Yesterday I was able to run almost a mile on the track at the club before the injured right adductor muscle made known its presence, requiring me to stop. Today I was hopeful of running longer, intending to stop at three miles if by some chance I should be able to run that far without pain. Lo and behold, however, I passed two miles with no pain and running very easily, then got to three miles and decided to run one more if the adductor held out. I stopped after four miles, still with no pain, each mile faster than the previous, overall pace 8:28. One of the best short runs in the last few months. It’s a masterpiece!
I could easily have run more miles. I stopped because we have more running to do tomorrow, and I didn’t want to re-injure the adductor or anything else. It felt very good to stop without having to stop. YAY!
Last February it took ten days to get past this little injury, and this time it took six. The difference is that I recognized the injury immediately last Sunday when it started, and I stopped running without making it any worse.
The Meet of the Miles one-mile race was last Monday, and I had hoped to run it. But I couldn’t with the injured adductor, and even if I could have run it, driving to the event was risky at best because of the weather that evening. We stayed home. Before we knew we weren’t going, though, the question was "how fast can I run a mile?" Last year I ran 6:12, but this year would be much slower. How fast should I TRY to run it? A 6:00 mile calls for eight laps of 45 seconds each, and an 8:00 mile calls for 1:00 laps. I thought that I could do an 8:00 mile, but not a 6:00 mile, so how fast should I try to run the laps? 52.5 seconds comes out to 7:00 - I wonder if I can do that. After today I’m sure that 8:00 is too easy - I should go for 7:00 or so. Perhaps I’ll try that at one of the Charities Challenge Events.
Or not. I hate the mile. Shorter runs and longer runs hurt my lungs and throat less. The mile is the worst, because of the intense breathing for the required six or eight minutes. I end up coughing for hours afterward, even the next day, and it’s likely that my throat and lungs are vulnerable to infection for that time, especially since my immune system is somewhat compromised by the cancer. Maybe it doesn’t matter how fast I can run it - I don’t HAVE to run any miles this year. Just say NO! Sounds good. I'd rather tun a marathon. Really.
Splits: 8:50, 8:31, 8:24, 8:06, total 33:52, pace 8:28. Love that last mile!
Friday, Jan 16:
Today is five days after the beginning of the pain in the adductor muscle, and I was able to run almost a mile before the pain reappeared. Yesterday I could run three laps at the club, today it was twelve. That’s good progress. Try again tomorrow. :-) Pace 9:20 in the short mile.
After the run I spent another 300 calories on the elliptical and a bicycle trainer. Found some muscles that I don’t usually use!
Thursday, Jan 15:
Nuts. I tried running at the club, and was pain-free for 2 ½ laps. Then the adductor muscle started to yell again. Hmmm. Looking back at last February when this same injury happened, it took about ten days for the problem to resolve. Meantime I used the bicycle, elliptical, and steps machines with no pain. Walking is pain-free too.
Tuesday's lunch: Alaskan wild-caught sockeye salmon with yogurt and herbs, organic vegetable mix, organic pickled beets.
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