Training this week started with a 3 mile run on Tuesday, instead of the usual soccer game. As mentioned last week I decided to skip this week’s game to give my lower back/hip issues more time to recover (more on that later). I made the mistake again of not getting my run in either before work or before lunch, so this was another post-dinner-stomach-full-uncomfortable situation. Not ideal.
Wednesday was a 4 mile run that I was able to get done in the morning, which, in addition to avoiding the issues mentioned above, just feels better to get done first thing. Unfortunately I have never been a consistent morning person, so Thursday’s 3 miler was another evening run.
Finally, the “long” run this week was a step back to 5 miles which I got in on Sunday. Saturday was mostly rainy and I got caught up doing other indoor things and didn’t get a chance to fit in a run. For this run I tried a new pair of shoes – Hoka Rincon 3’s that my wife picked up in like-new condition for $10. This was my first experience with Hoka’s and they felt really good so I’m definitely going to keep them in the rotation.
I unfortunately didn’t get on the exercise bike as planned for cross-training on Saturday night, having fallen asleep tucking in my son (a not-uncommon occurrence these days).
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | 3 | 4 | 3 | Cross | 5 | ||
| Actual | 3 | 4 | 3 | – | 5 |
- Completed all workouts? No 🙁
- Met target mileage (15)? Yes
The main theme of this week’s run was heat, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here in Milwaukee, we were, as I understand it, right on the edge of a “heat dome” that sat over much of the US this week. Thankfully it didn’t get quite as hot here as in other places (and I live near the lake, which helps), but we still had high’s reaching the low 90’s. With the humidity, even running in the evening/morning is not the most comfortable thing (I am a baby and hate being hot, and this is the first real hot weather of the year so I’m still readjusting to that). Despite that, I felt relatively good about my pace compared to last week.
The other unfortunate theme was my damned back/hip pain flaring up again, for unknown reasons. It was feeling almost entirely normal by Tuesday, but by Thursday (or maybe Friday?) morning it was as bad as it’s been. It improved a fair bit over the weekend but is still quite demoralizing to not be able to shake it. I’ve continued with stretching/yoga/trying not to sit too much and to sit with better posture. Thankfully it tends to feel better when I’m running/active (last week’s long run being the exception) which is nice.
For week 4, we have the same 3-4-3 midweek with a jump to 9 miles for the long run on the weekend (I will drop the scare quotes at this distance). I haven’t run 9 miles at once since maybe my half marathon in the first half of 2023. But 9 is not so different from 7 which was no problem in week 2.
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | Cross |