pinpointed the problem - my IT band at the point where it inserts at the hip.  My hips were way out of alignment, and that was pulling on my hamstrings, causing them to seize up.  Oh, and  they were totally seized up.  She would get them loose and then work on my hip, and my hamstrings would immediately spasm.  Ouch.

Anyway, now I know more precisely where I have to focus my stretches and foam rollings.  I am booked for more frequent massages between now and marathon race day too.

The good news today is that my hamstrings were not an issue - my hip for sure is tender, but I still ran my 10 miles fairly comfortably.

7 easy miles - still tight in that left hip, but no hamstring issues at all.  Will continue with the stretching routine several times every day.

10 miles at the middle of my easy range:  8:57/mile

Left hip still sore/tight - I think not as bad as yesterday.  Still doing lots of stretches.

Met 4 other runners today, all running solo - that's very unusual, as I very rarely see even one other runner.  Nice to see.

Just 8 easy miles this morning.  Started in the middle zone of my easy range and finished at the fast end, with an average pace of 8:49/mile.  Hip is loosening up even more, but not 100% yet.  Getting there!

So, I'm finished the 1st third of my 18 week training program.  Despite the little physical pains along the way, I'm optimistic that all is going well.

An easy 6 at the slower end of my easy range:  9:15/mile pace.

Speedwork at the track, using steps.  Was to run:

400 @  1:40   Ran in 1:39

800 @  3:19   Ran in 3:17

1200 @ 4:57  Ran in 5:00

1600 @ 6:40  Ran in 7:03  :(

1200 @ 4:47  Ran 800 instead in 3:34  :(

800 @   3:19  Skipped  :(

400 @   1:40  Ran in 1:38

Okay, so I blew it.  What went wrong?  Well, other than my left hip which is still tight (and now, after the 9 mile run, is sore), I felt fine at the start.  It was warm, but no more than previous runs and not terribly humid.

I think a part of it was in my head - I'm not a fast runner, and I think the one mile split intimidated me.  Maybe.

The 1st three splits were bang on, but I was really fatigued after the 1200m split and decided to walk a lap and then jog a lap in order to be really recovered for the mile.  That is when I was really feeling my hip too.

I intentionally went out slow, hoping to pick up the pace as I went.  So, I was already 5 seconds off pace after the 1st lap.  Well, that pace held and there was no way I was able to pick up the pace in the final lap.  So, I was bummed out by that split.

Then, I was really fatigued for the 1200m split that followed.  At the 800m point, when I saw that I was already 15 seconds off pace and my legs were totally dead, I decided to pack it in.  Figured it was not worth pushing through at that point.

So, I finished my distance by running laps at an easy pace.  After 8 miles, I decided to try one more 400m split, just to see.  I ran that strong, so I think again it's the longer distances getting into my head.

So, I'm disappointed, but at least I ran 3 of the 4 miles at speed.  

I have just 3 speed sessions left, and 2 of them are 3 x 1600m repeats.  So, I'll have to give serious thought this week to that, and consider changing those to 6 x 800 repeats instead.  I'd sooner have a strong workout on pace than one that falls short and does not do what it's supposed to do.

And my hip is really bumming me out.  It seems to tighten up overnight - still not sure what exactly it is.  I see my massage therapist in one week.  Between now and then, if things do not change, I may make an appointment with my doctor to rule out stress fractures and arthritis.

After my speedwork on Monday, I decided to take my scheduled 'day off' yesterday.  I've run every day for the past 5 weeks, and I figured it would be good to give my sore hip a rest.

On that hip, I'm leaning towards Trochanteric Bursitis.  At least I'm hoping that's what it is, as it's the one hip injury I can run through!

Also, it occured to me that the speedwork on Monday may have been negatively influenced by my blood donation the previous Tuesday.  It sure would explain a lot.  I figured I could slip in one more donation before my marathon, but I think I goofed on that thinking.  It worked okay for half marathon training, but I think depleted me too much for the marathon training.  Oh well - live and learn.  A few more weeks and my red blood cells should be back to normal.

Today, unfortunately, turned into a bit of a disaster run.  It was meant to be 7 miles at race pace.  It started off okay.  The weather sucked --- light rain, wind at 15 - 25 mph, and just 10C/50F.  But then again, it's probably close to what I'll have in Hamilton on November 2nd.  So, I ran 2 miles warm up, and then I hit my pace for the next 3 miles:  7:40  7:39  and 7:38.  

Then, soon after that, I was attacked by a dog (an ankle biter).  Never happened before.  I was running in a neighborhood on the paved sidewalk.  The bloody cur charged me without warning.  I instinctively kicked it and landed a good blow in its mid section, causing it to whelp and run away.  At the same time though, I lost my balance and came really close to doing a face plant.  I don't know how I caught myself, but I did.

Damage report:  I had to stop running due to pain, and since I needed to make an inventory of what I had done.  Top of my left foot sore, left knee on medial side sore, hip REALLY sore now (both the outside and the inside - my old iliopsoas friend which I normally keep under control).

Nothing seemed serious, so I started running again.  Kept my tempo pace for a half mile, and then fell off pace.  Ran mile 6 in 8:03.  At that point, I could really feel all the sore points, but I was too far from home to start walking.  Plus, I wanted to finish the run.  Mile 7 was 8:23, mile 8 was 8:52 and mile 9 was a sickening 9:24.  My final mile was 9:33.  I couldn't even keep my slow easy pace for those last 2 miles.

I'm guessing I came down really hard on my left leg when I lost my balance.  Walking seems fine, although I can feel those body parts throbbing a bit.  I'm going to see how things settle through the day and night and then I'll decide if I can run easy tomorrow and Friday, or if I should cross train for those 2 days and save it for the long run on Saturday.

And yes, I'm pissed off!

Miserable day.  Just 8C/46F, cold rain, and North wind.  Yuck.  But, like I said yesterday, this could very well be the sort of day I run in for the Hamilton marathon in November.

Anyway, the run was 'yuck' for reasons other than the weather.  My left hip is no better, and in fact seems worse.  I tried using heat on it just before I left - no help.  Maybe next time I'll try ice.

I decided to run slow, just to see how my body felt after yesterday.  The good news is my left foot and knee felt fine.  That hip though ...

I stayed on pace through mile 4, but then the pain really increased.  And yes, it was pain rather than discomfort for the 1st time.  I also noticed that it was causing my form to change - pronating my feet a lot - and I think that is what is causing my left knee to hurt (which it started to do at this point again).

Well, I wasn't going to walk the 3 miles home, which is how far I was at that point.  So, I just slowed down to a jog and tried to focus on good form.  Ran that way for 2 miles and then walked the final mile.

So, what to do:  running through this is not helping, obviously.  So, my 1st decision is to replace running with cycling for the next few days - in fact, I'm ready to go 10 days with no running if it helps.  I still have not made a decision on whether to see my doctor for a cortisone shot.  I'm leaning in that direction, as I still do think this is Trochantric Bursitis.  It's just odd that there is NO pain from walking, climbing stairs, pressing on it or sleeping on it.  But as soon as I hop or start to run, I feel it like it's bone on bone.  And it's radiating down into my Quads.

The cycling (and I HATE cycling for more than 30 minutes at a time!) should help to maintain my fitness in the meantime.  It's not ideal, but if it takes care of the issue, it will be worth it.  I think I'll aim for slower training paces after that.  My BQ time is 3:30.  I'm training for a 3:20, so I do have a good bit of room to adjust here.  We'll see.

Was scheduled to run an easy 8 miles today, so did 80 minutes on my spin bike instead.  One minute standing and four minutes sitting, repeat.....  No offence to cyclists, but BORING!

Will be worse tomorrow - scheduled for a 14 mile long run.  140 minutes of spin.  I may go crazy.

140 mind numbing (and butt numbing) minutes on my spin bike.  Replaces my 14 mile run today.  Sigh.

60 minutes spin bike to replace my 6 mile run.

After 3 days of no running (spin bike instead) I decided to test things out at the track.  I figured that would be best, since I wouldn't have far to walk if I had to stop running, gave me a softer surface to run on, and gave me the option of a little speed work if I was up to it.

Well, that left hip was painful from the get go.  I toughed it out for 3 miles, but it was not getting any better, my running form was being thrown off, and I was limping when I stopped.  I'm not a happy runner, after three days off and lots of ibuprofin, rest and stretching.

I'm calling my doctor as soon as the office opens this morning.  I'm fairly certain (hopeful) this is Trochanteric Bursitis, and that a cortisone shot will clear things up.  We'll see.

Well, I went for my massage therapy yesterday.  She confirmed the inflammed bursa, saying I had noticeable swelling on my left hip, and that it was warm.  Even though she was careful to avoid pressing on the area - she worked the area around it - I left there in a lot of pain.

So, I've taken to icing the area as often as I can.  This morning I decided to try running on my treadmill after icing it.  Could only go the 2 miles before the pain made me stop.  This is really frustrating, as it really does not feel bad when I'm walking or climbing stairs.  Just running.

Anyway, I called my doctor yesterday to make an appointment.  Unfortunately, I can't get in until August 28th.  That will be exactly 2 weeks since I've been able to run normally, which sucks.  I'm hopeful I can get the cortisone shot then and there, although I suspect she'll want to rule out other things with imaging tests beforehand.  More delay.

All that being said, I've not given up on the Hamilton Marathon.  For sure I can't train the way I would like for now, but if I can get back to it after a cortisone shot, then I will.  In the meantime, it will be back to the spin bike and I'll throw in shorter runs as I'm able to bear it.

If the shot does not work, or if there is something else going on, then there is no way I can run a marathon this Fall.  I'm hopeful, however, that this is not the case.

After a 70 minute spin on my bike Wednesday, and a 60 minute spin yesterday, I had enough of that.  Decided to see how the hip was feeling and go for an easy run.

Used a 6 mile route that gave me an out at 4 miles and 5 miles if necessary.  I'm glad I was able to do the entire 6.

The 1st mile was okay.  Not 100%, but not bad.  After that, I would describe it as a pressure more than pain.  In fact, my iliopsoas was the worst of it, and I've been running with that for a long time.  I figured it would get worse as I went, and it didn't.  So, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Still icing and stretching it big time every day.  I think tomorrow I might try another run and see what happens.

Well, I'm much more optimistic after this run.  I really didn't know how it would turn out today, so I decided to go slow and see how far I was able to run.  I was scheduled for a 10 mile easy run, and that is the distance I ended up going.  All good.

I ran the first 5 miles all in the fast to mid range of my easy pace.  Then I picked it up for the final 5 miles and ran progressively faster, with mile 8 at race pace.

The pressure in my hip was there pretty much throughout, but it never turned to pain.  I think it actually faded a bit when I ran faster, but that might have just been the endorphins from running.

In either case, I'll wait and see how I feel in the morning.  I'm scheduled for an 8 mile easy run.  If that goes well, I might even take on my speedwork at the track on Monday and get my training back where it should be.

I had not run for 7 straight days, but I have biked every day, so my cardio should be okay.

Nothing much has changed - still that pressure coming from the Busitis.  But still ran through it for an easy 8 miles.  I'm going to try my speedwork tomorrow and see how that goes.

Speedwork at the track.  Scheduled for 6 x 800 repeats.  Ran them at:

3:24  3:21  3:21  3:25  3:22  and  3:22 --- all within my goal pace range.

The only adaptation I made was to walk a lap after the 3rd, 4th and 5th repeats to give myself more recovery time.  My hip was screaming at me, but I wanted to push to finish the repeats.

I figured I was better off fully recovered and running a good repeat, than to limp through a poor effort.

So, overall I'm happy with the results.

Wow - tough tempo run today.  But I did it!

2 mile warm up, 8 mile Tempo run, 1 mile cool down.

Hip was sore during the warm up and 1st part of the Tempo pace, but seemed to settle down after a few miles.

For some reason, I really had to push through all sorts of negative thoughts.  I wanted to slow down after the 1st mile, and wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up the pace throughout.

But I did.  Aimed for a pace around 7:45/mile, and averaged 7:44 at the end.  My slowest mile was 7:50 and my fastest was 7:35, with all rest coming within a few seconds of each other.  So, I'm happy about the pace control.

Now, when I finished, I was limping.  Ouch!  That darn hip.  I see my doctor tomorrow morning, and am hoping for some good news.  In the mean time, I've run 2 of my SOS runs this week, and fully expect to run my Long Run on Saturday.  The next 2 days are easy runs.

Ran an easy 7 with another runner - nice to have the company.  At a 9:14/mile pace, and with no significant issues, other than some tightness in my hip.  Am seeing my doctor about the hip later this morning.

A bit cool at 7C/45F, but sunny and no wind, so pleasant enough for running.

An easy 8 at an average pace of 8:49.

Well, had a good visit with my doctor yesterday.  She confirmed the Hip Bursitis and gave me a prescription for the Cortisone to fill.  I'm to bring it back so she can give me the injection.  We decided to hold off for now, as it is not nearly as bad as it was.  After tomorrow's long run, I may be ready for it - we'll see.  At least I know I can get the shot quickly if I need to.

As to the iliopsoas issue, that's been a lot more painful lately.  So, she decided to take an x-ray of my hip to rule out the possibility of osteoarthritis.  I will have to wait for those results.  Meanwhile, I'm doing all I can if it is the psoas, and so I'll just have to keep at it as I've been doing.

15 mile long run.  I delayed it for a while, because it was raining SO hard.  Must be the same system that forced Tom to run in his sunglasses to keep the rain out of his eyes - ouch!

It slowed to a drizzle, and I was off.  Decided to aim for a pace between 8:20 and 8:30/mile.  Actual pace for the entire 15 miles was 8:25 average.  Faster than that for the 1st 8 miles, slowed a lot going up the mile 9 monster hill, and then the next 3 miles were slow as I struggled with the hip pain, and then picked it up for the final 3 miles.

Decided to experiment with a new nutrition mix.  No sport's drink at all - just water.  And then either one gel blast every mile, or one honey stinger every kilometer, with a gel every 6 miles or 10 km.  Either combination works out to about 60 grams of carbs/hour, which is what I'm aiming for in my marathon.

Today, I mixed the honey stingers and the gel blasts to see which works best.  It's the honey stingers hands down.  A LOT easier to chew and swallow.  They are smaller - 3.5 grams of carbs each, rather than the 5 grams for the others.  And so, one per km works out well.  And, since the Hamilton Marathon will be marked in kilometers, that plan seems best.  

Today, using this combination, I had no GI issues at all.  So, I'll continue to work with the GU gels and the Honey Stingers, and stick with water.  My weak stomach has always been an issue, so if this works, all will be well.

Really felt my hip bursitis after mile 7.5 --- I just dropped off the prescription for the coritisone at the pharmacy, and will pick it up on Tuesday and get that shot.  

After having missed my 14 mile long run 2 weeks ago, as well as 7 days of training, I'm VERY happy with the way it went today.

A miserably painful run.  My left hip was really sore this morning when I got up.  It felt fine last night - stretched it out and I thought everything was great after the long run.  I guess not.

It hurt from the start, and I struggled just to keep at the slower end of my easy pace for the 1st 2 miles.  After that, I was limping.  I slowed right down and decided to cut the 6 mile run down to 4.  I'm glad I did, as I could barely hobble at the end.  Sucks.