Do you have big plans for the long holiday weekend? I’ve got a variety of things going on here – races, a visit to the fair, end of summer cookout… and I finally had a good “long” run!
Yep, this run actually warrants a post of it’s own. It was my first double digit run since the Mohican Trail marathon in June!! My training plan for the Columbus half marathon actually had a 5K race this week, so I had to modify it since I’m not going to race anything fast as part of my “trying to recover” plan. You might remember that last week my “long” run was a bit nerve wracking for me and I was afraid to leave the safety of my house. Since those 8 miles last week actually worked out well, I decided it was time to hit the trail. Ah trail…. I’ve missed you!!!!
When I need to do any distance running I like to run on a trail by my house. You can get in 19.5 miles and it’s an out and back route (my favorite!). It’s by the river and so pretty!
Alan always corrects me because “long run” for marathon training plans start out at 18 miles. Well, for my half marathon plan, I consider anything on the weekend a “long” run! I decided to run 10 miles. And given the 13.1 race distance, 10 miles really is a substantial run. So there you go, it’s my long run.
I was pleasantly surprised to be experiencing no “pain” on this run. I did feel a bit of tightness, or maybe numbness, still reminding me that something was there, but nothing I would even complain about. That made me super happy! Woohoo! Oh look, my earbuds were out of control!!
I kept the pace nice and comfortable and never checked to see what my pace was. I didn’t want to get excited or disappointed with it. The pace did not matter. What did matter was that I am running and enjoying it!! 🙂 That deserved another jump.
I had a goal of seeing some wildlife on my run, and guess what? Around mile 8 I saw it…. a chicken!! I’ll take it. Better than nothing. He was super cute – and speedy!
After my run I made a trip to Starbucks and got the venti size! With all of this fanfare, you’d think I just ran 22 miles. But seriously, it was an accomplishment for me. Celebrate every achievement!
If anyone out there is having issues with high hamstring tendinopathy, I thought I’d just share what I have changed in my routine lately, and what seems to have been working for me:
- Taking it easy. Run one day, rest the next.
- Keep it slow – no speedwork or hills, and don’t care about the pace.
- Take shorter strides. Try to keep my feet underneath me when I land and not in front of me.
- Do glute and hamstring strengthening exercises!!
I found a video of some exercises and I have been doing them on the day that I run. These remind me a lot of the MYRTL exercise plan because they make my butt BURN. Yes, those glutes are on *FIRE* when I do this video. I started doing them everyday, but had to back off because it was too much. I do this routine on the days that I run, so I can have a full day of recovery. I honestly think it is working!!
Here’s the video:
So hopefully this is all a good direction and it will keep going!
Enjoy your weekend, and I’ll catch up with you later!!
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Q: Do you have any weekend plans?
Q: Do you have a favorite route for running?
Q: Have you ever done the MYRTL plan? (killer, yes??)
Go girl!!! Congrats on your long run! 18 miles means long run? Sorry, that is bs!!!
Megan @ Meg Go Run recently posted…Weekly Workouts
haha – he called me on that one. So only over 15 miles is long. 🙂 (ps, let’s go with whatever I decide it is!!) Thanks, I am happy that I was able to get it done, and actually enjoyed it!!!!
Technically I said anything over 15 is a long run! 10-15 is a medium long run. And 30 is a really freaking long run.
Ok, but for my half marathon training, anything over 8 miles is going to qualify as a long run for me!! 🙂
I haven’t really done MYRTLs. I do yoga a few times a week and think it helps big time though, with flexbility, core strength, and some cross training. Plus it’s a nice yin to the yang of running.
Congrats on a 10 mile run and that is definitely a “long run”! It’s longer than your weekday runs and you’re only 3.1 away from the half once you run 10. I have run some half marathons where I only did one run more than 10 miles and had a great race, too. It’s not always about who runs the longest long run.
Post run coffee is the best too!
Thanks, it’s nice to post some good news for a change!! Those exercises I do are really hard, but they do feel so good afterwards. Fingers crossed!
I tried not to die at the Boy Scout, and volunteered a few times at Olander….if we’re talking about this up coming weekend….NO! Finally….no plans!
Living in the city there aren’t many options. I mean, I could run down Monroe street or Central to get to Wildwood, but it’s a small hike and would only be a few miles at WW at the point. So no, I just go around the neighborhoods trying to not get bored!
I’ve started doing some of the MYRTL plan after you mentioned it. I plan to keep incorporating more. I have this mental thing about the only way to get to be a better runner is to just run, and nothing else. Whereas I know I need to work on core, glutes, etc and obviously lose some more weight. I’ll get there eventually.