After sneaking out for my run on Sunday, I actually didn't feel too bad, and thought that maybe I'd try again on Tuesday. I knew speedwork was out of the question, but figured I'd try just some regular miles and see how it felt.
It sounds silly, but I woke up that morning feeling different. I can't put my finger on anything specific, but somehow I felt like the run was going to be go different that day - that I'd feel good, and healthy, and strong.
And amazingly enough, that's exactly what happened. I kept waiting to feel a twinge, or a pull, or the familiar tightness in my hip - but it never came. Instead, I felt like I had barely skipped a beat, and was back to my regular routine.
I had no intention of running a specific pace, and was surprised to find myself dipping below 8-minute miles as soon as I hit mile 2. Mile 3 was down to 7:44, and mile 4 and 5, 7:31 and 7:34! I did start to feel tired at that point, though, and slowed down a bit for the last few miles. The heat - yes, heat - actually got to me a bit, too - it was 70 and kind of humid; unusual and unexpected for mid-October!
But in all, I ran 7.5 miles at just under an 8:00 pace. And not a hint of pain afterward, either.
I followed that up with another run on Thursday, which I made a point of running slower, and which did bring a little bit of the hip tightness, but nothing too serious - and I was able to get in 8 miles, at a very respectable 8:10 pace.
Both of these runs were filled with thoughts of whether or not I'm going to try for Philly, and I'm still on the fence about that. I think for the next week or two, I have to take it one day and one run at a time. I'm still in recovery mode (and still in PT twice a week), so I can't jump ahead and make any final decisions right now.
One thing I did decide, though, is that the Newport half marathon this weekend is a go, which means I'll be able to complete my second Triple Crown. I'm currently in first place in my age group in the Triple Crown standings, and I'd love to hold onto that if I can.
I don't know how fast I'll be, given that I took two full weeks off, and this week has been very scaled back. I'm hoping that maybe the rest will end up being a good thing?
I don't know - but what I do know is that I'm going to get out there and run my heart out, and wherever that leads will be good enough, because I'm just lucky to be able to do this. This is one of my favorite races of the year, and I'm grateful I'm feeling healthy enough to run it.
I picked up my number today, and I have to say, I'm pretty excited about it. I usually don't care much about what race number I have, but this is a very cool one.
Something about this number just seems like a good omen.
I'm not hoping for a PR - I think that's totally unrealistic at this point - but I do hope to be under 1:40. I have a hard time not having some kind of goal in mind, even when circumstances have prevented me from really and truly training for a race.
But given the fact that three weeks ago, I was literally limping around my house, I'll be happy with just about anything.
I'm going to run grateful, and I'm going to run happy, because three weeks ago, I didn't think I'd be running at all.
Will be running right along with you Michelle ..... let's hope it isn't raining on us LOL
Posted by: Mom and Dad | October 10, 2014 at 09:55 PM