Week 4 already, what?! I can't believe it. This week was a pretty challenging week for me! I've been dealing with a large increase in my leg/hip pain and struggled throughout the whole week. But I did it and got through the week! Let's check it out.
As a reminder, I’m basing my training off of Life In Leggings training plan but I have mixed some things up a bit to fit my own needs!
Sunday
Today was interesting! I planned to get up early and get my 9 miles in before the rest of the world woke up. I was out the door at 7 a.m. At that time it was just sprinkling a bit, nothing major. I did my first three miles in my new shoes that I mentioned last week. Then I headed home to switch back to my old shoes until I got the new ones broken in. By the time I went back out it was pouring! I finished off my run in the pouring rain. There wasn't a dry part of me! At one point I was laughing at myself for how ridiculous the moment was. I saw some ducks floating in the river I passed and I've never wished so badly to be a duck. Seriously! But it was fun and felt very empowering to be out there doing my thing. I'd prefer not to make this a regular thing but I can deal with major downpours every once in a while. It makes things interesting!
I wasn't too concerned with my time. I just wanted to get the miles in. The first three miles were kind of painful on my leg, but after that I had no issues. Woo!
Distance: 9 miles Pace: 11:27/mile Time: 1 hour 43 minutes
Monday
Rest day! I didn't do much today other than a short walk with the dogs as usual. It was nice after Sunday's rainy run!
Tuesday
I was really excited for this run on Tuesday. It was the beginning of a struggling running week though. I had 4 miles to do and I thought that'd be no problem. Well I started running and my legs felt like bricks. I get really frustrated when I run "slow" and am trying to get over that. I'm not going into this half with any time goals. I just want to finish it and have fun. I need to remember that.
My leg/hip injury was causing me a ton of trouble to the point that I questioned if I should continue running this day. I finished it off though and I'm glad that I did! I was in pain the rest of the day though and that set the tone for running the rest of the week.
Distance: 4 miles Pace: 10:36/mile Time: 42 minutes
Wednesday
Strength Training! Youtube is my lifesaver when it comes to this. I love that there are so many free workout videos available! I did this workout which was pretty good! I was definitely sweating by the end. The thing that I love the most about HIIT workouts is that they go by so quickly! This was over before I knew it. Love it!
Thursday
Today was frustrating. So frustrating. I was having major hip pain during the whole time pretty much. I was running slow which was discouraging me quite a bit. I couldn't move my legs any faster though. My legs felt so heavy and I know that it's because I've been having problems with my leg/hip. I finished the run though and was glad that I did. I decided to make a chiropractor appointment asap afterwards to try to get this problem solved, finally.
Distance: 5 miles Pace: 10:54/mile Time: 54 minutes
Friday
Three miles! I got new shoes (again whoops) because I didn't like the Mizuno's that I got last week so I swapped them for the Saucony Kinvara 5. So far I only ran in them today but I will make a detailed post about them in the future! This run was pretty nice. It was done at an easy pace and I had very minimal hip pain!
I went to the chiropractor in the afternoon. He told me that I can continue with my normal training but not to do yoga or sit cross legged. Do you know how hard that is!?
*realizes I'm sitting crossed legged currently*
Those are both big time habits in my life that I enjoy a lot. Ahhh. I'm willing to give it a shot though if it'll possibly heal me!
Distance: 3 miles Pace: 10:24/mile Time: 32 minutes
Saturday
Today I rested completely. I took a short walk with the dogs but that's it. No stretches. No sitting cross legged, if I can help it. My hip/leg has felt a bit painful today but nothing compared to usual. Maybe this will help me?!
Thoughts
I had many times during the week where I regretted even starting this training. I can't help but to think about how differently things would be if I wasn't injured. It's very hard to get out there each day and complete something when your body isn't 100% but you have no control over it. When I signed up for the half I just went to the doctor and chiropractor for the first time to assess the injuries and they both told me that I would be able to train with no problems. I signed up and have struggled the whole way through. Hopefully no that I am doing no stretching I will heal and do it quickly. But time will tell! Sorry if this post seems negative. I want to share my honest experience with training here because it is definitely not all beautiful runs through a field of wildflowers on a nice summer morning. There are challenges and I am sure that I will be stronger once I overcome them but it's also scary to attempt whenever an injury is involved.
Two more weeks to go though, so exciting!!