12 x 550m @ ~5K pace w/ 45-60 sec rest, 4 x 275m w/ 45-60 sec rest
1:39, 1:37, 1:37, 1:37, 1:38, 1:38
1:39, 1:38, 1:40, 1:40, 1:38, 1:37 (Avg = 1:38)
51, 47, 44, 47 (Avg = 47)
19 min w/u, 20 min c/d
Tuesday, October 7: 7:00 AM - 10 Miles, 67 min
5:00 PM - 5 Miles, 34 min
Wednesday, October 8: 1:30 PM - Mile Repeat WO
6 x Mile @ 88 % w/ 3 min rest
4:46, 4:49, DNF
17 min w/u, no c/d
Thursday, October 9: 0 Miles (rest)
Friday, October 10: 5:00 PM - 3 Miles, 22 min (testing)
Saturday, October 11: 9:00 AM - 5 Miles, 36 min
Sunday, October 12: 10:00 AM - 10 Miles, 67 min
6:30 PM - 5 Miles, 35 min
Week Total = 54 Miles, 8 Runs
Well, I said I was going to aim for higher mileage this week, but that didn't happen. Instead, there was a slight hickup in my training that forced me to drop it down much lower. Looking back in my training log, I can see that I first noted trouble with my left hamstring on Sept 11, the day after a 3 x 2 mile workout. Over the last few weeks, both of my hamstrings have been pretty tight but the left one has been giving me the most trouble. After Monday's workout this week, it was extra tender. It seemed ok on Tuesday, but when I was doing strides before Wednesday's workout, I knew it was going to give me some trouble. I just could not get it to loosen up. I got through the first couple mile intervals (backing off at the end of the 2nd one), but after about 200m of the 3rd interval, my hammy had reached its limit and the pain extended down the full length of the muscle from my glutes down to the gastroc. I immediately stepped off the path and stopped running for fear that a pull was about to happen. It was a similar feeling that I had last indoor season when I strained my right hamstring at Reggie. I didn't finish the workout, I didn't cool down, and I figured it would take at least a couple days of rest to get back.
The tightness and discomfort that I had been feeling prior to this week has been mostly in the center "belly" of the muscle. I've been trying to take care of it between runs but without a good massage therapist to work on it, it never seemed to improve. I had been able to deal with this slight discomfort for a while, but on Wednesday, that discomfort extended further down the leg towards the lateral back side of the knee. It also changed from a slight discomfort to a sharp pain. It now seemed to be more of a tendon issue. From my own diagnosis, I believe the problem area is the Biceps Femoris (the largest hamstring muscle) which continues into the lateral hamstring tendons (as highlighted in the picture on the right).
In response to this, I took Thursday completely off and just worked on it a lot with the stick and foam roller. I just ran an easy 3 miles on Friday to test it out, but it wasn't ready. On Saturday, there was still some discomfort during the easy 5 miles I did, but the overall mobility was better. Sunday showed more progress as I was able to run with the other guys again with relative comfort. I can still feel the tightness in the hamstring and there is quite a bit of tenderness in the tendon area, but it's definitely better than it was. Humberto volunteered to work on it for a little while on Friday, which helped, but I need to find someone that can pinpoint the problem a bit more and really work out those knots. I haven't had any real work done on my legs in about 6 months and I can definitely feel it. When we were in Providence for the 5K, I was lucky to have a guy work on me a little before the race, but he didn't want to do too much within 24 hours of the race. During the massage, I remember his saying, "wow, you actually run with this hamstring?"
So I know I need some massage work done. When I was in Boston, I found a guy that I liked and was able to see him about once a month. Now, I need to find someone else, someone that knows what they're doing and isn't too expensive. I'm working again now so I might be able to afford this luxury (or in my current situation, this necessity).
We're two weeks away from Mayor's Cup now and as much as I'd like to be hammering my training right now, I'd like more so to be healthy for the race. I've had a lot of nagging injuries throughout my training, many of which I now know I can run through. For instance, my plantar still gives me trouble on an almost daily basis, but I'm so used to it now that I think I've built up a tolerance for that pain. I'm able to put out the little fires with maintenance and pain threshold, and I generally know my limits with the veteran injuries, but whenever something new comes into play, red flags pop up and I have to evaluate whether or not its one of those that I can just run through. I know this current one needs some attention since it definitely inhibited my running. I realize that I may have forced the mileage at times in the last couple months and may have tolerated a little more discomfort than I should have, but in a sport that requires you to push through the limits, it's sometimes hard to determine which limits we shouldn't go beyond. This is why I'm willing to drop the mileage down this week as necessary in order to get healthy and get back to work.
Quote:
"Brian does get hurt, he just doesn't know it. I swear he just runs through it."
- Coach Kevin Hanson speaking about Brian Sell during his preparation for Beijing
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