My mileage was supposed to increase this week, after last week’s cutback, but I ended up running a little less than last week instead. My left hip has been sore lately – which surprised me when it first started to ache because up to this point, all my injuries have been on the right side of my body, including a broken ankle ten years ago, tendinitis in my knee, and a pulled hip flexor two summers ago. While having to work with and around an achy hip isn’t my first choice for the second month of marathon training, I still think overall it’s going as well as the first, because I’m focusing more on ways to stretch, strengthen, and stabilize my hip and other joints and that should be beneficial in the long run.
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 5.3 miles (Warmup, interval workout, cooldown)
Wednesday: Core strength workout
Thursday: 5.5 miles @ 11:21/mile average pace
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 9 miles @ 11:11/mile average pace
Sunday: 5 miles @ 11:54/mile average pace
My interval workout Tuesday meant going at a harder effort than I have in weeks, and I definitely worked up a sweat during that half hour. I also realized then that tacking hills and lower paces is harder on my hip than easy running, so I need to be careful to still include those workouts in my training while also making sure I don’t put too much stress on my body. I talked about my training with my coach Laura that evening, and we decided it would be best to keep those workouts to once a week, continuing to focus on easy miles to build a base and slowly increase my long run. She also recommended several new types of hip stretches, from yoga poses to exercises that both stretch and strengthen the hip flexors, that I will be doing after every run in addition to my core workouts on Wednesdays.
This weekend, I was supposed to run 12 miles on Saturday, but it ended up being 9 interspersed with walk breaks due to my hip hurting and the intense heat and humidity. And I think my recovery run on Sunday was the slowest I’ve ever run five miles. I plan to tackle 12-13 miles next Saturday if my hip cooperates, because I can’t forego building the necessary mileage base, but I am staying smart about it and realizing that if I want to make it to the marathon start line injury free, taking it one day at a time now is key. Other than running, the weekend was spent relaxing in Connecticut, trying to beat the heat with ice cream, and doing a little wedding planning. Marathon training is a lot like life right now – taking the long view and keeping things in perspective is the way to go.
Best workout for you this week?
How do you adjust your workouts to prevent injury?
Highlight of your weekend?
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renaissancerunnergirl 
I completely agree with you that marathon training is like life. You can’t get impatient about the little obstacles, but you just take them and are thankful for the growth process. Question: How do you regulate your pace on the long run? Do you use a watch? Sometimes I think I run too fast during long runs, so I burn out quickly.
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Sorry to hear about your hip. I’m still fighting runner’s knee so I feel your pain. Fingers crossed that we both overcome these issues soon and a ready to run strong on race day!
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We had such similar weeks…right down to the hip. I’m so sorry yours has been bothering you. I didn’t mention it in my post because it went away after two days (*knocks on wood*) but I’m still super cautious of it. It’s my hip flexor, which has always been really tight. Extra stretching, Bio-freezing and rolling (on a lacrosse ball) helped me. I cut my long run short too, albeit for different reasons. I think you made a good choice!
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Laura actually recommended rolling on a lacrosse ball instead of a foam roller – I’m going to try it!
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Sorry your hip was bothering you. I haven’t been getting as many miles in as I would like either because it’s been so dang hot!
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Definitely listen to your body – it’s better to not hit mileage goals injury free than to push hard and end up truly injured. Hope your hip starts feeling better soon.
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Thank you!
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