Weekly Recap

I ended up with a pretty decent week, for once. 30 miles, one trail run, one strength session, and I've been doing the Myrtl exercises regularly (maybe even daily -- I should keep track!). Speaking of Myrtl, I have been trying to do them every day (or at least an abbreviated version), and I think it's helping. A couple of years ago, my left hamstring was really bothering me so I went to a sports chiro a few times for Active Release Therapy (ART). He suggested these exercises and some other to correct muscle imbalances and open up the hips. I did them for a while then, but got lazy.

My right hamstring -- which was inflamed after Athens -- has been feeling better since I've been trying to pay more attention. (I'm ready a book called Ready to Run, which was written by a Crossfitter/PT who is really into mobility. I don't agree with everything that guy says, but he makes some really good points.)

In any case, ideally, you would do the Myrtl before the run (that's debatable though), but I've been doing them whenever. Getting down in the grass at the trail isn't appealing to me.

So onto last week!

Monday: 4 miles on the treadmill, Saucony Kinvara 5, stupid slow pace
Just not feeling it, although leading up to the run, I was. I hopped on the treadmill because it was colder outside than I wanted and I didn't really want to leave the house because of the new kitty. I had a workout planned, but I felt so sluggish that I ditched it. (Probably should have pushed through a little more. WIMP.)

Tuesday: 5 miles on trails, Saucony Peregrines
After work, I went to Sand Run for some trail miles. It was packed there and part of the trail was closed, so I ended up doing a slightly different route than normal. It as nice -- no path at all, all trails. I ended up with a 12:53 pace (so yes, it took me over an hour to "run" 5 miles), which isn't bad for me on trails. I'm not sure of the elevation because the activity corrupted in my Garmin, but given other runs there, I'm guessing around 500 feet.

Wednesday: 6 miles on the towpath, Saucony Kinvara 6, 9:34 pace

The weather was fantastic -- warm, sunny and not humid -- but after two days of running, I wasn't sure what I could do. I didn't really want to run slow since that's all I've been doing. I ended up running 6 miles at a 9:34 pace, and it was a very consistent run, mostly thanks to my friend who ran with me. He didn't want to run fast so we let the lead group drop us. My quads were pretty sore after the lunge sequence on Monday and the trails on Tuesday, but they loosened up during the run. When I got home, I did some hip strengthening.

Thursday: rest

Friday: 1-mile warmup run + upper body/ab strength
After work on Friday, I hit the gym. I skipped lower body stuff (except for the Myrtl exercises) and focused on abs and upper body.

Saturday: 13 miles in the morning, 1.5 miles in the evening
The training group had its 13-mile run, which is always cool. We had a very small turnout, which was disappointing. The weather was great, the run was at a casual pace and that was that. That evening, we did the "Sombrero Shuffle," which is a "race" in Tremont. There were five checkpoints (five locations, five things to do/get), and there were 10 of us who did it as teams. We basically stuck together and had a great time.

Sunday: rest

This week, I'm gearing up for the 10.4-mile trail race on Saturday. Monday-Wednesday will be pretty typical. I'll definitely rest on Friday. Thursday might be a light workout or rest depending on how I feel after workouts Monday-Wednesday.