Last night, after work, I headed out for a run. My goal was five miles at an easy pace, but the main priority was to not worsen the hamstring. Compared to last week, my stride was way, way better. It's not perfect, but it's close. I deliberately picked a course with varying terrain so that I'd see how I felt on pavement and dirt roads, on ups, downs and level terrain. Overall, I felt best on downs and ups, and the slight limitations in my stride were worst on the level terrain.
But, I completed five miles with no real pain. I didn't push the pace at all. After the run, I immediately iced the entire hamstring. After the leg had returned to normal temperature, I hooked up the e-stim machine for a while. Then, some rolling with the Stick, and finally a little massage with Biofreeze.
This afternoon, I see the PT, and he'll do ultrasound, massage work, and foam rolling.
After the PT appointment today, I'm going to a local high school track meet. The son of a current co-worker is a promising young runner who ran a 5K in the low 17s last summer. He finished third in his division at the state XC championships last fall. The school he runs for is dropping down a division and he's the odds-on favorite to win the championship this fall.
For his high school senior project, he is planning to run a marathon. He is going to report on the physical, nutritional and mental aspects of preparing for and running the race. Every student is required to have a mentor and Peter asked me to be his mentor. I will design his training program for the marathon, but I have to take his track and cross country goals into account. He has a real chance to win the state XC individual championship in his division next fall, and I don't want to do anything to mess with those chances.
Tonight, I'm going to go and watch him run the 1500 and the 3000 - just offering some moral support and letting him know I'm interested in how he's doing. We start working together more seriously after he finally picks his target marathon.
After the track meet, I'm going to go to the gym. I'll do some upper-body lifting and then some intervals on the stair climber. Tomorrow after work, I think I'm going to try a slightly longer run and see how things feel.
2 comments:
It's entirely possible that marathon training might only increase his chances for anything over two miles.
...who, me? Not running at all right now - Hell Spur Syndrome, brought on by trauma (doing repeats in racing flats). I'm swimming for at least another week before attempting another run.
Jim, I didn't know the heel (or is it both) was bothering you that much. The past few weeks have been tough for me. I'm not used to being injured and unable to run. Hopefully you'll be back running soon.
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