February was a unique month for me.
As I said in January, my plan was to get in mileage for two weeks and then taper the second two weeks for the Phoenix marathon. I did about that. I did what I wanted mileage wise and felt decent during the entire thing.
Mileage: 208
Range of paces: 6:40-11 mins-untimed
Favorite training run: My 21 mile long run with an average of 7:41 pace. It made me feel very strong and ready for the race.
Races:
Feel the Love 5k (20:12)
Phoenix Full Marathon (3:14.59) Short recap and long recap to come…
Best Race:
Both races were not perfect by any means but Phoenix Full Marathon had many more positives.
Thoughts:
I trained extremely well for the first two weeks of February. I felt ready for my first goal race of 2015, the Phoenix marathon. I didn’t have concrete goals but I made an effort to get the training in. The cold weather was both shocking and often times hard to train through. There were several runs I did not feel motivated or excited to do because it was so cold.
For the second half of the month I tapered. I was having muscle soreness in my hamstring that I was monitoring. I didn’t effect my gait but it was noticeable. I was hoping that it would dissolve with 2 deep tissue massages, rest and tapering. It died down enough that I felt okay to run Phoenix. The marathon distance caused my issue to become legitimate concern during the marathon (I’ve never really had experience with this) and during the final miles of the marathon my hip, butt and hamstring hurt.
My plan for now is to rest and recover as well as getting a deep tissue massage. I had planned not to run for 10-14 days already but now this is much more important to me. I have no “looming races” that I need to train for.
I don’t have a big plan for March. I will be at Shamrock weekend since I will be in the area taking care of last minute wedding stuff.
I do know I won’t be logging miles for a while. I’ll have a full Phoenix recap soon (I should have plenty of time right?)
Questions for you:
Have you ever had hamstring or hip issues?
How was your February Training?
Savor your recovery time. You’ve earned it. I’ve had tight hamstrings, but never injured. I’m guessing both hip and hammy issues will resolve with treatment and recovery. And if you saw my last entry, you know my February training sucked…but it turned out to be a good month! 🙂
I am currently dealing with ongoing hip issues, which has cause my Feb mileage to be pretty low. My PT thinks that my SI joint gets out of alignment, but when my piriformis gets tight I feel it in the back of my hip and hamstring. What I have learned is that all those little muscle imbalances can cause a whole lot of issues. Its’ definitely smart of you to take some time off! But congrats on doing so well in the race, despite the hamstring issues!
Great job on your amazing PR!!! I can only dream of numbers that fast. I have had hamstring, high hamstring, hip flexor issues. They suck. I found patience, stretching, and massages to be the most effective. Hills will not be your friend but, I was able to continue running. Enjoy your rest!! You deserve it!!!!!
Glad you are taking some well deserved time off. You’ve been training really hard, especially since you had a small base to work with coming off your injury from last year. Mike and I were so happy for you when we saw your result for the marathon. Your Cliff Notes recap was awesome (loved the photos of you getting up on the podium, although I don’t love that you were in so much pain) and can’t wait to read the long version. 🙂
wow congrats on your awesome race, incredible. your mileage is wow, great job!
i had a stress fracture in my right hip in 2011 and had to drop three marathons… i’ve never been the same but i learned a lot of lessons.
Congratulations Hollie :). You had a great month of running and two great races, and I hope you have a speedy recovery from the marathon and that wedding planning goes well. It is definitely smart to take awhile off and recover from a big training block.
What an awesome month, and way to rock the hell out of the marathon! I can’t wait for the recap. 🙂
You deserve the rest time after such a great PR.!! way to go girl 🙂 take care of yourself, and I hope your hamstring issues get better.
Hamstring and hip issues are always serious concerns for me. The anterior tilt of my pelvis always puts extra strain on those areas, and I’m diligent about strengthening and stretching both of them. It isn’t foolproof though, and while massage definitely helps, sometimes even that isn’t always enough. Right now I’m having far more problems with my feet for some reason though! I’ve never had foot issues in the past and haven’t really changed anything, so I’m baffled as to what’s going on.
You’ve had a damn good month 😀 My Feb wasn’t great at the beginning, what with the foot injury and still smarting over missing my January races, but it ended well so I suppose that’s what matters.
Ending on the top is motivational to me. I’m glad you ended February with a bang!
I had hip issues once way before I was running so I wonder if it’s something related to that. It actually kinda feels similar
Back when I was a Junior (I think? Maybe younger?) in college, I had terrrrrrible hip/butt pain in an awkward spot. I used Icy-Hot patches throughout the day because I had to walk to classes and things. This seemed to help A LOT oddly enough. This was before I started reading about running and just ran and ran and ran some more… So, I’m surprised it went away with like 3 days of rest and Icy Hot. I hope your hamstring isn’t something serious and just a minor strain!
We’re not even going to compare my baby mileage to yours, but I’m super happy with how my running is coming along! I feel like the “omg I hate my life” phase is over, and now I find myself actually looking forward to my runs.. especially since it’s warming up and I’ll be able to get outside soon without freezing my digits off and/or breaking a leg.
LOL, I don’t compare my cooking to yours Amanda so no need to compare your running. That’s so awesome you are truly enjoying your running 🙂
My brother and I both have something called “Snapping Hip Syndrome.” He used to deal with it a lot more than I do when he was running high mileage. It took me a long time to pin down what aggravates it and, this sounds super silly, but the biggest antagonist is any type of compression pant. It sounds like you have a slightly different area bothering you, but I know what I wear (must be loose fitting) makes a huge difference in how I feel, especially after longer training runs.
That’s so interesting Liz! I never knew that existed but thank you for sharing. I have been wearing compression pants but I think it was actually helping!
Hollie, I LOVE the way you approach running and possible injuries/rehab. I know it’s not easy to be “forced” to rest due to an injury, but you just don’t push yourself and (at least in public) don’t whine about it or stress about “not getting to sweat”. I also quite love your mandatory time off after a race, regardless.
That really means a lot Ange, thank you.
Again, WAY TO GO at the marathon! You PRed even with injury and that is amazing to me. I’ve never had a hip injury but know that as a runner I need to pay attention to hip flexibility because I am tight in that area. I think by correct hip and back imbalances I am better able (though not perfect) at avoiding injury.
My February training was great because I am injury free and I consider that a WIN!
You had a great February and accomplished what you set out to do … and thank GAWD the month is over, lol. Let’s hope for some spring weather soon!