Weekly Rundown- The Longest Week
Somehow, this week seems like it was 100 years long. The highlight was my back-to-back long run adventure- but that seems so long ago. Was it only a week? Yes… yes, it was. I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown (thanks for hosting, ladies!) Let’s go waaaaay back to New Year’s Eve, when it all started. Sunday Long Run #1!! The weather was absolutely beautiful- 50s and sunny- and I had no other obligations this day, so I opted to drive about 30 minutes away, to the edge of the Everglades. From there, I had multiple trail choices, and I did parts of all of them! This run would have been perfect… except for my left arm. Remember how I hurt it last week (presumably doing pull up negatives?) Well, about four miles into this run it was hurting, and it got worse and worse as I went on. I tried all sorts of things, like holding it very close to my body and swinging it minimally. That helped, but it still hurt… a lot. I was pretty bummed that this sore arm was “ruining” my run, but I tried to look at the big picture. Everything else felt good, I had plenty of energy, and, well, sometimes things hurt and you have to deal with it. I had planned to go 22 miles on this run, but opted to cut it short at 20. I wanted to figure out a better way of managing my arm before Long Run #2. I walked a mile just to flush out the legs, and then was done for the day. Monday Okay. I taped my arm with KT tape and was ready to go! It was another beautiful day. I walked a mile to warm up, and then, this time I ran to a nearby park with a large grassy field and cross country trail- my race in February apparently has a lot of grassy areas and I want to be ready. My arm felt okay! It still hurt, but was more manageable than the day before. Again, I felt good. As the run went on, I felt normal “long run fatigue,” but I couldn’t really tell I had run 20 miles the day before. This run was 16 miles. My original plan was to run 22 the first day and 14 the second… instead I ran 20 and 16. Overall I was REALLY happy with the way it all played out. And as you can imagine, the rest of the day was spent relaxing on my couch (with books, football, and my cat.) Yay! Tuesday Leg day at the gym- JUST KIDDING. Ha- I was pretty sore when I woke up. I did my daily mobility routine, but other than that it was a day off. Wednesday Still sore, but I ran 4 miles. Thursday Not as sore… I contemplated going to the gym but instead did strength at home. It turned out to be a great decision, because I discovered that my legs were still deeply fatigued. I did squats (with dumbbells- not as heavy as what I do at the gym) dead bugs, and Runners Touch. Runners Touch involves only bodyweight, and even that felt challenging in my hips. Well… I’ve never done back-to-back long runs and didn’t know what to expect. But I’m learning! Friday Another 4 mile run, and starting to feel back to normal… almost. Followed this run with planks and dead bugs. Saturday Day off- I know, I just had a day off on Tuesday, but that’s just the way the week worked out. At night I did start Ben Patrick’s “Knee Ability Zero” program, which I’m going to do for the month of January (at least- I’ll continue if I feel that it’s helping.) It’s all bodyweight (hence the “zero”, as in, you need zero equipment) and I could do the first three exercises without pain. The next one hurt, so that’s where I stopped. I’ll do a full post on the program sometime this month! Sunday Okay seriously- today really IS leg day at the gym. I think I’m all recovered, and I need to get to the gym, because next week I won’t be able to go. I have another long run planned for Wednesday morning, and then we leave for Tampa! There is a gym in our hotel, ahem, but as we all know, hotel gyms are hit-or-miss. How was your week? Did it seem unusually long or short?