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Thanks to my friend Bonnie Duckworth for sharing this on Facebook earlier today. This is INCREDIBLE and DEFINITELY worth a watch:
Well….this time last week my left hip was so bad that I didn’t think there was any way I would be back on the road for week 15. However, this morning was my third straight day to get a run in, and so far things are holding together pretty well. I really focused last week on doing strength and stretching exercises for my core and hip, and on Sunday the pain started to slowly subside. I was still pretty achy after Monday’s 5-miler with Nathan on the HR Greenway, but nothing like what I was dealing with last week.
I didn’t get to run yesterday morning due to getting home around 1am from a concert, so I did a 4-mile run yesterday afternoon, in a steady rain, on the Vaughn’s Gap Cross Country course in Percy Warner Park. I actually ran this in my Saucony Hattori shoes, which is the first time I’ve taken them off-road. It turned out to be an awesome run. I felt extremely light on my feet in the grass, and my hip felt great throughout, with minimal aching afterwards. Once I got home I put in another 30 minutes doing some strength training.
This morning Nathan and I got in 6.5-hilly-miles through Percy and Edwin Warner Parks, surviving a few downpours later in the run. Again my hip felt good throughout, though I’ve had a little more aching today than yesterday. Even with that, I’m very happy about the progress. Getting fired up again about my training after the disappointment last week.
Beast Mode….ON!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: Handouts and Notes for Ephesians Chapter 4:17-32 are now available online. Lord willing we will begin covering this text during class tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
Dan’s interview with Bill Parcells this morning was really, really good. Coach Parcells is not known for his openness with the media, but it was really cool today to hear him talk about things like the jobs he almost pursued instead of coaching and how he ended up with the nickname “Big Tuna.” Definitely worth a listen.
I listen to the Dan Patrick radio show almost every day, and he is absolutely one of the best interviewers on the planet. His questions during this clip with Bill Parcells are stellar
Download MP3 Audio (Right-Click Here)
Audio recording of my sermon at Granny White Church of Christ from Wednesday, July 24th as part of their midweek Summer Series.
The lesson was entitled:
You Say…I Can’t Forgive Myself.
God Says….I Forgive You.
Taken from 1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1
Well….I was hoping to be able to run through this nagging hip problem, but I realized last night that is is unlikely to get better without taking some time off. To that end I’m going to shut things down for at least a week and hope that it does not end up being longer than that. With my recent injury track record, I’m really nervous about what this means for New York. Now I need to decide whether or not go and see my orthopaedist now or wait until after taking a week off. I really hate to wrack up more medical expenses related to running if I can avoid it, but I also hate not knowing for sure what is going on.
Anyway, prior to shutting it down this morning, I’ve completed two runs since my last post. One was a group tempo workout last Saturday in really nasty humidity. The plan called for 80 minutes of tempo intervals, though I only made it through 54 before I had to stop. I still got in over 10.5-miles of work. Yesterday, Nathan and I did 6+ miles of trails in Percy Warner Park in the rain, and my body felt trashed the whole way. I eventually told Nathan to go on without me because he was looking strong. I finished the run, but there was very little enjoyable about it.
After such a good start of the week last week, this week has been a bummer so far. Looking forward to brighter running days ahead.
Tomorrow evening at 6:30pm, I will be speaking at Granny White Church of Christ as part of their midweek Summer Series.
The lesson is entitled:
You Say…I Can’t Forgive Myself.
God Says….I Forgive You.
Taken from 1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1
If you are in the Middle Tennessee area, we would love to have you join us!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: Handouts and Notes for Ephesians Chapter 4:1-16 are now available online. I will be away at Granny White Church of Christ, but Lord willing Ken Palmer will begin covering this text during class tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
Sor far, this week of training is going really, really well. I think my body is finally adapting to the nasty heat and humidity in Middle Tennessee. My left hip continues to bother me, but I’m pretty sure it is an IT Band issue, and nothing bone related. I’ve stepped up my emphasis on stretching, strengthening, and foam rolling to try and get it knocked out. Here is a quick rundown of this week so far:
Monday
Nathan and I hit the trails in Edwin and Percy Warner park to get in a few off-road miles. We started with the Blue Trail in Edwin Warner, and added the short Yellow and Orange trails to add a little distance. My legs were definitely pushed to the max on the steep climbs, but I made it all the way through without walking. After a quick fluid stop at the Nature Center we hit the Candy Cane Connector Trail in Percy Warner, and then did a loop on the Vaughn’s Gap Cross Country Course before returning back to Edwin Warner on the Candy Cane Trail. We got in a little over 6-miles, and my legs felt pretty good throughout.
Tuesday
Nathan and I started from the main gates in Percy Warner park and did an 8.5-mile easy run through the streets of Belle Meade. We kept the pace very, very chill throughout, and it was good to get in a fairly long, mid-week run. Incorporate the infamous “Zig-Zag” route created by our friend Edward:
Thursday
After last week’s track workout disaster, I was anxious to get back out there this week. Thankfully, the intervals were much shorter, and I felt AWESOME. Here’s a rundown:
- 3.2-Mile Warmup (wanted to make sure my hip was good and loose)
- 6 x 100m Stride Outs
- 4 x 200m fresh (100m Recovery / 400m Recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves (400m Recovery)
- 3 x 250m fresh (150m Recovery / 400m Recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves
- 1.35-Mile Cool Down
It was crazy humid, but for some reason it didn’t really bother me after I got through the warmup. I started off the intervals fairly conservative, but picked up the pace as my confidence started to grow. For example, my 200m splits during the 250m intervals, were faster (39/40 sec) than during the 200m intervals (43 to 46 sec). In total I got in just over 8 miles, and more importantly re-gained a great deal of confidence that was lost last week. Still have a LONG way to go, but it is nice to have a good night at track.
Friday
The Bellevue Trio Returns!! Paxton has been nursing an injury for the past few weeks, and today was the first day in a while that all 3 of us did a run together. We did a 4-mile recovery run through Bellevue using 10 / 1 run-walk intervals. My legs were pretty toasty after the track workout, but we kept the past very chill, and it felt good.
About to head-out for an evening 2.5-mile run/walk on the White Trail at Percy Warner with my girls, and then tomorrow we have a group tempo workout with 10 to 11-miles of Marathon Pace intervals. Should be a good challenge.
Beast Mode….ON!
