tri-ac :: triathlete

So, after an interrupted week 2 and 3, I was back at it for week 4 (minus the swim because of an incision that hasn’t closed yet). I took things slowly and tried to ease back into the schedule. Wednesday’s workout was a Fartlek run, and it beat me up! Come to think of it, the previous time I did a Fartlek run, the same thing happened, though not anywhere near as severe.

Wednesday’s Fartlek: I had to do 6×0:30 for a total run time of 40:00. I felt very awkward speeding up, almost off balance, like I didn’t know how to run. I definitely haven’t really done any sprinting in a looooong time, so I’m guessing I just need to do some more and relearn how to do it. That sounds so lame! But there you have it: proof of my getting OLD before my 37th year. Well, the awkwardness I can live with (and can practice and overcome), but the pain I need to get looked at. I could NOT stretch my left hamstring when I was done. I had a pain that started at the outside of my left hip and went under the leg along the hamstring to the inside of the knee. Not sciatic pain, but close. It almost felt like there was a tendon settling over a spot, just a little hitch when I pull my thigh up at the height of a stride. It was a lunchtime run, and by the end of the workday I had a slight limp. I couldn’t do a hamstring stretch for the next two days. I’ve called to get an appointment (which is scheduled for 2 weeks from now!). I’m going to call a private PT clinic and get one sooner because I’m worried this could really throw off my running and biking. It seems like a muscle imbalance at best and god-knows-what at worst. I need to start the fix for it ASAP. And all this to start off the week I intended to take it easy…

Well, it was definitely a little easier to take the rest of the week easy. I woke up Thursday morning and was going to put an hour on the rollers. I stopped after 30 minutes, it was just too awkward. I was worried awkward form would translate into other issues. I felt like I gave it enough of a go to be sure that I made a good decision to back off. Friday, I had another swim/run day scheduled. I did not swim, but felt especially frustrated by that because it probably would have helped loosen up my leg. I DID run at lunch. I just did 25 minutes instead of the 40 on the schedule. I took it SLOW & EASY. I got through it and stretched as much as I could, which was admittedly limited. The rest of the week was a 1.5 hour ride on Saturday and a brick today (1hr bike, 20 run). I feel pretty good considering. I still feel the hip, but, if I take it slow, it’s not acute.

I want to do the Race for the Roses half mary in three weeks. My longest run over the winter has been an hour, so my eyes may be bigger than my legs. I’m going to talk it over with the PT and see what they say. I’d like to run it but I’m not going to sabotage my HIM training to hit that date.