Over the past couple of weeks I’ve become a bit lax in keeping up with Tumblr, and specifically in posting running updates. Well, I’m still here, and I’m still working my way back to a full running schedule after the injury.
Since completing the Chickamauga Half Marathon two weeks ago, I’ve continued to increase my mileage slowly and wanted to mention a few highlights.
Track Workout
A week ago Thursday, I finished my second track workout since the injury. This particular workout was 3 x 1-mile repeats with 400m recovery in-between. At my peak I was running mile repeats with splits between 5:55 and 6:10. However, I had no idea what to expect after the long layoff. I had a hard time getting a feel for my pace while running, but was pleasantly surprised to run these three with times of 6:28, 6:17, and 6:14. Not quite up to my old self, but felt pretty good none-the-less.
Run to the Hills
Until I finished step 7 of my return to running program (about a week before Chickamauga), I was instructed to avoid speed work and significant hills. Now that I’ve been released to both, last Saturday I decided to give the acclaimed 11.2-mile loop in Percy Warner Park a try with almost 2,200 ft of cumulative elevation gain:
Well, that route kicked my tail! However, I finished it and know that I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. Incidentally, the next day was when I was originally registered for the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon, which consists of running the 11.2 loop in both directions. This run let me know that it was not just a matter of my MD advising me not to run the marathon, but also that I was not physically capable of running it.
Total Mileage Milestone
Last week I eclipsed my 2011 running total of 1,763 miles completed, and still have an outside shot at 2,000 for the year, which was my goal for 2012:
I feel pretty good about this considering I missed 6-weeks with the stress fracture. Not sure whether or not I’ll hit 2,000, but I’m not gonna push it to just hit a mileage total.
Well, that’s the recap of the past two weeks. Tomorrow Olivia and I will be running Boulevard Bolt, which is one of the largest 5-mile races in the country (if not the biggest) with over 8,200 participants. Again, I’m not sure what to expect. My PR for 5-miles is 32:22, so I’m thinking that anything between 34:00 and 35:00 will be a reasonable goal.
Anyway, hope everyone has a great turkey day!!
Beast Mode….ON!