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Week 174
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Well-wishes, 50+ers, on this crisp autumn morning. Managed to get about 43 miles on 5 days of running this week:
Sun: 7.6 easy-to-moderate
Mon: off
Tues: 9.1 w/5x800+2x400 (1-lap jog recovery ~2:20) 3:00,3:00.2:58,2:29,2:58,80,80
Wed: 5.1 easy
Thur: 6.5 w/2K in 7:29
Fri: off
Sat: 15.2 w/first 7@7:07 pace, rest was easy/super-easy pace
Thrilled to be able to top 40 miles on 5 days and not be in total pain. The gut is manageably sore after yesterday’s long run (it was really more like two separate runs: the first 7 was solo, the last 8 was with the Saturday morning group, varying from 8+ pace to even 10+ pace for a few.) Really happy with Tuesday’s track work. This is the same workout that we tried a few weeks ago, where I couldn’t finish the second 400, and we’d taken about 2:30-2:35 between reps; this week, we cut about 10s off the recovery, and I was able to finish the workout. There was no real reason for the hard 2K on Thursday’s run, other than it felt good to push the pace for a bit.
Slowly but surely, feeling stronger. For the first time in over a year, I’m starting to sense that I’m getting my stride back, and that I might actually be OK.
@SCgal: I’ve battled a mild-to-moderate piriformis issue for much of the past 5-6 years; it’s been chronic low-level, never acute. As far as I can tell, there is no panacea for this: Stretching, strengthening, judicious deep massage all seem to relieve a bit; like many others on the boards that I’ve read, I’ve never completely shaken it, and I doubt I ever fully will. For me, the best exercises to keep it at bay have been these two stretches:
http://beastlifestyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Piriformis-Stretch.png
and
http://www.stretchify.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/band-itb-stretch.jpg
(I know, it says it’s an IT band stretch, but I definitely feel it in the piriformis, too):
and this foam roller exercise:
http://www.hotbirdrunning.com/blog/2013/4/22/how-to-foam-roll-your-piriformis.html
As far as strengthening is concerned, from what I’ve read, I think that most of those exercises that help strengthen the hip region and aid hip-rotation (clam shells, donkey kicks, monster/sumo walks with resistance band, lunges) are also effective at strengthening the piriformis….but I’d caution not to overdo the strengthening stuff. That can cause its own issues. And as was mentioned (and something I constantly struggle with) avoiding sitting for long periods of time is also helpful.
Good Luck!
Quote for the week (and in honor of her awesome HM run in Philly the other week): “When you have the enthusiasm and the passion, you end up figuring out how to excel.” –Deena Kastor
The USATF Masters 5k and Masters Marathons are going on as I write this. Good luck to those out there toeing the line.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Hope you are doing well. Look forward to hearing about your progress. Any races to report?
Cheers!