Time: 33:23
Easy evening run towards Adams Morgan, through the Zoo and back through RCP. I thought this loop was a bit shorter, and I have been bored doing out-and-backs in the neighborhood so I figured I would do something a little different. Legs weren't as bad as I expected--hamstring was tight but not sore, and hip flexor started to get sore and tighten up at about 25 minutes.
Stretching: Hamstring stretches with the rope.
Time: 23:43
I found a good place to park and run on the path in Rock Creek Regional Park when I visit Terrel Hale in Rockville.
The run this morning was not great, as I was stiff and both my right hamstring and left hip flexor got sore very quickly. It was too bad, as the weather was good and it was nice to be on a path in the woods.
Stretching: Terrel helped me with some very active hamstring stretches.
Massage: Massage and ART on hamstrings, adductors, and psoas.
Time: 25:52
Easy run around the neighborhood. Pain/soreness on-par for recent days.
Stretching: Hamstring stretches with the rope.
Time: 22:56
Easy morning jog with Nick towards RCP and on the Piney Branch trail. Hamstring and hip flexor both tight and a little sore.
No stretching, because brunch was a bigger priority.
Time: 21:05
Easy jog after work. Colin added on after his workout for the first half. Hamstring sore.
Stretching: Hamstring stretches with the rope.
Time: 22:26
Easy jog north of Columbia Heights on 14th. Hip flexor seems to have responded a bit to the massage. Hamstring sore.
Stretching: Hamstring stretches with the rope.
Time: 17:00
Early morning jog in Bethesda at Civic Center Park near the Rock Creek Regional Park. Just a bit of a warm-up run before a massage.
Massage: I had my first appointment with Terrel Hale, a DC-area massage therapist who has generously offered to help me get back on my feet. He did some active release on my hip flexors, quads, glutes and psoas. None of it was too rough and I left feeling good.
Stretching: Worked with Terrel on some hamstring stretches.
Time: 21:35
Easy evening run around Piney Branch Park and the neighborhood. My right hamstring and left hip flexor were about as tight/sore as they have been recently, but I didn't start to feel the hip flexor until about 15 minutes.
This was a pretty good day to get mentally started with the come back, as I got pumped up watching the Boston Marathon this morning at work. I was happy to see Nick Juravich ran a PR (2:51:32). Taylor caught the end of the race in Boston and got this great shot of Ryan Hall:
I can honstly say that for most of the last six weeks that I wanted to be running, but I really haven't been able to put in much of an effort. My right hamstring and left hip flexor have been continually tight and sore, leading me to believe that I have an underlying hip alignment problem. Some strengthening and stretching exercises have helped, and I think I will be able to see a massage therapist and maybe a chiropractor soon. For the last 3 or 4 weeks I have been putting in 10-20 minute jogs 3-5 times per week to get the blood flowing before my strength and stretching sessions.
I hope that I have progressed to the point of having a very modest training regimen and holding myself to a basic schedule. Nothing makes you want to run like forced time off. I have probably run less than a marathon total in the last 6 weeks.
I don't have any big goals yet, but I've got some ideas...
Time: 49:18
Distance: 7.25 mi.
In the minutes, hours and few days following the marathon, my right hamstring was tight and very sore. In fact, I spent most of the race day using a long squeegee as a cane. I wasn't particularly surprised that it hurt, but once I wasn't using it in the last few weeks off, I didn't really feel it. I didn't do anything to try to address whatever was wrong with it though, and after just two days back I can see that it isn't in great shape. Fairly quickly in this run it was very tight and sore again, and I had to take it very easy on every hill along the way. I was clearly compensating for it, as my left hip flexor and right calf got pretty sore as well.
Other than that, it was a decent run on a fairly nice afternoon. I ran up through RCP to Broad Branch, then took Brandywine out to Connecticut near Van Ness. I followed Connecticut (and the Red Line) back to the Zoo and then ran straight home.
Time: 38:33
Distance: 5 mi.
Easy evening run with Colin. This is my first run in 17 days, which is the longest I've taken off as long as I can remember. The weather is finally starting to return to normal, and I'm hoping this is the last run I go on this winter in long pants. And by return to normal, I mean that we had a blizzard last weekend and this weekend it is supposed to be over 70 degrees both days this weekend.
I'm going to start running sometime this week, but the storm this morning certainly didn't help my motivation to make it happen today.
