I’ve been cautiously optimistic since running the Hightail Quarter Marathon and wondering if my hamstring was going to flare up again, but I am still feeling good since that race, and I think my hamstring injury is behind me!
It feels so good to be back to training more regularly, increasing my mileage, and feeling faster and stronger each day. It took a lot of patience to work through my hamstring strain, so I incredibly happy to be on the mend.
I ran a total of 36 miles this past week with 5 days of running, a track/interval workout, and a long run. While this is far from where I would like to be at this point in the summer, I am happy to be where I am right now because this is way better than being injured. Here’s what this past week of training looked like.
Monday
6 miles | 8:40 average pace | easy run + 30 minutes of weights
This was a nice, easy run with a friend through her neighborhood. We kept things easy since she is pregnant, which is not always a bad thing for me to slow down a bit as overstriding can flare up my hamstring.
Tuesday
Off – My one full day off for the week.
Wednesday
8 miles | 7:58 average pace | interval workout
2 mile warm-up
200 meters – 0:37
400 meters – 1:24
600 meters – 2:10
800 meters – 2:57
600 meters – 2:10
400 meters – 1:23
200 meters – 0:38
cool-down to 8 miles
I like this ladder workout because it changes things up, and I never get bored running the same distance. I did this workout with a friend, which was really nice to have the company and have someone push me. She’s a good training partner because she pushes me on the short distances, and I can help push her on the longer distances. While this wasn’t easy, I was so happy that I was able to run quite a bit faster at each distance compared when I did this same workout 4 weeks ago.
Thursday
60 minutes of weights, PT exercises, and core at the gym
Friday
60 minutes of yoga + 6 miles | 8:04 average pace
It has been too long since I’ve done yoga, but I need to make it a part of my weekly routine again. I went to a flow + strength class at one of the studios here in town with a friend, and then we went for a 6 mile run on the roads afterwards. I should have grabbed a energy gel to take before the run because within a couple miles I was feeling pretty famished. Luckily I made it without feeling too terrible, but it was a different challenge to do a fairly intense yoga class and then a run.
Saturday
11 miles | 8:15 average pace | long run
Woohoo! I’m starting to build up my long runs again, which is always fun! It was a perfect sunny, cool morning to be out for a run. I wish it could stay like this forever. It is ten times more enjoyable to pull on a pair of shorts and tank top and be ready in 2 minutes versus the 20 minutes it takes me to get ready during the winter. My hamstring was a little achy the rest of the day after this run, so I made sure to foam roll, stretch, and get good sleep to help it heal.
Sunday
5 miles | 8:22 average pace | easy run
A nice, easy recovery run after my long run the day before. My hamstring felt about 95% better on this run, however, I know I have to be careful when it is nearly recovered before I start doing too much, too soon.
Total: 36 miles
This week I’m hoping to run 40 miles, and I’m going to be racing the 5K and 10K at the Alaska Distance Classic this coming Saturday. I’m pulling out a new pair of lime green racing buns/briefs, which will be super fun to wear!
I’m going to work on a blog post showing the stretches and exercises I did to help my hamstring strain, so stay tuned for that too!
Yay! Looking forward to the hamstring exercises post. For a brief second I was envious when you described running on a cool morning- I live in Florida and it’s soooo hot and humid here. We won’t get a coodown till October. But then I remembered your winters and my envy disappeared : )