I've been keeping the volume around 20 miles for the last several weeks. 3 runs, usually 7 on Tues, 7 on Thurs, and 6 on Sat. I've been running pretty hard on Tues and Thurs and then slowing things down for Sat. I bike on Sunday for 3 hours. Spin class on Wednesdays. Sometimes I get out on the tandem with Christina on Friday morning, but Monday and Friday are typically days off from exercising. I'm in a decent groove. I don't feel the urge to run much more than I am right now, although part of me wants to run better, and I know that this requires more mileage. Maybe one of these Tuesdays or Thursdays I'll do a 10 miler, to see how it feels. But I prefer shorter, faster to longer, slower. Hem, haw.
I'm planning to run a 5K on 3/20, so last Thursday I actually did a real workout with repeats and everything--- ran to Zilker and did 5x1000m. I was afraid that doing them by myself would be boring, but the weather was a crisp 65 degrees and sunny, which felt fantastic--- the 5 repeats went by fast. I really tried hard on the 5th repeat, coming within 4 seconds of my old pre-scope time. The hip has been a little sore since then. I probably pushed it too hard, but it was fun.
My 40th birthday was last week, and my inner-marathoner started sizing up a 3:20 marathon--- what's now required for me to qualify for Boston. I've wanted to run Boston for many years. I even qualified in '07, but the dang hip got in the way. I have this image of me finishing Boston with Christina and the boys watching, cheering. Logistically, making this image a reality is cumbersome to ridiculous--- it entails flying the whole family to Boston for 3 days and 2 nights, then during the race, navigating to the correct location on the course, finding a parking spot, then hiking possibly 10 blocks with 2 kids and then waiting for 30 minutes to cheer 15 seconds for daddy. People do this, but I can't imagine Christina doing it, nor can I really blame her. Now Wellesley--- that sounds nice. Heh, listen to me bandy about the facets of running Boston.....
Part of me thinks I should just be happy with where I am and not push it, because marathon training is really tough on the bod, esp if you've got a gimpy hip. But of course another part of me doesn't care and is willing to see where this can go. Again with the hem and haw.
But honestly, I'm happy right now. And I find it immensely satisfying that I'm "running" the way I like to define running. So I might hang out here for a bit......
...... or not. I can be happy either way, and that feels nice.
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A blog about my lame hip. I have a torn labrum. It's sort of a rare injury, and it's been difficult finding information. Here's an account of my surgery and my return to running. I hope some find the information useful.
About Me
- Rich
- Austin, TX
- “I don’t see how anyone related to me can run a marathon”, my Dad had told me. I couldn’t argue. I had inherited his short legs and flat feet, yet I was thinking about training for a marathon. My wife was pregnant, due in six months. And I was up to my eyeballs in pre-baby anxiety. So running a marathon didn’t sound all that crazy-- a healthy way to channel my nervous energy. I never intended to run much more than my first marathon, but thousands of miles later, and much to my surprise, running has become an obsession of mine.
I hope that my lame-ass hip is only a bump in the road on my running journey-- a fairly big bump, mind you, with evil-looking spikes-- but a bump nonetheless...
1 comment:
Hey Rich! How was the race? Its great to hear you've got your running groove back. I know the marathon is a worthy dream but having destroyed my own hip in a marathon I hesitate to say you should strongly consider halfs from now on...or not....I would just hate to see you get set back for months.
I scheduled resurfacing for August with Dr. Gross in South Carolina...can always cancel if my hip decides to cooperate but I doubt as much. The idea that I could be running again this time next year is intoxicating...
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