I want to run faster!

[AndrewL]

Day 4: 30:00 - 6.26km
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: 90:00 - 18.65km

Good idea to switch the days around. Saturday I didn't get home until 11:30pm. I wasn't in any condition for a long run at that point. Anyway, long run yesterday was nice and easy. All my splits were between 4:40-5:00 except one that clocked in at 4:33. I'm not sure what happened on that one. Was WINDY and chilly last night. Fortunately I planned ahead and wore light gloves.

[AndrewL]

Day 7: 10km - 47:35
Day 8: 6 x 1000m @ 3:40 /60s rest

1. 3:36
2. 3:38
3. 3:38
4. 3:36
5. 3:38
6. 3:31

Gave a little push at the end of the last km. Feeling good physically. 3 weeks ago I was dying trying to hit these splits, but this time it wasn't bad. Nice.

[AndrewL]

Day 9: 30:00 - 6.19km
Day 10: 60:00 - 12.65km
Day 11: Rest
Day 12: 5km - 19:01

1. 3:44
2. 3:49
3. 3:51
4. 3:50
5. 3:45

I have a 10k on Saturday and am feeling pretty good about it except that it is really hilly and I live in an incredibly flat place (a man-made island, no hills at all), so we will see what happens.

[TheEd]

hills are OK, allow for it in the race, and do not over work on the hills

how seriously are you taking the event?

TheEd

[AndrewL]

Well I was planning on going for sub 39 because it is a small race way out on an island in the middle of nowhere and a sub 39 time would likely put me on the podium. Unfortunately, I was playing with my kids last night and tweaked my groin somehow. This morning it was pretty sore when I woke up, so I am going to rest for a few days and hope that it is nothing serious.

If everything is fine in a couple days that's great, but who knows.

[TheEd]

hope you recover quick enough

TheEd

[AndrewL]

Well, I took most of last week off. I ran an easy 5k on Wednesday to see how my body felt and it was OK, but not perfect, so I took off until Saturday.

To be honest, I still didn't feel 100%, but I already signed up and figured that I would go and see what happens. I started out OK, but could feel some strain in my groin so wasn't pushing it. It turns out the course was way hillier than I had expected, it was up and down incredibly steep sections. At the turnaround (the course was out and back), I counted 9 people ahead of me, 5 of whom were way out in front. I realized that I wouldn't have a chance of catching the front group, my groin hurt, and I remembered all the hills that I would have to face again.

I decided to take it easy and cruise back in rather than risk hurting myself worse for no reason. Still, at the top of the last hill I decided to turn it on and my last two km both had 3:52 splits, which is pretty near where I want to be even though the middle of the race was much slower than I wanted. My official time was 41:49, good for 19th overall, so I can't really complain.

However, I seem to have reaggravated the groin a bit, and I need to get that sorted. I am going to stay away from running for at least a week so I can make sure it gets fully healed, because I feel like I am back at square one again. I'll check back in in a few days and let you know how the progress is coming along.

[TheEd]

the groin is a very tricky area to treat, and is known to be one of the most painful areas to have physio / cross friction on

look to see what taping can be done to support the muscles involved with this injury, if you looking to continue training with the 'niggle'

avoid sitting for long periods of time, to assist recovery

good luck with this

TheEd

[AndrewL]

I didn't realize the area could be taped, but just watched some YouTube videos. Thanks for the advice. It is still sore enough that I want to take a bit of a rest, but the taping should help me get back to it a bit faster, I hope. In the meantime, I have been using the stationary bike a bit because it doesn't seem to irritate the injury at all. Problem there is that I hate the stationary bike.

Anyway, to keep myself motivated I signed up for a naked* 7km run on Dec 17th. It isn't a serious run, so I am not overly concerned with performance, but it should be enough to keep me going while recovering.

I will keep you posted.

*naked meaning shoes and shorts only (short sleeve tees for women), I hope it isn't too cold!

[AndrewL]

Well it has been a week and in that time I have basically cut out all physical activity because it seems like everything I do aggravates the groin. It doesn't really feel better, so I am going to go visit the doctor in the next day or two to make sure there isn't a bigger problem. Dissatisfying, but I will get over it. I'll keep you posted.