This week brought on more piriformis pain, so week 3 on that issue. I missed a training day, but was able to get a long run in. I forgot to mention it last week, but I had a 25K race this week! I wanted to get a race on my schedule prior to Glass City and this was it. But I was very uncertain if I should run the 25K, or drop to the 15K. Or heck, not even run at all! I had a variety of cross training this week to replace my running. Miles run this week: 26.5. Here’s how my week went:

Mon – 4 easy miles, treadmill.  Still feeling a bit sore, but not as bad as expected.  YouTube’d a bunch of piriformis pain videos.  Did some stretching and strengthening. We got Shamrock shakes today. Yum yum yum! Fun fact, I had a hair appointment on Friday last week, and that amazing styling job lasted until I washed my hair on WEDS! I was so impressed. Wish I could do my own hair like that.

Tues – 7 easy miles, treadmill.  My plan had speedwork, but no way I was doing that.  I wasn’t sure how long I would make this run, but I ran out of time and couldn’t complete the 8 miles that were on my plan, which was probably a good thing!  Another day of stretches and glute strengthening exercises.  Also, my daughter who is home for a few days on spring break joined us at the gym. We got swole 😉

Weds –  Rest day!  Same old soreness.  Was very happy to have my tennis ball with me in the car for some quick relief by sitting on it after my drive to work!

Thurs – URD – unscheduled rest day.  Decided it was best to skip running today.  I did more stretches and exercises that I found in YouTube videos.  I’m so darn smart about this piriformis issue from watching every YouTube video ever made!  I did the elliptical in the morning and then a little bit of rowing at the gym.  These are both great cross training activities which do not cause pain. I really enjoyed the rhythm of the rowing machine (kinda like the hypnotic sound of the treadmill!). I will definitely do that again!

Fri – Rest day!  Another day off running, but this one was on my plan.  Yay!  I did 40 mins on the elliptical, and then went to the gym.  Upper body weights and a visit to the hydro massage chair.  Too bad I couldn’t get out and run because it was very pretty outside… it snowed!

Sat – 25K race!  What?  A race??  Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish this.  I signed up for it, which was the only reason I was there.  I decided to just make it a long run, and I would have opportunities to cut the course short and DNF if it made sense to stop.  The first 4 miles had “pinchy” pain.  After that, my glute was just numb!  My training plan had 17 miles with mid 12 at race pace.  I happened to be running the same pace as a friend, so we ran together until around mile 8 when I decided that I would try to get those race pace miles in.  He was slowing a little, and I speeded up just a little.  We were pretty close to my race pace already (around 9:10sh).  When I hit 12 miles I realized my pace had slipped.  I heard someone breathing hard close behind me, and sure enough it was my friend again!  I guess I didn’t make it far without him!  Haha!  The pain was slowing me down by this point and those last 3 miles were a challenge!  He went ahead for the last mile, and my husband came back on the course to run in with me (he finished the 25K earlier).  Finish time was 2:24:57, 9:16 avg pace.  I was a bit bummed with how hard and painful the race finished for me, but was super excited when I found out I won 3rd place in my age group.  Woohoo!!  My husband did also!  We got slate coasters as awards.  What a unique item.  They will go great on our patio!

Sun – Rest day… Survivor day!! We have a fun event with friends happening today. We get to play some Survivor style games with a team at one of the metroparks. Should be fun and interesting!!

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!

Closing thoughts… even though it was a good thing that I was able to run the 25K, and even place 3rd in my AG, I’m disappointed with the race. I mean, at this point in my training that distance should not be a challenge, and should not be painful! It even made me dread the thought of racing a distance farther than that! I still haven’t made any decision yet to drop to the half marathon, but it’s still a thought. Maybe, just maybe, this pain will go away. Fingers crossed!

Q: Are you a Survivor fan??

My husband and I have watched it forever!! It’s our Thursday night ritual – Survivor, pizza & beer. Thursday, because that’s the day it was originally aired on! I’m also a huge fan of the Amazing Race.

Q: Any fans of rowing machines?

27 thoughts on “Weekly workouts – Race day??”
  1. That’s a unique prize. Congrats v

    Hope your pain decreases.

    Good luck with the rest of the training

    I got a shamrock shake this week too. Yum.

    No kitty pix?

    1. I should have put a picture of my cat Zoe who had to go to the vet this week. She has always been a bit of a trouble maker, but recently has peed on her cat beds repeatedly. After blood work, xrays and other tests, it turns out she might just have an attitude issue. Never a cheap visit to the vet!!

  2. I love the Amazing Race but we stopped watching Survivor years ago. Congrats on the race! Sorry it was so painful for you. Those PIA’s are tough to heal. I love rowing but have no access to a rower right now.

    1. I’m glad the Amazing Race was able to continue after COVID. That was a really weird episode when they had to stop in the middle of production! I especially like seeing all of the cool places around the world, but it is fun to see couples freak out a bit under pressure. 😉

  3. Congrats on your AG 3rd place in the race, but I totally understand your disappointment in it seeming hard this far into your marathon training cycle. I hope you can figure out what to do to help with your piriformis pain.

    If you’ve been watching Survivor forever, do you remember Big Tom from season two (I think it was season two)? He was the one who wore bibbed overalls a lot. Anyway, I went to high school with him (he was two grades ahead of me). He was a great athlete (football, basketball, and baseball) and president of the SCA.

    1. Oh wow, I do remember Big Tom! We always joke that I would never be able to survive one day on that show. I would faint from lack of food after just 6 hours, not to mention I’m so prone to getting rashes it would be unbearable!!

  4. That piraformis is a tough one! I tried every stretch and exercise and nothing seemed to help. I did find dry needling helpful. Have you tried that? Congrats to you and your husband!

    1. I haven’t tried dry needling – ever. Good tip that it helped you out. I will investigate that. I probably should visit our PT person for the training program to get an assessment.

  5. I would say the 25k was a success, you were quite close to your goal pace. Sorry about the pain though, hoping the exercises and stretches help!

    1. Bummer this pain is still hanging in there. Running with discomfort sucks all of the joy out of it! I was surprised that my paces were pretty good during the race, but they really should have been at least 20 seconds or more faster than that!

  6. I have never gotten into Survivor, but used to LOVE The Amazing Race. I have missed seeing it in recent years. It worked out perfectly for me (way back in its early years) when it was on Tuesday evenings. Then I think it changed to Sundays (?), which were doable. When it went to Fridays, I lost touch with it because we usually had school sporting events. It was so interesting seeing the various countries and cultures and the interesting challenges the teams had to do. A big BOO on all that piriformis pain! I know how frustrating that is…I hope it eases up for you!

    1. Did you see the season they had the Family edition of the Amazing Race? It was so bad. I do love traveling the US, but the challenges were so boring!

  7. Wow, congrats on the third place finish – that’s great! Hope you feel less sore soon – nice job staying active despite the pain. I have had some piriformis issues before and it’s NOT fun. It seems like I get chronic nagging plantar fasciitis or piriformis issues depending on what’s going on.

    1. It’s that whole kinetic chain, right? Mine started as something odd in my foot, went to my knee, and then landed in my butt. Oh joy! The 3rd place finish did ease the pain a bit. 🙂

  8. I’m so sorry to hear that the piriformis is just not getting in line with your plans. Glad that you were able to finish the 25k and that AG award had to ease the pain!

    We have never really gotten into any of those Survivor shows. Right now we’re watching Daisy Jones and the Six. It’s definitely not as good as the book. Are they ever?

    1. I did hear that was a good show, or at least a very popular show right now. My mind and body are definitely not on the same page right now. Sigh. At least I got to enjoy my celebratory beer with that nice coaster award!

  9. I’m sorry the race ended up being disappointing, but that doesn’t mean your goal race will be. You still have time to train, to recuperate, and to make the right decision for you.

    Never, ever saw a single episode of Survivor. 🙂

    1. I will be taking a bit more rest this week and access the situation again. I’m going to try some biking along with the elliptical. New things to look forward to (or at least that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself! haha).

  10. Congrats on the race and AG award! But bummer that it hurt. That’s so, so frustrating. It sounds like you’re doing everything you can though… I know you don’t want to hear this at this point, but I just want to share my experience of an SI joint injury a couple weeks before I was supposed to run a marathon. I was telling someone how much it hurt, and he said “If you think it hurts now, imagine how much it will hurt after a marathon.” I reluctantly did not run that race! So, just something to think about. You have lots and lots of marathons still ahead of you- missing this one wouldn’t be the end of the world. I don’t want to be too negative here… for all I know this could turn around and by next weekend you’ll feel amazing. I hope so!
    I’m sure you enjoyed having your daughter home. My son just went back to school today, which makes me sad. But summer will be here before we know it!

    1. Oh, for sure… at this point I’m sure I’d probably only make it maybe half way through the marathon and would be stuck walking 13 miles. Hell no! Not how I want that to play out. I’m also sure it would only injury me much worse. So, now to see if there is anything I can do to make this issue go away (quick). If not, I’m fine with it. As you said, there’s always another race to be run.

  11. Your hair looks awesome! And yay for Shamrock shakes!

    I can never go that long without washing. It’s too humid and I get too sweaty!

    Congratulations on your AG place, but I’m sorry you’re in pain. I hope you can get it to take a hike.

    I don’t really watch TV, and I don’t think I’ve ever watched Survivor.

    1. If styled properly (straight) I only have to wash my hair twice a week which is nice. Curly summer hair needs way more than that, especially when I swim.

    1. Thank you! My stylist does such a great job on my hair. I feel like a rock star when I leave. And then eventually, I have to style it myself. Never as good as she does!

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