SRM WEEK 11: Back in Ye Oldene Week of Julye Firste and Twenty.......

Ugh, see the disclaimer / apology at the top of my SFM 2nd Half race report.

My life is not totally back to normal yet, but it's making progress.

At least I have a nice hotel room.

And the view is not too bad.

#seenonmyrun. The last time I was up this way, I was hobbling my way toward the end of 26 extremely wet, windy, exhausting miles.

I can also see it from the shower.

(That counts as blogging, right?)

* * * WEEK 11 * * *
(4 to go)

This week happened so long ago you probably don't even remember what your life was like.

Grand Total: 52.2 miles

* 6 speed
* 3 tempo
* 18.2 long (including 13.1 race)
* 25 easy

Plus:

* 17 miles bike
* 1.5 hours strength/stretch/roll

Hey, I ran > 50 miles, so that's good, right? Let's go with that!!

Monday: a.m. strength work / afternoon 17 miles bike / p.m. karate

Another of those nights where my brain kept me up until ~4:00 am for no good reason. Getting up at 6:00 am for strength work was not happening. Instead I slept an extra 3 hours & went to work late.

Tuesday: a.m. strength work / p.m. 10 speed (2 wu, 3 x 800m / 200m jog, 20:00 @ goal marathon pace, 3 x 800m hard / 200m jog, 2 cd)

Wednesday: 8 easy

It was Wednesday so I was reasonably well prepared for this run to suck since that's what Wednesday runs inevitably do, but it still felt like the longest 8 miles I have run in a very, very long time. (I'm sure the unseasonal heat in SF didn't help. But hey, heat training!) I didn't have the massively tight & painful Achilles/lower calves that I usually have mid-week, though, and my recently-injured left Achilles didn't give me any trouble either, so I suppose overall it could have been worse.

Thursday: a.m. strength work / 8 easy

Another sleepless night. When I was still awake at 5am, it was pretty obvious that getting up at 6am for strength work was out of the question. As was going to work at the regular time, or really working from anywhere other than my living room couch. Seriously, WTF?

At least my run was good. Not fast, and not particularly easy, but not bad.

Friday: a.m. strength work / p.m. 8 tempo (3.1 wu, 3 @ half marathon pace / 1:00 jog, 1.9 cd)

Got it done, including some surprisingly good-feeling tempo miles! On the downside, some concerning pain in right hip/adductor/foot, and quads more sore than they've been since finishing my first marathon. ?!?!?!?!

Saturday: 8 easy Rest. I had a feeling that I could do this run or I could do the 18/SF2HM on Sunday, but not both without pushing my right leg too far.

Sunday: 18.2 long (5.1 easy + 13.1 race)

Not easy, but after (virtually) watching 4 friends become Iron(wo)men at Whistler that day, I do feel a little awkward describing it as any kind of hard. You can read my "race" report here.

Sunday night was when my life started falling apart, not limited to but including my right leg slowly but surely seizing up in the hip/quad/adductor area. Almost right after SF2HM I had to get on a plane to LA, & by the time I got to my hotel that night, I could barely put any weight on it thanks to some really intense pain in my adductor, some stiffness/cramping in my right hip flexor (the one I tore last summer), and some not-quite-as-intense-but-still-achey-and-annoying pain in my right foot.

Never have I been so bummed that a work trip came between me & my previously scheduled Monday appointment with the massage therapist.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?!?!?!?!

Sorry, I am stealing these precious minutes from a grant proposal I'm supposed to be writing. Everyone loves a cliffhanger, right?