Going Long (again) in 2024

I decided to hit the road today, and I think it was a good choice.  I ended up running 4.5 miles continuous.  Although the hamstring was tight throughout, there was no pain.  Maybe 'on the edge' of pain for the final half mile, but that's it.

I tried to keep the pace ultra slow, and did a good job of that:  splits of 9:36, 9:36, 9:42 and 9:36.  I really concentrated on my form and made sure to avoid all the potholes, depressions, cracks - basically anything that would throw off my stride.

So, I'm hopeful I can continue this trend, and slowly increase my distance and pace.  More hopeful for sure than I was a week or two ago.

Same distance as yesterday, but faster.  Ran my mile splits at 9:12, 9:12, 9:09 and 8:55.  Same tightness as yesterday, but it seemed to feel better as I went and I felt stronger at the finish.  So, more hopeful signs.  It's exactly one month since I strained the hamstring.  My physiotherapist tells me it can take 8 - 12 weeks before the healing is complete, but I'm just glad to be moving.  I won't break any speed records at the Bayshore Half two weeks hence, but at least I'm confident now I'll be able to run it.

Went the full 6 mile route today - the same one I injured myself on 4 weeks ago.  

My average pace was 8:58/mile, and pretty consistent at that.  The tightness is still there.  And, although I felt a few 'twinges' along the way, there was no pain during or after this run.

I think I'll maintain this pace and focus on increasing my mileage over the next few weeks.  Still need time for the healing to continue.

I think I got a little too excited after yesterday's run, and I planned on running 7 miles today.  Didn't happen.

I felt great for the first 2 miles and ran 8:49 and 8:42 splits.  But then a long uphill - not steep, but still - I think caused some hamstring tension.  I slowed to a 9:10 mile and then a 9:26 mile.

At that point, I stopped to stretch and then ran another half mile, and then had to stop.  I walked a half mile and tried to start again, but could not.  Unfortunately, that left me over 2 miles to walk home.  Fortunately, walking does not cause any pain.

So, I'll wait and see how I feel tomorrow.  I may just keep run runs in this range for now, or I may even hit the spin bike tomorrow and try for a longer run on Saturday.  We'll see.

I was pretty sore starting out, so decided to play it safe and run a route close to home.  Good thing.  After just over a half mile, I had to stop running.  I guess I just pushed too hard yesterday.  Lesson learned.

So, I came home and hit the spin bike for 45 minutes.  I may do the same tomorrow, depending on how things heal up today.

I wasn't sure what to expect after yesterday's bad experience, but I started off feeling better than yesterday, and decided to take the 6 mile loop.  At it's furthest point from my house, it's about 2 miles, so not bad if I had to walk it.

I started off ulta slow, and decided to walk a quarter mile after each mile split.  I just wanted to see how my hamstrings would react.  This seemed to work, and I got a bit faster and a bit more confident as I went, and ended up doing the entire loop, so a total of 5 miles running.  My mile splits were:   9:51  9:49  9:41  9:29  and  9:29.  Like I said, ultra slow.

That's a bit deceptive though, as I seemed to stiffen up after each walking segment and when I started to run again, it was at a really slow pace.  By the second half of each mile, however, I was running around 8:30.

Same tightness thoughout, although no significant pain.  What is really noteworthy is that the tightness seems to have moved up higher - it has been on the lateral side just above my knee, but now is more in the middle about half way between my knee and my glute.  I'm hoping it will keep going up and then out!