Miles run this week 38! I’m training for the Glass City Marathon on April 23rd. My total mileage didn’t seem like a lot this week, but it was all set up for me to have a successful 20 mile long run this week. The workouts weren’t hard and the distances were shorter (other than that long run!). It was a good thing I had easy miles on my plan because what started as a knee annoyance had traveled up my leg until it became a painful piriformis situation! Of course. Ugh. Here’s how my week went…
Mon – Ski day! This was the 2nd day of our 2 day skiing trip. Short and sweet! The temps were a bit colder than Sunday (in the 40s) so there was some icy spots and a few runs that lacked a bit of coverage. But even with that it was a great day on the slopes.
We were at Boyne Mountain in Michigan. They recently built the “world’s longest wooden suspension bridge” which went right over the ski area. We didn’t go on it. Waiting to go on maybe in the summer or fall. It’s very pretty, and yes, very long!
5 miles, treadmill run. We arrived home at a decent hour so I decided to stick with my training plan and got my 5 miles done. My cat Luna was very interested in what was going on!
Tues – 4 easy miles & gym visit. Feeling a bit tight. My left foot was feeling odd a few weeks ago, which turned into my left knee complaining for weeks, and then the pain finally made it’s way up to my piriformis! I have detailed notes of similar problems a few years ago from my physical therapist visits and sure enough the same pain happened when I hit 46 miles for the week back then (which is what I ran last week). I guess I have a limit these days 🙂
Weds – rest day! I could have used a morning workout because I had meetings starting at 7:45 am and had 2 more meetings after dinner until 8:30 pm. It was a long day!
Thurs – 3 easy miles. My plan had 5-6 easy miles, but 3 was enough today. Started out with a painful butt, and finished with a painful butt! This led me to an hour of YouTube videos on stretches and exercises to combat piriformis pain.
We had a date night – pizza and a concert! My son’s band played at a local university which was at a really nice performing arts center. A great experience for them.
Fri – 20 miles, long run. When I saw 20 miles for my long run this week I decided to run it on Friday, just to get it done. I get a huge feeling of relief and satisfaction going into the weekend with my long run already done! The weather looked good (mid 20s) and light winds. This was a bit challenging because I wanted to stay close to home in case I needed to bail on this run (which I thought would have a high likelihood of happening!) so I stayed within a 5 mile radius of home. That’s a lot of repeat paths and running through neighborhoods in a random fashion!! To my surprise, the butt pain was there for maybe the first 3 miles but went away afterwards. I am considering this 20 miler a win, and am thankful it went so well, especially compared to the last one I did (where I walked about half of it!).
I made the most of my gym membership and enjoyed the massage chairs after my run. Ahhhhh, that felt great!
Sat – 6 easy miles. I debated going for a run after the long run on Friday, but I woke up to some beautiful snow and thought this run would wrap my week up with a nice bow on top. Trust me when I say this was a true recovery run. The roads were super slippery (should have worn different shoes) and I discovered after 2 miles that the sidewalks were stable. I ran 90 seconds slower than my long run pace. It was nice just to be outside in the beautiful morning.
The rest of my day was spent at a meeting (yes, another meeting!!) and then later, shelling out some serious cash at the ski shop. Funny story, one new pair of ski boots for my husband turned into 4 new pairs of ski boots (everyone wants a pair!) and 2 new sets of skis. Ouch. This is what happens when you take other people shopping with you! But hey, they did have a cute shop dog, which made the experience slightly less painful. LOL!
Sun – Rest day! Our daughter was home for the night so we enjoyed some donuts for breakfast, and I finally fulfilled my promise to stretch out and did some yoga. I’m so tight, I look like a pretzel. Oh well, I made an effort.
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
I’m still feeling a bit tight/sore in the piriformis, but hopefully with some extra TLC and stretching I will be able to have a strong week of workouts next week. Fingers crossed!
Q: Suspension bridge – yeah or nah?
It looked pretty stable, so I don’t think it sways. It is pretty high up though! I wouldn’t mind the height.
[funny story about the bridge too – the regular experience tickets are $25, which is 3 hour access to the bridge, and a chairlift ride up to the bridge. BUT, I found out after we left that it would have only been a $10 add on for our tickets because we already had lift tickets. I would have said yes for only $10, because we already spent a lot of money on lift tickets. DOH! They should have advertised that better!!]
Not happy to hear about your pain.
It seems that it didn’t messing up your training. Hope it continues to improve.
Thanks – I think it will probably be something I struggle with for a while, because I know these pains aren’t easy to get rid of. But I’ll keep at it!
Ouch to that piriformis pain. It’s so hard to get rid of once it settles in. I hope you start to feel better. At least you can still run with it.
Would I do the suspension bridge? Yes, I probably would. What is the worst thing that could happen to you?
The pain in the a$$ is for sure a pain in the a$$!! On a good note, the pain in the knee is mostly gone. Just kidding – I think I’d rather have a painful knee. Ugh.
Great job on that 20 miler! Since it’s hard to get much mileage in my neighborhood, that takes a whole lot grit.
Ouch on all the ski stuff! And the piriformis. Not a fun thing at all.
I wouldn’t do the suspension bridge in Winter. Too cold! The walkway over the Hudson gets super windy — which is great in Summer, and not so great when it’s colder. I imagine it’s the same thing for the suspension bridge!
This is true – I bet it was pretty cold on that bridge! They do have a nice area where you can get some food, drinks and enjoy a fire pit. They did a really nice job on it.
Hopefully, your 20-mile run is an indication that your piriformis pain won’t get any worse and was just a little blip in training.
Bummer about the missed opportunity to walk across the suspension bridge. I “think” I’d be okay walking across it although I don’t love heights (the fencing on the sides would help).
So far I’ve learned that long runs, and running fast is not helping my piriformis pain LOL! Maybe some rest is needed too. Hmmm, that is a novel idea!
Well, your pace for your 20 miler was definitely faster than mine! It sounds like whatever stretches and exercises you did for your piriformis helped. I don’t think you would have been able to run 20 miles if it weren’t better. And yes- it must have felt great to get that run done BEFORE the weekend started! I hope you continue to feel good.
I had piriformis issues years ago and it haunted me for a long time. I really hope this isn’t going to last as long!
Piriformis pain is no stranger to me! It’s been a few years, thankfully, but it’s a stubborn SOB to get rid of. Are you able to stand at your desk while working? For me, sitting was absolute torture. I’d definitely do the bridge; it looks like a scenic “little” trek 😉 I hope you get some pain relief this week!
I do have a standing desk which I use a lot when I’m in the office (which is only 2 days). I didn’t think I’d like it, but it really is nice. I’ve been trying all the stretches, so hopefully this issue will be resolved soon!
Nope, nope, nope on that bridge.
Yay on skiing! And congrats on your 20 miler! Hopefully your piriformis will continue to respond to that stretching. Do you also roll on a lacrosse ball? I like that pressure point release technique.
Today I was finally able to roll on a tennis ball. It felt so tender a few days ago I couldn’t take it! The foam roller was a little better. Rolling on a ball is so intense!
Skiing was fun. We have big plans to make it out many more days next season. We don’t get to enjoy it as much as we’d like to!
I had that piraformis nonsense for a while back in the fall. It is no fun at all! Dry needling seemed to help along w every possible stretch I could do. Hope yours resolves quickly
So far my YouTube searching pretty much gives me the same results – some stretches and clamshells. Hopefully doing a mix of things will take care of it!
Sorry to hear about the piriformis problem! But it seems you could still do your running so that’s good! I thought I had a piriformis problem years ago (way before I started any training) and looked up some stretching exercises and there seem to be plenty. I hope you’ll be back to normal soon.
I’m not a winter sports person but for those who are, that looks like a lovely day out. I’d never go out on a bridge like that! there is a famous rope bridge in Northern Ireland, the Carrickarede rope bridge built to connect the mainland to the Carrickarede island. It looks scary as **** and attracts a lot of tourists.
I just googled that bridge – it looks narrow! That would make me a little scared. It did look quite scenic though. I can see why it attracts so many people!
Well, you’re ahead of me, I’m doing my first 20 of the cycle this weekend! Hoping to do two 20’s and a 22, assuming all goes okay.
I haven’t heard of that resort in Michigan- my sister who lives in Ohio went skiing in PA recently and it looked very springy with green grass in places! Eeks! But they still had fun.
Boyne (and Nubs Nob) are the closest “big resorts” to us. That’s not saying much compared to the resorts out west! We do get spoiled by our trips out west.
Hope your 20 miler goes well! With this pain I’m having, I’m glad I only have 16 and hopefully I can get through it ok. Ugh.
Look at that bridge! I totally would try that! Bummer about not realizing that it was only $10 more!
Hi Luna!
I’m sorry you are having discomfort. I hope you can get that under control.
A has a concert in a performing arts center in about a month. I am so excited for him and his band.
The acoustics are so much better in the performing arts center than our school auditorium. Great experience to mingle with the college musicians too. I do hope my son continues music in some form in college and later in life. He really enjoys it and excels at it!
Well done on the 20 and how interesting that you have a pain point at a particular mileage (mine is 35 ish, sadly – when my immunity goes down again. I’ve been suffering from the other end of that, having stopped running to sort out my hamstring and got a terrible virus!). I love your wiggly route, too – we’ve all done that, right?!
Luckily the shortened area didn’t cause too much of a problem. Going on the same path three times was odd, but was nice to feel the security of being close to home… just in case.