Hi everyone! Week #3 of HTH training is complete! I also completed week #1 of the 14 day #LoveYourHips Yoga Challenge, and you can check out my week of poses over on my Instagram! Here’s what I was up to each day:
Monday: I decided to try out a mid-day Pilates reformer class at my studio. The teacher was very different than my usual teacher and I left not really feeling the usual crazy ab burn that I feel in my afternoon classes, so I might not go during that hour again. But it was nice having my afternoon free for once!
Tuesday: GOTR practice, and then the Skinny Raven Urban Challenge Run with my GOTR coach! We probably ran about 3 miles around town trying to get raffle tickets from as many businesses as possible.
Wednesday: Speed day downtown with my training group! We ran 2 tempo runs for 5:00 each, a 30 minute easy run, and then another 5:00 tempo. I was surprised to discover that I was able to run all 3 tempo runs at the same pace! Win! My running buddy thinks we ran 4ish miles during the timed portion of the workout.
Thursday: My last GOTR practice of the year, and then I got back to my regular afternoon Pilates reformer class. I also supervised a field trip at one of my high schools in the morning! It was a geocaching field trip in what I thought was a small park near the school, but we must have walked all over every single inch of that park looking for the hidden geocaches! It was tons of fun, but 6 hours of hiking up and down hills and through swamps really wore me out. I actually counted this as a replacement for one of my short runs this week.
Friday: My husband got out of work early, so I used the car to get to a 5:15 Pilates mat class with one of my favorite instructors from Pilates boot camp.
Saturday: I was able to attend my training group’s long run at 8:00 AM (ugh) and despite the fact that we had to run an hour and a half, it flew by with the help of my new running buddy! I am still so excited to have found an awesome person who runs at the same pace I do – talking to her while running makes the miles fly by! We ran at a 11:50 pace for a total of 7.5 miles. I then did my usual stretching/yoga routine and felt pretty good…until about an hour later when I started getting the same hip/groin pain on my left side that I had during Zion Half training! It really hurt to put any weight on my left leg, and I tried everything to stretch it out and get rid of the pain while trying not to freak out. It turned out that the pain subsided with a short walk along the coastal trail later that day, but I’m now a little bit freaked out that my injury will come back again.
Sunday: I FINALLY got to sleep in a bit (8:00!) and rested all morning and afternoon. My legs felt back to normal, so we went for a short and easy 4 mile hike in the Campbell Tract…which of course turned into 6 miles because we took a wrong turn and got a bit lost on an unmarked dogsled trail. Fail.
Our wrong turn unfortunately did not have this sign on it.
While the week was great, I am concerned about the pain I got after my long run. I’m worried that doing 7.5 miles already in this training cycle is what caused it, but I felt great during the run and didn’t think it would lead to hip pain again. At this point I don’t know if I can safely add in that 4th day of running because I’m worried about doing too many miles too soon. I’d rather skip a short run each week in favor of a walk/hike instead than get injured and not be able to run at all.
Seriously, I don’t want to stop running. I love it too much.
I also need some recovery advice from my fellow long runners: After every afternoon/evening long run, I’m able to recover pretty well. But after any length run in the mornings I end up feeling super tired and worthless the rest of the day. I make sure to begin hydrating right away, and I always eat pretzels and Nuun within 30 minutes of the run. I feel like I’m hydrating and eating enough before and after the run, but I always crash hard within a few hours of running and end up needing a nap. Does anyone else ever feel this way? Any advice to help me recover easier with morning long runs?
Mom in the Mtns 
We’re so glad to have you in the challenge! I am so jealous of all the gorgeous photos you keep posting! It’s just so beautiful there!!
Thanks! I’m having so much fun snapping pics outside! I may need to start doing more outdoor yoga after this! 🙂
I love when you mention Skinny Raven and I know exactly what that is 🙂 I have a sweatshirt from the store – we stayed a block away at a hostel downtown when I was there! That picture of you running on that trail is amazing! I’m opposite of you – I do much better and recover more quickly when I run in the morning. I think it’s just how our bodies respond to it – we are all different. I find that I need to get a REALLY good nights sleep before my Saturday AM long and eat a good, carb rich meal the night before. I have much more energy that way!
That’s awesome! Skinny Raven is such a great running store and they put on so many fun races and events. Hmmm you may be onto something with the extra sleep thing – I’m usually so exhausted from getting up for work at 6:30 every morning (remember, not a morning person) that by the time I have to get up at 6:30 for long run day I want to die. I also definitely need to pay more attention to my dinner the night before long runs. Thanks for the tips!
I wasn’t an early morning runner when I signed up with my running group and I felt very tired after the longer runs on Saturday mornings. I remember sitting around, napping, and generally being lazy and not accomplishing anything. By the time I started my second training session it wasn’t as bad. I think my body finally got used to the early routine. (I still don’t run early during the week.)
Good to know! Yeah I hate running in the mornings so this is really hard for me, but since the race is at 8:00 AM I guess I need to get used to it! All my other runs are in the afternoons haha.
In addition to hydrating really well before and after morning runs, make sure you get protein within 30 minutes. Grab some chocolate milk or a protein shake or something. If I don’t do protein right after a long run I feel like crap the rest of the day.
I actually did this on Saturday! As we were all stretching after the run I started talking about chocolate milk and my tired runner’s brain took over and I had to have some NOW! So I drove straight to the store and bought some haha. It was delicious, but didn’t help me avoid feeling like crap 😦 I may need to look into protein shakes though.
What is your dinner like the night before a morning run? Are you getting enough sleep before getting up to run? On weekdays I get up at 5:45 for work, so starting a long run at 7am really doesn’t bother me. I also go to bed pretty early, even on weekends. If you aren’t getting enough sleep or you aren’t used to getting up that early, that could be a factor.
That said, I have been known to take a nap after my long run. I just love sleeping though!
I have to wake up at 6:30 every day for work, so getting up at 6:30 for the long runs shouldn’t bother me…but I am definitely tired by the time Saturday rolls around. And I’m probably not eating well enough the night before. I need to work on those things this week!
The only way I can do morning runs is to sleep well the night before – at least 7.5 hours. But it’s probably also a matter of training your body to get used to it. And if you need a nap – take it! And great photo of you on the trail – looking good!
Thanks! I’m now realizing it might just be the fact that I’m not a morning person. I do definitely need more sleep, especially on Friday nights. I hate naps, but I definitely need them now!
I agree with others. It’s important to get a good night’s sleep the night before your morning run and to have some protein after your run.
LOVE all of your pics–keep em coming!
Thanks for the tips! I do think I need to sleep more. But I swear, this happens with every morning run! My body hates mornings haha. I’ll try to add more protein into my post-run meal as well.
Loving your yoga and running pics. You look so happy!
Thanks! I’ve been sooooo incredibly happy lately because it’s so beautiful outside and I just want to be running around doing stuff outside all the time!
I’ve done fine training with only 3 or even 2 runs a week, doing strength 2-3 days, and cycling 1-2 days. I would be wary of adding another run before you know what’s going on with your hip.
I definitely am wary! I talked to my other GOTR coach today and she asked me about my rest days and what I do on the 4 days I’m not running…and it turns out that every single day, even the days I do long runs, I end up doing some other kind of walk/hike outside. So not only do I not have a real rest day, I’m also totally cramming too much activity into each day! But it’s summer in Alaska and every sunny day (and night) I just want to be outside! So clearly I just need to tone it down and stop hiking everything in sight haha.
Wow. The urban adventure run seems like a cool way to get some miles in, super unique.
It’s so much fun! I know that Road Runner Sports stores in the Lower 48 do something like this too. It’s such a tricky way of getting me to run farther and faster than usual!