Run: 3 miles at a jog pace

Distance: 3.1 miles

Time: 28:15

Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)

Legs: ★ ★

Gut: ★ ★★ ★

Energy: ★ ★★ ★

Mind: ★ ★ ★ .5

Overall: ★ ★ ★ .5

Soundtrack: Breaking Benjamin, Dear Agony

On the way back from rounding in the hospital, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was outside today. After the Thanksgiving snow and a few days of cold temperatures, today was a lovely 53 degrees. As I pulled into the driveway, I realized that I wasn't a very good Running Obstetrician if I wasn't running. I made up my mind right there and then to get in a few miles on the road.

So this left ankle tendonitis this has been a drag. It hurts decently good at times, and despite taking some serious downtime, it is still there. A good friend of mine implied a while back that there are just some pains that you have to run through, and there is no sense in whining about it. These pains would NOT include a pulled hamstring or serious joint / tendon pain that stops you from being able to run. I don't recommend running through these!

My ankle pain, however, seems fairly unchanged despite my recent treadmill activities, so I decided to put the "no pain, no gain" mentality to the test. Now key here (which took me a long time to learn), you have to go at this SLOWLY and SMARTLY. Therefore, despite the fact that I would have loved to have spent a whole hour running in this soon to be absent beautiful weather, I only put in three miles and at a fairly slow pace.

That being said, it was a great pay off. The run was very nice, and my ankle pain was no worse than my usual walking around. The melting snow was a nice sight to see (soon to return for good!). And there was a cute Christmas tree sale going on at the local fire department. All in all a good run, and the ankle feels no worse for the wear. I don't see any PR paces or distances on the horizon, but at least I'm back on the road, and I snuck in a really good one today. Take that ankle!

Run: 60 minutes of easy distance, hilly

Distance: 6.4 miles

Time: 60:07

Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)

Legs: ★ ★ .5

Gut: ★ ★ ★

Energy: ★ ★ ★

Mind: ★ ★ ★

Overall: ★ ★ ★

Soundtrack: The Crystal Method, Vegas

Due to a calamity of events, I ended up running the weekend distance run this Sunday morning, rather than Saturday. All in all not too bad, but it did have one major consequence - a little slow to go, and SORE legs. Why so sore? Well, yard work. I did a fair amount of hedge trimming on Saturday, and picking up the brush all day did a job on my hamstrings. Both hamstrings were WAY wound up for the run.

I'm fairly sensitive to my hamstrings after a major hamstring pull last fall. I was beginning to get to a great 5K pace (my short term goal is 23:30), and I was looking forward to the mecca of races for me, The Manchester Road Race, held on Thanksgiving morning. I was trying to set myself up for a 23:30 pace on the treadmill in the gym a few weeks prior, when one mile into the run, BAM, the left hamstring let loose.

Now, I've broken a few bones, twisted some ankles, and pulled some muscles before, but this was the real deal. It was almost as if someone had come up behind me with a broomstick handle and whacked me in the back of my left leg. I managed to pull the emergency release button and got off the machine. Immediately it hit me that I would not be running in the Thanksgiving race - and really, as minor a thing as that is, I felt this overwhelming sadness come over me. I can only imaging what real athletes feel like with injury!

So I hobbled around for three days, and was out for three months. It wasn't until this past summer that I got back into the swing of things, but seriously, this leg has not been the same. Now that I'm building up distance and speed again, I am quite sensitive to how my hamstrings feel - both of them. I can feel that the more I strengthen them with hills and distance, the tighter and tighter they get. The only solution - stretching. Now I don't mind stretching, but it's not something that I did a lot in the past. I guess this is what you get when you start getting older! Smarter running and more stretching!