Ugh ... my pesky Hamstring. And RUN317!

It's been an interesting week of training. I've struggled with hamstring strains (high hamstring, which are hard to get rid of!) over the last year. After working last Wednesday, I tried to sprint to my car because it was raining super hard and I didn't have an umbrella! I stepped off a curb and a jolting pain shot up my right hamstring, causing me to limp for several steps. My first thought was, "crap ... I've torn my hamstring..." It hurt to sit in my car on the ride home. It hurt to sit period. I got a little more hopeful because it ended up not hurting with standing or walking (I probably would not really be walking well with a true tear!).

I felt okay enough to do the RUN317 run last Thursday. Again, another rainy, rainy run!!! I decided to not push it on this run because of the hamstring. If I stayed around a  9 min mile pace, I did not feel too bad. It was a neat course, I really enjoyed getting to run through Fountain Square and down Virginia by all the great new restaurants. I saw my boot camp buddy, Teresa, and some of her running pals, as well (way to go on the 3.17 PR Teresa!). You get a cool pint glass as SWAG, I bought a RUN317 shirt ... because... running shirts!!! There was free beer at the end. I had to get one just because it felt like something I had to do! Anyone who knows me knows that beer is not something I ordinarily drink (sorry! I never got used to the taste and now it seems to bother the Crohn's if I have too much!). I drank about a third of it before having to set it aside. Sorry to disappoint you all :)

Beer selfie ... to prove I got one.

Finish line!

Thursday, after the RUN317 race, I had my husband try and dry needle my hamstrings. Did I mention he is a PT, also? Man, it was uncomfortable, but I think it worked some. My mid-substance hamstring was more comfortable on my Saturday long run. I still felt like someone was punching me in the upper hamstring/glute. It was my last long run prior to the Monumental Half Marathon. Overall, not bad. I think we are going to try another round of the needling to see if we can get some other trigger points in the upper hamstring and glute. I will report back on the effectiveness. I did do a tempo run today and felt pretty good through about three quarters of the run. I felt some strain in the same areas as Saturday, so I am hoping we can tackle it with this extra round of dry needling!

Other than the above, I have started my tapering for the half. I do love having fresher legs with tapering, so I am hoping this will be good for the hamstrings, as well! This weekend we have a wellness event with a 5k that is put on by my place of employment. Being that it is taper week, I will have to keep the competitive juices in check for the run :) Have a great week everyone!

Training updates, Vacation, Metal Walk 5k

Things have been up and down and just all around busy the last 2 weeks. The monumental is in about 2 and a half weeks! I have had good and bad running days, but overall, things are going pretty well. We will see how this translates into race day. We went to Disney World last week and let's just say there was no running with our jam-packed days at the park. We did stay active, though, walking about 10 miles (per my Garmin step counter) each day at the parks. This did not necessarily correlate into running speed and fitness! 

We had the Metal Walk 5k this past Saturday (Oct 15th). It is a fundraiser for a foundation with my husband's company. It was the first run I had done in a week! The first mile was very difficult to try and run quickly. The next two miles were a little better. My performance was not as fluid and speedy as the Fallen Heroes 5k. I was still the first female across the line (buuuuttt .. the field wasn't too large lol)! It's taken me a few days to get back to where I felt like my training was at prior to vacation. I did a speed workout today (repeat Half miles) and felt pretty good by the end of it.

Speaking of vacation, Disney World was magical :) I have always loved Disney. There are no really young kids in our family, just a bunch of crazy kids at heart. My favorite part was the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. I love the Magic Kingdom at night. It was nice to have the whole family together, ride the rides (short lines due to limited crowd for the party!) ... and there were candy stations throughout the park! So much candy! We will probably just save some for trick-or-treaters ... if it lasts that long ;)

The view from our room in the Animal Kingdom Lodge - Amazing to wake up and see giraffes out the window!

The Mouse himself ... Mickey Mouse!

Toy Story Midway ride - with our sweet 3D glasses

So what's coming up next? Tomorrow is Run317 ... my first one! Should be fun! My last true long run before the Monumental will be this weekend, as well. Here goes nothing! 

Race Recap: Fallen Heroes 5k

It has been a whirlwind weekend! Alex and I participated in the Fallen Heroes 5k in Bourbonnais, Illinois this Saturday. Each year they honor a fallen officer, firefighter, etc., from the community. This year, they were honoring the brother of my former roomie, Jordan. He passed away entirely too young at the age of 35 late last Spring. What a great way to honor his life. It was a rainy morning, but the temperature was perfect for running. Alex and I both had great races, despite the soggy conditions! The race was run in a neighborhood and park behind the police station. The park trail went right by a river, and it was very nice! I felt really good during this run! Everything just seemed to click. No hamstring tightness, no foot pain. I ended up running the race in 22:47 and winning the women's division! My watch showed that we ran 3.03 miles, so I guess I can't consider it an official 5k PR, but it probably still would have been if I stretched it out. Alex also had a great race time and got 3rd overall male and 1st in his age group. The winner trophy is so nice! I am going to have to find a place for it to keep it safe from my cats :) It was great having a good running day, but it was even better to be around my old roomie and her family. They are a special group of people, and Alex and I were glad we were able to travel to do this race. After all, family and friends are truly the most important things in this life :)