Crunch Time

Hello blog readers! Not much has changed from my last post. I have been able to do a few short runs and I feel fairly good. Not 100% pain free, but not in serious pain either.

Sunday I rode my bike 20 miles and then ran 2.5 miles. Holy crap, THAT'S what a brick workout feels like?? Talk about dead legs. But at the same time, I was just so happy to be running, even though my heart rate felt very high, I was happy to run the farthest I have in 2-3 weeks.

I've also been working on my hamstrings, and have been doing dead lifts, squats, bridges and curls. Needless to say I'm a little sore.

Reading through my Twitter feed this weekend was a little tough. Apparently this weekend was the first long run of the NYCM training season for many of my friends. Not only did it suck that I couldn't be out there running with them, but this really made me think how far behind I am this year. I can barely run a 5k right now, how am I going to be able to run 26.2 in November? I haven't made any final (or rash) decisions yet, but I know I have about a month. If I can't run a 10k by the middle of July I know there's little chance I'll be able to train for the marathon, especially if I want to PR, and not "just finish." I'm mentally prepared to drop down to the half, train well for it, and crush it. That would certainly wouldn't be ideal, but it's better than not running in Philly at all. In a way, that would relieve a lot of the marathon pressure. I'm not saying I want to be injured, or I don't want to run the marathon, but it would just be less pressure. Yanno?

I'm trying not to stress about it, or worry about the injury flaring up again in the middle of training. I'm just going to focus on running day by day and see what happens.

Ennui

Ennui. It's been one of my favorite words for a while, ever since I found out what it meant (and how to pronounce it). On a rainy, miserable day like today I find myself sinking into it. It's been a really long week, where I've woken up extra early nearly every day, and it's not even over yet.

This wasn't the blog post I had intended to write today. 

I saw my chiropractor on Monday and after him asking me what my "regular" routine was, and me telling him 3-4 miles would be considered an easy run, he said I could run TWO miles! Well, fair enough. I was really excited to run two miles last night, even though I had to fight through the crowds doing the Corporate Challenge, and almost got run over by a delivery man on a bike riding on the sidewalk. I was feeling great walking around, and walking up stairs had become pain free. 

The good news is, I managed to run 2 miles at a 9:00 pace, and I felt great for the first half mile to mile. But as I went up each hill in the lower loop I realized I wasn't 100% yet. By the time I reached the hill going up the transverse I realized I was definitely experiencing some nerve discomfort in my glue and hamstring. I'm glad I have yet another appointment with my chiro tomorrow morning, but I'm disappointed that I'm not back to "normal" yet. I keep thinking about the Philly Marathon, how far away it is, but yet how far I have to go before I reach the finish line.  

Still sidelined

So, it's been 10 days since I've last run. Okay, technically I ran one mile on the treadmill on Saturday. I'm feeling much better, at least my glutes are, but there's still something in my hamstring that isn't quite right. I'm assuming it's some sort of tendonitis/strain/minimal tear. I'm not sure there's anything I can do right now besides rest, and keep riding my bike so I don't go insane. I'm really hoping I can run a little bit this weekend, I miss being out there.

Denial in Injury Land

If you were ever curious, it's really weird to have TENS/electronic muscle stimulation treatment on your butt. Also, it's probably my favorite thing ever. You basically get to lay there under some warm blankets and take a nap for 10 minutes while the machine does it's magical work.

Wait a sec, I think I need to back up a bit. I ended up getting another recommendation for another chiropractor who was certified in A.R.T (active release techniques) who happened to take my insurance! They were also able to squeeze me in bright and early, at 7:30 this morning. Who was more thrilled than I to get up at 5:45! (My boyfriend was sweet enough to be my personal alarm clock to make sure I actually did get up)

So I made my way into the office and filled out the myriad of paperwork that always seems to accompany a trip to a new facility. How was my pain? Was it dull? Or aching? Or gnawing? Or perhaps throbbing?

Dr. Williams seemed very attentive and asked me about how I got the injury, what movements hurt etc etc. The he poked a few spots on my lower back, left glute and hamstring to see where the pain was and wasn't. Then, he gave me the diagnosis that I pretty much expected, piriformis syndrome, coupled with sciatic nerve entrapment. BUT, there's was a twist. He was saying one or two of the symptoms that I was experiencing MIGHT be a sign of a torn hamstring. Holy fucking shit. He said that we would treat the PS and if it didn't improve within a week or two I would have to get an MRI to rule out a tear. HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

And then he said I shouldn't run. And I definitely shouldn't be doing yoga (if your hamstring is torn you definitely don't want to stretch it!!) Though, he said I should be running by the end of next week, of course I was bummed to hear that he didn't want me running. "But I ran 5.5 miles last night and felt.....okay" I told him, and he actually shook his head at me. Oh dear. I was really looking forward to this weekends run up in Rockefeller....I guess I could walk for a bit, but I wont.

This was also my first experience with A.R.T, and Dr.Williams warned me it could be a bit painful, which didn't really scare me. If you have been to Gail like I have, I was pretty sure I could handle whatever pain he threw at me. So he starts digging into my piriformis and asks me to move my leg this was and that way and he said "Does this hurt? Or are you just being really stoic?" and I kind of laughed, because did it hurt? Yeah, kinda. But it also felt kind of good. Like a good stretch. Okay, well there were parts he dug into that did not really feel good, or nice, and I feel kind of sore now, but at the time, it wasn't terrible.


So, that's that. Don't do anything that hurts. Roll my quads out, stretch my piriformis, and see him again on Monday.

It's the little things

Memorial Day weekend came and went, and I'm glad to say I was indeed able to run a few miles. 1 very tentative (and slow) test mile on the treadmill on Saturday,  4 miles on Sunday, and 3 miles on my way to yoga on Monday, to be exact. I'm also glad to say I'm feeling 95% better. However, I can tell that despite a week of stretching, my muscles are still extremely tight. I haven't done any sort of speed workout in about two weeks, and knowing today will be 90 degrees out, I'm not sure today is the day to try!

So I guess that's where I am as of right now. Hopefully next Tuesday I will be getting some ART done on the area. I hope when I  speak with the doctor he will be able to explain what's going on and what weakness/imbalance/tightness is causing all these issues. Marathon training is right around the corner, and I definitely don't have the solid base I feel like I've had the past few years.

Brooklyn Or.....Bum

Last weekend was the Brooklyn Half, a race that is always my favorite. This marks the 4th time I've run the race, and my 18th half marathon. I wasn't really as well trained for this race as I would normally have been, but I was still happy with my time, and happy with the fact that I ran a few sub 9:00 miles. Plus I had two beers and a hotdog post race, in honor of tradition.

The last few miles of the race were obviously pretty tough, but once I crossed the finish line I realized this was going to be a tough recovery too. To put it lightly...my ass was on fire. Okay, to be more specific my piriformis was on fire. I've had mild issues since MCM last year, but in the past two weeks I had really focused a lot on hip strengthening, so I was hoping that it wouldn't really been an issue. I guess maybe I should have been more regimented about stretching too.

But at any rate, Saturday was really rough. I could barely hinge forward at my hips without being in pain. And sleeping was terrible. Every time I tried to straighten my left leg pain would shoot up my lower back and my down my leg. Fun right? Sunday was slightly better. Monday was slightly better (no more shooting pains) but I decided to make a quick visit to my favorite massage therapist.

Wednesday I felt about 90%, and since it had cooled off so much in the evening I decided to try and go for a short run. Three miles, no biggie. After about a third of a mile, I quickly realized, this was not going to happen. With every step I could feel something tight/pulling in the back of my left hamstring. I felt like I was trying to find a comfortable running gait, and I know that any type of change in my gait is a bad thing. So I walked home, went on the bike and did some more stretching, in addition to the yoga I did in the morning.

So that's where I am. I will do pilates/weights today, yoga Friday. Maybe I'll attempt a run Friday. Or Saturday. I'm not really sure. I just know I need to nip this in the bud before marathon training starts so I can continue to kick ass all the way to Philly.

First race of 2013

Well hello there readers! What a month it has been. I had an amazing run on April 14th, but I was hesitant to blog about it. Tomorrow is Boston and everyone will be reading/writing race reports! No one will read my silly little blog post about my great run. Well, we all know what followed. Then I was out of town for a week. But now I'm back, and I've signed up for my first race in 2013!

I almost can't believe that I haven't run a race yet this year. Then again, thinking about how low my motivation was in January, it's not surprising at all. I'm actually quite excited to run CAMBA's Healthy Way 5k, in Prospect Park this Sunday. I haven't run a 5k in quite some time. I think I'll probably try and run a mile or two before hand to warm up, race the race, then run home to get my total mileage of 8-11 miles.

I'm not really sure what my strategy is for the race. It'll probably be something like, run fast, as fast as you can before you start to cramp up. Run as fast as you can, and when you feel like you're going to pass out, keep pushing to the finish line. Something like that. I'm hoping it's a really small race, and if I can manage to run in the low 8:00's I think I can expect to finish high in my AG. My PR is at an 8:11 pace, so anything around there would make me quite happy! There are prizes for the top 3 females, so who knows?

Running with nature (and stuff)

This weekend I made a trip out to Rockefeller State Park and hit the trails with a few friends. It was lovely, to say the least. A few hours out of the city and in the sun was exactly what I needed. It was a pretty challenging course at times, and I was running with a group that had me pushing the pace a bit, but you know what? That's okay. I stopped a few times to walk up hills (evident in the splits below) and I didn't beat myself up over it. Instead, I took a deep breath of fresh air and looked at the cows sitting in the grass, or the beautiful little stream to my side. It was awesome to see my last few miles sub 9:30, and to feel the miles just tick away. Almost ten mile done before I had even realized it. Sunday's run was everything that I needed, peace and quiet away from the city, and a strong run that left me with a nice runners high.

Then we zipped over to Blue Hill Cafe to stock up on delicious treats, and ventured back into the city.  Traffic and delays on the train meant I didn't get home until almost 3pm, but that's okay, there will always be next Sunday.

I don't see a hill, do you?

I was too busy enjoy the scenery to take a photo, but here's a cup of coffee. Look! Cows!

1    9:12.0     1.00
2    9:15.8     1.00    
3    10:35.3     1.00
4    9:09.6     1.00
5    10:37.0     1.00
6    11:59.5     1.00
7    9:05.8     1.00
8    9:23.7     1.00
9    9:22.0     1.00
10    6:28.0     0.70

Brain Training

Just google "Brain Lifting Weights" There are PLENTY of hilarious images.

One of the things I want to work on this marathon training season is my mental game. I'm tired of making myself feel bad about not being as good as (aka, as fast as) other people I run with. I'm tired of comparing myself with others and falling short every time. Despite all the progress I've made, I still feel like the slowest runner of my group of friends, because of course they're getting faster too!

I was reading Competitor (my new favorite running website) the other day, and they had a few articles about mental focus and mental training. I found them helpful, but I still feel like I'm not sure what is going to work for me. 

Through Competitor, I came across Running the Mind. Joseph Renguso is a runner and psychotherapist, who has two audio programs on his website that claim to help you learn to focus and help block out negative thoughts. While it sounds intriguing, I'm also a bit skeptical. I also feel like my focus and ability to push myself while racing is good (cue dismissive glare from my coach) but I feel like it's during speed workouts, or post runs when the anger/frustration kicks in.

What are some of the techniques that you've used to help prevent you from beating yourself up?



This post would not be complete without him....

You're fast, you're capable, and gosh darn it people like you!

Redux

Snazzy poster created in the Phoster app

Once I realized I did indeed want to run a fall marathon this year, my options were very clear to me. I knew I wanted a "small" race, a "fast" race, and a race that was close to NY. Although Mohawk-Hudson is all of the above, I started to get a little worried when I watched the "run through" video on their website. Though it looked scenic, but I was worried about it being TOO small, and without any spectators. (Someone feel free to chime in and tell me I'm wrong)

This left only one option in my mind, Philadelphia. Bouncing so many things through my mind, this was the only option that I got really excited about. I know the race, and I know the city. I had a great time there a few years ago, and I've been meaning to go back and visit for a while. I'm hoping the familiarity of it all will make it relatively low-key if I'm traveling alone (aka, the opposite of traveling to DC, though I can't blame anything on that besides Hurricane Sandy)

So it's official, I'm registered and ready to go! Of course, I'm sure you all want to know what my predicted finish time is, but that's for another post!