Mile Training: Week 3/6

Week 3/6 of http://www.milermethod.com training

Beginning of Week Thoughts: I'm tired. Bleh. 

Monday
Scheduled: 3 easy
Did: 3.04 @ 9:23/mi avg
Sick kiddo = no sleep = bailed on the AM run. Decided to run during the solar eclipse instead. It was a complete and total letdown. Barely noticed anything different, except some moderately interesting shadows. 

Tuesday
Scheduled:10-20min WU, 8x45s hills (60-100% effort), 10-15min cooldown, 2x core circuit
Did: as scheduled; 6.24 @ 9:44/mi avg
Man, today was one of those workouts where I finished feeling like such an athlete. 

hill repeats!

My day started off with two times through the core circuit around 4:30am. I feel stronger on most of the exercises, but the back plank with leg lifts are still incredibly challenging for my right hamstring and the scissor legs are rouuuuuuuuugh. I still need a quick 1-3 second break in the middle of each of those.

Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: Big 5, ham/glute PT, Yoga on the Square
A work deadline kept me at the office late, so I turned it into a yoga night. I had some time beforehand to do my ham/glute PT before settling into a nice hour of namaste-time.  

Thursday
Scheduled: 10-15min warm-up, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 8x300 (67s) w/90s recovery, 15min cooldown
Did: as scheduled
I've found myself regularly dreading Thursdays because of how challenging and intimidating these workouts are. I'm beyond grateful for B and the rest of the crew for holding me accountable. If I were only training by myself, it would be so easy to bail on these. 

Warm-up: 1.8mi @ 10ish 
felt so sluggish/tired and wondered how I was supposed to go ANY faster for the rest of the workout; opted out of doing tempo run on the roads because I didn't feel like tackling the inclines today

Tempo: 10min @ 8:20/mi
Running tempo on the track was HARD. When I'm on the track, I'm either going super fast (for speedwork) or super slow (for between-interval-recoveries). A tempo run requires me to be in-between those paces, and I found it incredibly challenging to flip the mental switch to run a high-7 while seeing all the normal sights of the track around me. Started too fast, slowed down too much. This was not a true tempo run, but, hey, lesson learned: I can't do tempo on a track. 

300s (goal time: 67.5s =- 22.5s @100m, 45s @200m)
Lap 1 (1:03.8): Pumped myself up with a "you can do this" pep talk, and started WAY TOO FAST. I was at 39s for the 200. Uh-oh. Tried to slow myself (you can see it on the pace graph), but knew I was going to pay for this later.

Laps 2 (1:08.1),3 (1:08.0), and 4(1:07.6): felt good, jogged full recovery after #2 then, for whatever reason, fell into an unconscious routine of walking the first 45-60s of each recovery and jogging the rest; surprised myself that these felt so good since they were so hard last week, but knew the cooler weather (ten degrees cooler, 20% less humidity) was helping a ton


Lap 5 (1:04.7): hit the 100 at 24s and knew I had to pick it up to stay on pace; fought hard around the curve and forced myself to hit it on the back stretch; ended up faster than goal

Lap 6 (1:08.4): tried to hold myself to a 4/4 breathing pattern; fell back to 2/2 at 150m and, again, struggled to save pace on the back half

Lap 7 (1:07.4): felt good about this being the penultimate repeat, but had the same back-half struggle

Lap 8 (1:05.4): same back 2/3 struggle, but with a much stronger push for glory at the end




Overall, I'm really pleased with this workout. I "hit" (within a second) my goal pace on all of them, and that's with a shorter recovery than last week. 5/8 repeats were within a second of each other (and goal), 1 was 1.3s slow, and the other two were 2-3s fast. 
I walked some of the recoveries, had a slower tempo than usual, but still feel pretty good about the workout. Next week is an 800m time trial. *gulp*


Friday
Scheduled: 5-7 easy
Did: 5.0 @ 9:41/mi avg
I'm training for a mile, but it feels oddly similar to marathon training these days. For about the past week, every run feels hard to start. By mile 3, though, I'm in a good, warmed-up state, and perform well. I guess that's what happens when you're running six days for a total of around 35 miles per week. 

Met B early for three, and then finished off the last two solo while she went to bootcamp. Had a nice bit of an unintentional progression-y run, from 10:01/mi down to 9:20/mi by the end. 


Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min warm-up, 15min tempo, 10min cool-down
Did: 17.5min WU @ 9:50/mi , 15min tempo @ 7:49/mi,  10min CD @ 9:20/mi with the stroller
Felt slow and sluggish during my entire warm-up, but managed a really good pace on the tempo part of the workout, despite having a stroller. Cooldown also felt like a slug, but clearly wasn't. 

Sunday
Scheduled: 8-12 LSD

Did: 10.18 @ 9:31/mi avg, partially with stroller, 2x strength circuit

During marathon training, I felt like my week built up to the long run. It was the day I focused on the whole week leading up to it, ate and slept the best for, and was the most nervous about. In mile training, I feel a huge relief after Saturday tempo runs because Sunday is an "easy day". 

I'd planned on doing all today's miles with the stroller, but baby boy is entering the terrible twos phase, and derailed our morning schedule. Fortunately, Jerry was able to take the kiddo along on his later run so that I could still make my date with B. In the chaos, though, I may have forgotten to eat anything. I realized this around mile 6. :P 

Bummed some Froot Loops off of B at the 7mi marker (when I picked up the potato from Jerry and continued on with the Running Mamas), but they were way sweeter than anything I usually eat. Had a Gatorade, mentally chastised myself for setting off for double-digit miles without anything to eat,  but made it through the run and 45min of playdate afterwards. 

Week-ending Thoughts: 

• I didn't think about my hamstring at all on Sunday's run. I think I've hit a turning point :)
• I definitely have a miiiiiild twist in my left ankle from Tuesday's hills. The sidewalk of the repeat hill terminates early, and having to run across roots/grass and curb hop at the speeds I was hitting did something, because I've been feeling it all week long. I can stand, walk, and run without noticing anything, so it's not bad, but I definitely won't be using that hill for the longer durations
• pretty proud that I can still knock out a double digit run without any issues
• getting nervous about Thursday's time trial... it's been comforting to read about the other training group participants' experience, though

Mile Training: Week 2/6

Week Beginning Thoughts: Is it Saturday yet? 


Monday
Scheduled: 3-5mi recovery run
Did: 3.08 @ 9:38/mi
definitely feeling last week's training and looking forward to rest day Wednesday; 
did 20min PT before bed



Tuesday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 4x30s hill, 4x45s hill, 10-15min CD, core circuit
Did: as scheduled, 6.25mi @ 9:29/mi avg
My core circuit takes 3 1/2min. I think I'm going to start doing it every day, first thing. I still struggle a LOT with the back plank leg raises (weak R ham is lingering), and have to fight through the scissor legs. I'm down to only taking a single 3s break, though. 

This workout felt SO much better than last week's. Ham was still a bit weak, but, oddly enough, felt totally fine on the hills? I'd have expected to feel it more on them. Kept my pace to 40-60% on the first 5-6 repeats, and then let a bit loose on #7 and felt amazing.  Switched to a different hill for 8, but started too early, and that one ended up being flatter than expected. Oops. 

Had some residual soreness/discomfort sitting for the rest of the day, but knocked out another 20min of PT over lunch, which includes:
3x20 double leg glute bridge
3x10 single leg glute bridge
3x10 standing hamstring "catch", then curl
3x10 isometric contractions with 5-10lb ankle weight
3x10 single leg deadlifts
3x10 lunge with 10lb DB
30x prone position, contract glute and raise leg ~6" off ground, hold, lower, disengage, repeat

10 nordic hamstring things, only whenever I can get Jerry to help






Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: yoga and PT
So, my downtown office has free yoga classes every Wednesday. I've been wanting to take advantage of them, but that requires me saying, "Hey, Tall, I know you've got speedwork today, but can you go do your speedwork after a full day's work, then pick the kid up from daycare, make dinner for him and yourself, give him a bath, put him to bed, and then, and only then, shower and recover from your hard run so that I can stay in midtown and relax with outdoor yoga? I'll be home after all the hard work is done." :P

got my yoga mat, and my flippy-floppies

We worked it out, though, and I got the chance to enjoy it yesterday. I LOVED getting to take advantage of the city. Even though my commute is like two hours a day, working down here makes it worthwhile for me. I love being in an urban environment. There's so much culture and awesome stuff that happens down here.

view from my office window of the green we yoga-ed on

I got my spot a little early and had time to run through my hamstring PT on the green before our class began. I can't say that I'd pay money to have that instructor lead me through another class (her style just wasn't what I prefer), but it was an hour well spent. 

namaste, midtown!

Thursday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo/5min rest, 4x200@MP/2min recovery, 4x300@MP/2min recovery, 10-15min CD
Did: as scheduled
These workouts are the hardest part of my week, and I'm so glad I've got my #SpeedworkThursday crew to help me out. Coach Nick had this to say about the workout: "The 200s will feel fairly comfortable, but the 300s will get tough."

Man, did they ever. It's like he's a pro at this and knows what he's talking about.

My tempo was a 7:49/mi. Again, I went by feel on this. I still wonder if I'm going too fast, because I feel like I "couldn't" hold that pace for another 5-10min, but it's slower than my current 5K PR, so that tells me I can (I just don't want to). But that's what tempo is all about, right? Forcing yourself to push when you don't want to... just like a race. FinalSurge's training calculator tells me my "anaerobic threshold" is a 7:33. For now, I'll just keep running by feel, since I think I'm definitely getting something out of it. 

I'll buy the 5K and 10K, maaaaaybe the half, but the marathon? Hahahahahaha

After my five minutes of rest, I set out for my 200s. I'd done the math ahead of time and knew I needed to hit 45s for the 200s and 67.5s for the 300s (22.5s per 100m). I thought these times were faster than ever, but then I looked back and Coach Amy had also given me 67s 300m repeats before my goal 5K, so I have done these before (though I did them without clear track marks and am pretty sure I was too slow on all of them). 

I used some mental tricks to help me break down the eight repeats, messing around with start/stop lines on the track. I'm also proud to report that I jogged at least 1:20 of all of my recoveries (compared to last week's "walk all of the 2min"). I didn't stop for water or stretching at all, just powered through. 

The 200s were fine. It's kind of cool that I don't look at my watch anymore. This seems to be my body's "natural" (speedwork) pace, because I literally just go and, without fail, I'm at a 6:00 pace (disregard Garmin pace output- it's giving me more distance credit than I'm due on the track). 

Lap 1= WU
Lap 2 = Tempo
Lap 3= rest
Laps 4,6,8,10 = 200m

The 300m were harder. First, I had to pass my 200m "finish line" and know that I wasn't even 1/2 way to the end of the interval (because of where I started my 300s). Second, I felt like I wanted to be done with them at the 200m mark. Third, there were four of them. Still, I was able to lock in and hit all of them (I'm calling the 68.9 a 67.5 close enough due to watch stop/start time-- surely it takes at least a second to get my hand across my body to stop the watch, right?). I was definitely tired by the end, and wondering how the heck I was supposed to complete one, much less, FOUR full 400m laps at that pace by goal date. By far, this is the most challenging workout I've ever had... and it's only going to get harder next week!

Laps 12, 14, 16, 18 = 300m
Lap 20 = cooldown

In other happy news, I felt NOTHING in my hamstring today, so I'm going to say I'm officially in the recovery period on that. Going to keep with my PT (at least 3x week) and stretching, but I think I'm in the clear!  


Friday
Scheduled: 3-5mi recovery run
Did: 4.57 @ 9:39/mi avg
Another 4:30am run date with B&B. It's a little hard to get up at 4am for these, but I LOVE being done and showered before my family is even awake. Felt hard to get moving at first, but loosened up and felt good by the end. Also did Big 5 waiting for B to hit her 5 miles. 


Saturday
Scheduled:15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD, strength circuit x2-3
Did: strength circuitx2, 18700 steps for the day, 4.8mi@8:56/mi avg
Had plans to get up and treadmill my workout at 4:30am to be able to get the kiddo to his race, but I had no accountability partner and no interest in pushing through a hard workout before 5am solo in my basement, so I slept in until 5:30, did my strength routine, and accepted the fact that I'd have to get my workout in later... after the sun came up. *gulp*

Jerry calls me a "vampire runner" since I hate running in sunlight
he's not wrong... 

Took the munchkin down to Atlanta's Finest for his 5th ATC 50m dash. I'm not sure how I did it, but I ended up getting 7500 steps over the course of the morning... and I didn't run at all. It was nice to see some friends and watch my little potato get a new medal from one of Atlanta's Finest (police officers). 

Atlanta's Finest
2015: Most Valuable Potato
2017: Munchkin with a Medal

Got home, realized all I'd consumed today had been a small bowl of cereal, single bottle of water, and a grande frappacino... but wanted to get out the door ASAP before it got OVER 90 degrees (and to give myself as much time as possible to recover before tomorrow's LSD). Handed the kid off to Jerry, chugged a bottle of water, filled my handheld with G2, and headed out the door around 11:30 for a 15-20min warm-up, 15min tempo, and 10min cooldown. No matter what, I just had to get through 40min, and then I'd be done. 

Much to my surprise, the workout actually went well. I ran by feel, as usual for tempo miles, but especially key today when I hadn't prepared well and was running in unfamiliar conditions. I warmed-up on hilly terrain to get to the greenway (shaded and flat) for tempo, continuously checked my watch and counted down the minutes of my 15min tempo segment, and then ran/walked up the hills for my cooldown. Tempo pace: still a sub-8. :D 

Warm-up: 1.72 @ 9:16/mi
Tempo: 1.88 @ 7:58/mi
Cool-down: 1.2 @ 10:00/mi


Sunday
Scheduled: 7-11mi long run, core circuit
Did: 9mi @ 9:49/mi avg, core circuit
Thank goodness for training partners. B and I met up and checked off another essential Atlanta running route today: Columns Drive. I was NOT feeling this run, and was grateful for the change of scenery, good conversation, cool temps, and riverfront breeze. Made it through. 

That end climb was awful.

Week-end Thoughts: For being 2 weeks into a 6 week program, I feel like I'm already completely inundated in the program. Running six days a week is definitely no joke, though. 

Mile Training: Week 1/6

Beginning of the Week Thoughts: Man, I hope my hammy holds up... 


Monday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
Man, I am NOT a fan of Monday rest days. It's such a letdown to start the week so sluggishly. Might be going rogue and switching M/W from here on out... 

Tuesday
Scheduled: 10-20min warm-up, 8x30s hills (50-80% effort), 10-15min cooldown PLUS core circuit 
Did: core circuit, then 20min warmup @ 9:34, 8x30s hills (8:28 to 7:10mi pace), 30min cooldown @ 9:40 (gotta get my 10K) = 6.23 @ 9:42/mi avg
All signs pointed to a sucktastic workout: coming off injury (still injured?), thunderstorms forecast, migraine the night before, couldn't eat anything but three saltines and a cup of yogurt for dinner, etc.

Warm-up went well, as usual with the 10KT crew, and then B and I headed back to do THE HILL as our repeat workout. The workout was prescribed at 50-80% effort, but I probably did it more like 25-60%, because I'm coming back from injury and it's more important for me to stay healthy than to hit all the target paces. If I don't hit a 6min mile on 9/17, so be it. It'll happen when I'm healthy. With a marathon-training husband, I cannot afford to get injured, because: 1) I have to take care of the kid, and 2) I need running for my sanity. 

I was really concentrated on my glutes throughout the whole workout, thinking about engaging them, etc. Seemed to have helped, because I felt ZERO problems with my ham or glute during the run. :) I don't think I'm out of the water yet, but at least I know I can get through a single run without aggravation. 

wee, hill repeats

After the last repeat, we were only at 3.3mi for the workout, which meant I had to slog through the last 3mi for my hashtag. Whether because I'm stressed, sick, or just didn't eat enough last night (all I could stomach was three saltines and a cup of yogurt for dinner), I ended up needing to walk for a bit at the 5mi mark. When the rest of the crew passed us back, I got myself going again and jogged it in to earn my hashtag. 



Wednesday
Scheduled: 3-6mi recovery run
Did: 3.12mi @ 9:18/mi avg plus massage
My morning started off great: 4am alarm after a sound night of rest, 10min of proactive PT, and then an awesome run with B. I was back, showered, and dressed before J's alarm even went off, and out the door before 6:30. :D 

really throws me off seeing commas instead of decimal points

Also had what I hope to be the last sports massage for awhile. 


Thursday
Scheduled: 15-20min warm-up, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 8x200m/2min recovery, 10-15min cool-down
Did: 15min WU @ 10:00/mi, 10min tempo @ 8:14/mi, 8x200 @ 5:21/mi-5:46/mi, 10min CD @ 10:00/mi
This workout was everything I wanted it to be and more. I was nervous going into it, for lots of reasons: thunderstorms forecast, heavy rain forecast, coming off injury,  the thought of having "two workouts" (tempo + intervals), and trying to time things so I could have my SpeedworkThursday crew as backup even though they were doing different workouts.

I love my team. Having B&B around, even though we were doing different workouts, was a HUGE motivator. I went to "long way" to the track for my own tempo run, and found it really freeing to run fast, but without paying attention to a watch, just going whatever pace I felt was "comfortably uncomfortable". The worst part, honestly, was having to find more distance since I needed four more minutes by the time I got to the track. I ended up having to go up a sick, slow incline that made the tempo much harder than I wanted. 

It was probably so hard because the bulk of my tempo had been downhill until that point :P
green= elevation
grey= pace

...and then I had a 5min "rest". It was strange to take a break, but gave me time to get onto the track, set up my gear, and stretch a bit before the fun started. I neglected to watch the "how to" video about this workout ahead of time, which clearly stated we should start the first rep slow and get faster each time. Instead, I read the written instructions... for NEXT week, which was to do them at mile goal pace.

oooh, HR superimposed on pace... .fun

Because of the way I'd set the workout up on my watch, I couldn't look at my splits, so I had NO idea how fast I'd done each 200. I didn't really care, though. Today was about keeping myself healthy, so I ran by feel and opted to walk the recoveries. I'd planned on changing to a slow jog halfway through, but never had the mental fortitude to make that happen. Note to self: never START walking your recoveries. Oops. 

SO SOLID. SO PROUD.

I'm really proud of that, and also this:

While it was segmented with (7)-2min rest periods, I covered a mile's worth of distance today at a sub-6 pace. This is a good start. Moving on from here, the distances I run will increase and the rest periods decrease, until there's no rest left. Gulp.

Traveled up to Tiger Town for a professional thing, and did about a mile walk plus 30min stretching and PT in the hotel.


Friday
Scheduled: 3-6mi recovery run
Did: 20min weights, 10min PT PLUS 4mi @ 9:20/mi
I crossed another item off my bucket list today: running the Clemson dikes. After an excessive amount of research last night, I finally figured out how to access the trail from my hotel, mapped out a route, and planned a run schedule around sunrise, shower time, and getting where I needed to be by 8am. I enjoyed a nice run through:

• pitch black wood-bordered roads
• a gravel path around a water treatment plant
• sketchy z-gates
• grassy dike along the lakeshore
• a wooded trail whose direction I had no idea of when I went down it
• the dike where my roomie and I went "sledding" senior year when we got 1" of snow

Super excited to finally be able to say that I, too, have run the dikes. :) 

Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min warm-up, 10min tempo, 10min cool-down  PLUS strength circuit
Did: strength circuitx2, 20min warm-up @ 9:31, 10min tempo @ 7:45, 10min cool-down @ 10:15
Awww, yeah. This three workouts a week thing is intense, and I'm loving it. Well, I'm loving it AFTER I'm done with each run, at least. It feels good to push myself out of my comfort zone on a regular basis, and I really like having someone tell me what to do. Even if my coaches never looked at my workouts, just knowing they could and might is enough to make me want to try my best. 

Strength circuit felt good (30s each of squats, various planks, step-ups, split lunges, mountain climbers, bridges), very similar to what I'm used to doing with Matthew. 

I'd wanted to run to start slow, but it ended up a bit faster because I was anxious about running alone in the dark on some country roads that I really wanted to get off of as soon as possible. Once I made it to the lit roads on campus, I calmed down a lot, and had about ten minutes of actual warm-up before the tempo miles hit. 

 

Good Morning, Tillman Hall!

Tempo was hard. I'm not used to pushing myself like that for long (>800m) duration of time. This is good. I need these tempo workouts. This is the piece of workouts that I've been missing: the endurance building part. This is why I flounder at the 800m of my mile attempts. And doing these tempo runs for the next six weeks is exactly why I won't have the same problem at my next race. 




Sunday
Scheduled: 5-8mi long run plus 2x core circuit
Did: 8.09 @ 9:35/mi avg with the stroller plus 2x core circuit
I was a bit nervous about today's long run. Hamstring has been better this week, but, while I've  been able to do my workouts without any trouble, I've still been fighting glute soreness when sitting for extended periods, and my right ham is incapable of supporting my weight from a forearm back plank if I lift my left one off the ground.... so I know there's still something going on. 

Did my normal pre-run activation/PT, and then headed out for four with Brandi before our Running Mamas meetup. The first four were hot and humid, and I couldn't wait to get to the boardwalk for a little cool air relief. Thought I might've felt something in my right ham, but, when I took a moment to focus in on it, it was just some sweat dripping down my thigh. :P

Took an extended break at the halfway point, to "swap" one B for the other, and ended up having a little reunion with a LOT of our runner friends. There were easily about a dozen people at the river today, which was great. We took off for my second half with a few other runners who had between 2-3 more to do. I felt fine through mile 6.5, and then struggled the rest of the way back. My legs were fine, but I was just ready to be done. So glad it's #YOT5K and I'm not training for a marathon in this hot mess.

post-run recovery time

End of Week Thoughts: Still a bit uneasy about the ham, but feeling really proud of myself for/excited about getting through my first full week of training. Also, #CTSO ("cross-that-shit-off") is awesome.

Self-mandated Rest Week

Beginning of the Week Thoughts: Being injured sucks.


Monday
Site visit to Daytona. Climbed a building. Logged 10000 steps.

Tuesday
10KTuesday, "walking 6.2 miles takes FOREVER" version PLUS massage PLUS weights
The hashtag does it again. I couldn't let my streak down, so I got up and headed to my treadmill at 4:20 for some early miles before walking with the 10KTuesday crew.

Part 1 Done

It was really hard to just walk at 5am when the rest of the crew took off. I was grateful that B stayed and walked a little over a mile with me before running the rest of hers. The cool weather felt amazing and I couldn't help but want to try running a little bit on some of the flats. I allowed myself the pleasure under the guise of "I need to figure out where it hurts so I can tell my masseuse today" and did two 1/2mi jogs. 

I had three distinct problem areas: 1) tightness on the front of my right leg, just under my hipbone, 2) soreness of the biceps femoris tendon (back outside of right knee), and 3) sore patch of upper hamstring on the back of my right leg.
But, I was able to run without any actual pain, which is good. Stretching afterwards felt good, not painful. 

Massage felt good and productive. The problem spots has moved from my glute into my IT band and hamstring, so at least that means it's not a strain. I have a feeling I'll be working this out for the next few weeks...

Did some weights when I got home:
3x12x15lb DB hammer curls, overhead press, chest press, fly, row
3x10x15lb DB tricep extension, bicep curl
3x10x5lb DB straight arm raise front/side, shoulder press, tricep kickback
3x20lb goblet press

and 2x30s of this core circuit:
front plank with alternating leg lifts
each side plank with alternating leg lifts
back plank with alternating leg lifts-- weeeeeeeeak ham on the right
push-ups
scissor legs (straight)
scissor legs (diagonal)

...oh, and some stretching 

weee, stretchy strap

Wednesday
Yoga + 4.5mi cycle @ 15.8mph
I go crazy without running. Did some hamstring-specific yoga/stretching in the morning, then got right to work at 6am so I could take an extended lunch to go ride. Work happened, though, and I only ended up with 30min for cycling. I loaded my bike into my convertible (because I don't have a bike rack) and drove to the park to avoid the crazy hills. 

It wasn't much, but I got in a solid four miles of light cardio. While it isn't running, I do really enjoy riding my bike, being outside, and going fast :)

saw two fawns with their mama, but wasn't fast enough to get a picture of everyone

had slow splits 1 and 5 due to windy boardwalk, and a slower split 3 due to stopping to U-turn
still a solid ride, and a decent substitute for miles on foot

PT: hamstring leg raises, donkey kicks, stretching, nordic hamstring curl (SO FREAKING HARD), legs up the wall




Thursday
1) Walked 1.75mi on the track. Slowest #SpeedworkThursday ever.
2) stretching ham, glutes, quad, IT band
3) lots of resistance band PT (monster walks, clamshells, leg raises, hamstring catches, weighted donkey kicks) - definitely feeling it in my right glute with the monster walks, so that'll be a thing for the next while




Friday
RUNNING!!!! :D :D :D 4.35mi with the stroller @ 9:29/mi avg 
plus 25min of various hip/hammy PT
Off work today, so I took the kiddo over to meet the riverside group for my first time running (well, really running) in about a week. It was awesome. Started off kind of slow and timid, and then settled into a low-9 (with the stroller, mind you). Apart from a little tightness in my right glute afterwards, it felt gooooood, and I'm looking forward to training next week (while maintaining this whole stretch/strengthen regimen). 

Saturday
7.06mi with the stroller @ 9:29/mi avg
plus 25min of various hip/hammy PT
Well, this run didn't go as well as I'd wanted it to. Made it about 4.5mi and then I felt something on the top of my R ham, so I stopped, stretched, and walked a bit.... resumed without any issues. Still killed my confidence, though. 

I felt my glutes kind of fall asleep during the run, so I'm taking that as a sign of dead butt syndrome. Maybe it isn't, but I'm still PT-ing like it is-- lots of hamstring and hip/glute exercises. 



Sunday
5.52mi with the stroller @ 9:39/mi avg
plus 25min of various hip/hammy PT, plus 30min of weight lifting and core work
Did some proactive PT before the Running Mamas meet-up and had a symptom-free run. My hip and glute are a little sore afterwards, but I'm happy enough with where I'm at. I think I can proceed with my plan, but will be continuing to do the PT as maintenance, and not go "all in" for a couple weeks. I'll do the workouts, but not at 100%. 

Week-end Thoughts: Feeling optimistic.