Training Week 5: Hope in hard times
Another week of quarantine slips by. I’ve been only running from my door, which means runs are solely at Bear Creek or on roads in my neighborhood. Yea, there’s a part of me whispering “you’re not getting enough climbing in, you’re pounding too much pavement,” but I’m not even thinking of upcoming races. I’m not even sure they’ll happen. I’m not even sure I have a hip that will hold out for 20 miles of running.
Running has always been a gift and right now it’s extra special. Training is my journey and I guess the journey is one big destination? It’s the only “me” time I have and when I’m on runs everything feels normal — even when I breathe into my buff, even when I run 10 feet away from someone else to avoid close contact, even when I’m alone.
Miles ramped back up this week and my body held on. My hip hurts mainly on roads, but I’m considering getting an MRI to get to the bottom of it. If there is a tear, I don’t want to make it worse.
MONDAY
Strength/PT and a yoga class
TUESDAY
8.3 miles, trail
Notes: Took the trail up and down Mt. Carbon since I wanted at least a lil’ bit of climbing. My body felt good but my hip was sore.
WEDNESDAY
5 miles, hills
Notes: There’s a pretty steep and long hill (road) by my house so I jogged the mile thataway to do repeats. I made up a workout that got me wheezing so I guess it worked: 5x30 sec “sprints,” 5x1 min “sprints,” 5x30 sec “sprints.” It was fun! Way more fun that Green Mountain repeats, haha. I must say I’ve been enjoying sprinkling in speed work..
THURSDAY:
7 miles, trail - and sleet.
Notes: I think everyone’s Strava title in Colorado mentioned the unwelcome storm. I tried to squeeze in an out-and-back to Bear Creek before the snow, but that meant I got inundated with lovely freezing rain and sleet. I needed to take a 20 minute hot shower to thaw out.
FRIDAY:
Rest :)
SATURDAY:
17 miles, roads
Notes: I was nervous about this run. The trails were still muddy so I opted for my usual Bear Creek road loop — but I knew all the pavement pounding would likely bother my hip. I tried to run on grass/dirt wherever possible, but I could feel my left leg dragging. At certain points, it would scrape against the road. I also had left knee pain? Arg. I was grateful to be out in the sun but was worried about how I felt. In general, my body just feels slow (I’m running 20/30 secs slower than my typical road paces) and can’t figure out why.
SUNDAY:
9 miles, trail
80 mins on the plan, so I did a beloved loop at Bear Creek on the (now) dry trails. Pic below. I felt way more energized than the day before and my hip held up fine. I’m sensing a pattern here….#moretrails #lessroads #eatallofthebananabread
Total Mileage: 46.5 miles
Total Hours: 7 hours 5 minutes
Total Gain: 3,045 ft
Overall Emotions: Thinking about shifting expectations since it’s wildly unknown if a 50 miler will even happen. Hoping to get an MRI on my hip, but until then…happy to have a training schedule to keep some normalcy and escape/space throughout my days.
