Running In Place

I must’ve been passed by 20+ people on bicycles yesterday while running my long run on the towpath. From recreational folks in cut-off denim shorts to serious folks in technical clothing and matching helmets – not one freakin’ one bothered to announce their presence. I stay to the right of the path, and if the path narrows I always check behind before moving towards the center, I really try to be aware and considerate and not get in anybody’s way. I heard most of them coming, but a couple I didn’t and it scared the sh!t out of me to have them all of a sudden tear-ass by me. By the end of the run I was being a dick and calling out the questionably clever and doubtfully mature subject line above. This is not a rant on bikers, just those bikers who played touch and go with the hapless runner in the purple shorts and orange sneakers yesterday. Phooey on ya!
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I went to PT last week and was at the height of discouragment. After weeks of stretch and strength, the pain was worse than ever in my hip/groin. AND my pelvis had tipped back again and my left leg was shortened as a result. Again. I’m all like, why why tell me why!! And the PT dude is just kind of shrugging his shoulders and, again, bringing up the degenerative joint business. He has seriously got to shut up with that! So he looks back over his notes and recalls that, after the first week of a very simple and localized stretch, I had felt so much better that he was ready to cut me loose – but when more balanced stretching and strength were added in I started to go downhill again. He suggested we get back to basics and just do that initial, simple stretch, only on the affected side. Well guess what! I feel, like, 95% better!!! I’m back to occasional vague soreness, rather than sharp and shooting pains and the constant ache. Maybe we moved ahead too quickly with the balanced stretching and need to spend some time just concentrating on the one side. Anyway, I am feeling encouraged again!
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My runs in the past week have been outstandingly pleasant. Partially because of the decrease in pain, and partially because I am working hard to s l o w d o w n. It’s an interesting change in focus but it’s made for some strong, consistent runs. Rather than going out and running a 10:30 mile (fast for me), then an 11:15 mile, then an 11:40 mile, etc etc until I’m just about shuffling along at the end and feeling spent, I’ve been trying to stay at a true conversational pace throughout. I’ll adjust slightly for distance and, depending on how far I’m going, have been running anywhere from 12:10 to 12:50/ mile. And I love it! My body feels better, and I just feel better about running. I’m doing strides once a week and a hill day once a week so not every run is a vacation, but it feels much better to me, physically and mentally, to not have every run be a competition against the last run (talking training runs here, not races). This was all spurned by my interest in working with the heart rate monitor, but I actually haven’t been using one. The one that I purchased was not satisfactory to me and I have been messing around with b!kes0mewhere dot com to try to get a refund or exchange. My experience so far has been a minimally responsive customer service department so I don’t expect I will be working with an HR monitor again for at least a couple of weeks.

My long run this week was 8 miles and it went well. I chose the towpath because then at least half my run would be on groomed dirt and gravel rather than all asphalt. Per the PT, I’m not even supposed to be running more than 3 or 4 miles (yep, here’s where the truth comes out that I am not quite the perfect patient), but I traded in a couple of long runs for 10K races in the past few weeks so I really have to get some miles in before the 1/2 M. I’ve got 3 weeks before the taper week to get in a 10 and an 11 or 12 so if I can just keep this hip thing at bay for a few more weeks I promise I will be that perfect patient afterwards! The towpath is a drag for long runs – mostly flat, mostly straight – it runs alongside the canal, so that’s pretty exciting Thank goodness for the mp3 player!! And podcasts!!! I listened to 4 episodes of Endurance Radio 3 of which featured ultra-runners or triathletes! Also, 4 episodes of Slate Magazine and, in the last mile, just when I really needed a boost – Barefoot Radio came on! I love these guys and they totally took me the last mile! Another great podcast – and Susan got me started on it – is Phedippidations. I love listening to this dude – check out his awesome account of the recent Falmouth Road Race. While running it!!
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Last but not least – on this day next week, I will be motoring along the Mass Pike, making my way to Susan and much RBF revelry. I won’t get the Farthest Distance Traveled prize though: David’s, jetting in from not-so-sunny Florida and Jon & family on a rowdy roadtrip from Michigan!! CT won’t know what hit it!