Back on Track

After spending a good portion of the summer rehabing (which isn’t a word per the red line under it, but I think it should be) from my hamstring injury I feel I am fully recovered and back into my normal training routine.  I have added lower body strength focused workouts to my routine as I’ve learned running doesn’t actually work all the muscles I thought it did, primarily my glutes.  I am trying to be consistent with upper body strength and core workouts as well.  To be a truly fit and fast runner it really takes having an entirely strong body.  The challenge of course is fitting in all those other workouts in addition to running.

In wanting to get some of my pre-injury speed back and prepare for Glow in the Grove in October, Jason and I decided to do a speed workout yesterday morning.  We had ran 6 miles on the rail trail Fri. morning before heading to Hershey for the RV show, and it seemed like good timing for it.  I decided on 400s, so we headed to the track.

Our new Garmin watches showed off one of their better features in enabling us to pre-program the workout.  We ran a mile (which Jason finished before me thus starting and ending the workout before me) and the watch beeped to begin the recovery.  It counted down until beeping again to start the first 400.  Upon completion we hit the lap button and it registered the time and began the recovery countdown.  We ran 4 total 400s and then another mile cooldown.  It was really nice having to not touch the watch other than hitting the lap button vs having to reset a watch each time.  I’m sure this is a commonly used feature for most runners, but as someone who tends to avoid fancier technology (I ran Friday’s run using my 2nd generation Ipod) I was quite impressed.

My splits for the 400s were 1:38, 1:36, 1:35 and 1:35.  I wasn’t running for a specific time, but was trying to run as all-out as I could while maintaining consistency.  I felt as if the times were proof that I lost a lot of speed until I was reviewing my workout log for the year and discovered I had actually completed the same workout back in February.  I had ran the mile warmup about a minute faster and the cooldown about the same, but my 400 splits were 1:30, 1:34, 1:33 and 1:33.  I hadn’t been nearly as slow as I thought.  Granted the weather was likely chillier in February and slowed me down, but Sunday was a bit humid so it’s possible the conditions had roughly the same effect on my body.

I’m now more excited to see what time I can run at Glow in the Grove.  Last year the course ended up being short due to heavy rains washing out a portion of the trail, so I’m expecting to complete a full 5k again this year.  I beat Jason by roughly a quarter mile last year, but I don’t expect to this year.  He has been training more consistently and is looking strong despite being setback from training a few days due to back spasms from the Sasquatch trail race.  My dad is also joining us for the first time, so I’m sure he’ll beat me as well, but we’ll all have fun regardless.

I have also signed dad, Jason and I up for the York Winter Series.  This will be Jason’s first year running it and my third.  The races are a bit more spaced out this year having 3 weeks in between some as opposed to 2 which should allow for more training.  Just like Sasquatch fell right after our Ocean City vacation, the first race, the Dover 10 miler, will fall a few days after we return from New Orleans.  I plan to amp up with some longer runs after Glow in the Grove in preparation for it.

I was on the fence about wanting to complete a half marathon this fall and slightly bummed when I found a really neat sounding one called the “End of the Road” half marathon and realized it’s on a day that Jason is on call for work.  Apparently there is an abandoned portion of the turnpike and it was used to film the movie “The Road” (which I have seen and read the book), and that is where the half marathon is ran.  It is one I will keep in mind for next year though as I’ve since decided that despite feeling back to normal, I’m not ready to push heavy distance training too much just yet, and that training for the winter series will be sufficient for now.

Do you program speed or interval workouts into your watch?  Does racing after a vacation throw you off physically or mentally?  Do you have any bucket list half marathons?

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Sasquatch 5k Trail Run

Prerace Info – I am a total road runner.  Even running cross country in high school I hated if courses were muddy.  Heavy, wet shoes are one of my top running pet peeves.  That said I willingly signed up for the Sasquatch 5k trail run when Jason decided to use his complimentary entry from work to sign up for the 10k.  I figured it would be a low key, no pressure way to get back into racing following my hamstring injury.  Besides I couldn’t really bash trail running if I never had ran an actual trail race right?

Race Week – Jason and I ran 8 miles on Sunday to get one last long run in before vacation and the race.  Tuesday we left for Ocean City, MD with my parents and enjoyed a nice day on the beach.  Wednesday morning we set out for a run that quickly ended for me courtesy of vacation food and humidity creating an upset stomach.  I finished 3 miles and walked a bit of the boardwalk before managing another mile.  Jason and dad logged 7.  We had another great day on the beach.  Thursday was overcast and a bit windy so Jason and I visited Berlin and we returned home on Friday.

The Race – Dad and Armand picked Jason and I up Saturday morning for the race.  The weather was ideal for running with lower temps and humidity.  I wanted to wear my sunglasses but chose not to as I figured I needed to be able to see any obstacle in my path.  I had picked up our packets on Friday, so once we parked in a field we walked around a bit and began our warmup.  Our shoes quickly became wet from the high grass and I cringed.  I debated changing into dry socks, but we found a road to run on and my shoes dried out a bit before the start.  Jason and dad began their 10k at 9am with Armand and I starting the 5k 15 minutes later to the firing of the cannon by “Cannonball Charlie” of the York Revolution baseball team.

The beginning of the 5k differed from the 10k in that we headed to the left and completed a small loop in the field where my group had warmed up.  The footing wasn’t too bad though the high grass definitely made for a slow start.  There were two barriers to go over (I’m not sure if they were a type of horse jump) within the first quarter mile.  They weren’t meant to be jumped over in my opinion as they were over a foot tall though I’m sure taller and/or more agile runners likely did.  We crossed back through the start line and proceeded to go right, the direction the 10k started.

I went into the race having no expectations other than just trying to enjoy it and see how I did.  I had viewed the 2018 results and saw only 22 runners completed the 5k in under 30 minutes which told me the course was likely tough.  Within the first mile though I had already decided I wanted to try to break 30 minutes.

At the start of the race the director told us that the 5k course had not one, but two creek crossings.  I was aware of the one not far from the finish but was not thrilled to hear of a second one.  The first one wasn’t overly deep, about knee high (I’m 5’4″) though it did slow me down quite a bit as I walked through it, not wanting to slip on the rocks.  It was very cold water but actually felt refreshing on the legs.  I’m not sure if my shoes survived it better than expected or if I was just so focused on the race, but I didn’t notice my shoes squishing.

The 5k course was a mix of trail along the creek (which I was told in 2018 was totally washed out from rain and a total mess which likely explains the slow times) and some pastures.  There were some hills that were very short but somewhat steep.  What made those challenging is some had another barrier to climb over shortly after topping the hill.  I found that to be rather exhausting.

The final creek crossing was deeper and up to the middle of my thigh (myself and another female walked across holding up the edges of our shorts) and just as cold as the first.  Upon exiting the creek I began feeling grit beneath my feet and was grateful to soon be finished.  I climbed a short hill with a sharp switchback and conquered another barrier (at that point I was cursing them) before giving a high five to a Sasquatch.  I made it over the final barrier and cruised a downhill pasture to the finish line.  My final time was 29:38 which I was more than happy with.

Post Race – I congratulated Armand (who finished at least 30 seconds ahead of me) and got some water and waited for dad and Jason to finish the 10k.  It was very apparent watching the finishers who ran the 10k and who ran the 5k as the 10k runners looked beat and the 5k runners looked much happier.  Dad came in right around 1:01 and told me not to expect Jason for a bit as it was a really tough course.  Surprisingly Jason rolled in right under 1:03 which pleased him since had had a time goal of 1:05.  Unfortunately he had experienced a back spasm about 4.5 miles in and continued to push through it which resulted in it continuing to spasm after and him being barely able to move most of the weekend.  As of this writing he is slowly returning to normal function with the use of a heating pad, Aleve and yoga stretches.

Armand was the first one to hit up the beer truck for free beer, but the rest of us passed.  We did partake in the lunch catered by White Rose Bar & Grille which consisted of pulled pork, mac and cheese and corn.  There were also apples and bananas provided by Flinchbaughs Orchard.  The results came quickly and I actually finished 2nd in my age group and Armand won his.  Despite good races, dad and Jason did not place but they had rather tough competition in their age groups (31-40 and 51-60).  My winner’s envelope contained a Sasquatch patch, half price entry for next year’s event and a coupon for a free small smoothie from Smoothie King which I redeemed later that day.

TRACY MYERS
Sasquatch Preservation Trail Run 5 and 10K

5K

Bib Number
143
5K
34 of 245
Gender Place
10 of 131
F 31-40
2 of 37
Gender
F
Age
32
Start Time
09:15:51
Elapsed
00:29:38
Pace
09:33 min/mile

Summary – Overall I had a very decent experience in my first trail race.  I certainly haven’t been bitten by the “trail bug” (though Jason might’ve been) and am very grateful I ran the 5k after hearing how hard the 10k was (dad and Jason “hiked” at least 3 hills during it).  The 5k course appears to be more of a cross country course with the 10k being more of an actual trail race.  At a cost of $25 ($5 more for a tshirt) I think it’s a great value particularly because of the post-race lunch.  It was a well hosted event.  I will likely run the 5k again next year as Jason wants to do the 10k again and beat my dad.  Fingers crossed the course stays as nice and dry as this year and I won’t be running in mud!

Weekly Randomness

Today’s randomness post is sponsored by Hurricane Dorian who is making me obsessively check the weather for later this week since I’ll be in Ocean City.

-I AM A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER.  Yes, after spending most of my summer evenings studying, I have officially passed the NASM certification exam.  I took 2 practice exams and the online final exam earlier in the week and earned grades of 90, 94 and 91 respectively.  I don’t actually know what my grade was on the certification exam as it’s just pass or fail, but I’m excited to have passed!

-I legit almost had a full blown panic attack on my way to the exam.  Jason and I had driven to the location a few weekends ago so we would know where it was.  Apparently our GPS decided it wanted to go a different route Saturday morning which would’ve been fine had it not taken us to a dead end street (while telling us to make a left turn off said street) in a very shady part of Harrisburg.  I quickly pulled out my phone’s GPS which got us back on track but I was so paranoid of being late to the exam I was nearly hyperventilating and Jason had to rub my back to calm me down.  I was grateful I recovered well enough to not have the incident affect my exam.

-I plan to now enjoy my vacation week before diving into the NASM group trainer certification.  That is a shorter course and I believe the final is online and won’t require going back to Harrisburg.  Then I shall decide what exactly I’m doing with this new career path.

-I finished Run Less, Run Faster and returned it to the library.  It was the first training focused running book I’ve ever read.  I was curious since it advocated 3 runs a week and I already do that as my default.  I think for anyone who is set on achieving a specific time goal it seems like a solid plan to follow, and my running friend Todd shaved 15 mins off his marathon time using it.  I’m fairly certain I couldn’t adhere to such a strict plan particularly for 12 weeks given the paces are so intense.  I think it’d take the fun out of running for me.  That said, I did like the speed workouts it listed and whenever I decide I’m in good enough shape to go for my lifetime 5k PR I may incorporate some of those into my training.  Oh I also thought it was rather skimpy on the sections about cross training (I’m not biking on roads and don’t have access to a pool), strength training and nutrition.

-After about a month of wearing them, I don’t hate my new Brooks Ghost 11, but I don’t love them like my 10s.  Twice now I’ve gotten hot spots on the bottom of my feet though I don’t know if it was the socks rather than the shoes.  I also find they grip the back of my ankle slightly different and I’m not a big fan.  I know the 12s are out but apparently the Brooks distribution center is relocating and my local running store has had back orders waiting from them, so I was content getting the 11s.  I now wish they had still had the 10s in stock.

-I ran 8 miles yesterday, the longest I’ve ran since mid April.  It was actually the same course too which I didn’t realize until I checked my log, and I only ran 2 minutes slower than in April.  Jason ran about 6 minutes faster than me.  He’s running well and I hope he races well on Saturday.

-I am now done procrastinating and plan to go pack now.  Unless Jason wants to watch another episode of 13 Reasons Why.  When did I become such a slacker with packing?

Stay safe this week my east coast friends!

Are you in the path of Hurricane Dorian?  What running training books have you read?  Have newer models of your favorite shoe left you disappointed? 

Pain Free Training

Last week was the first week since my hamstring injury and rehab that I felt as if I actually trained and it was truly pain free.  Not that my hamstring had been really causing much pain, but I would still get a dull ache now and again sometimes hours after a run.

Sunday my dad picked up Todd, Armand, Jason and me and we went to Lake Williams to run.  This was a new experience as the only trails I had ever ran were at Rocky Ridge, and I always chose relatively easy ones.  Our trail loving friend Scott (who recently completed 112 miles on a trail beginning in Massachusetts and ending in Connecticut) recommended we check out trail 2 to get a rough idea of what to expect during the Sasquatch Trail Run.  He advised us to make sure we didn’t end up on trail 2A which I’m now curious to see.

Our group set out and dad, Todd and Jason quickly pulled ahead of Armand and me.  They did pause at spots along the way to regroup.  At one point we came upon an incredibly steep hill and about halfway up I realized why it’s ok to walk on hills during trail races.  I’m fairly certain it took less energy and time to walk the rest of the hill than it would’ve taken had I kept trying to run up it.  Mentally it was certainly a new experience for me as I’m conditioned to believe you always run up a hill no matter what.

When the trail ended at a road we decided to run on it for some more miles as the trail itself was only going to be 4 miles round trip.  My legs felt much more at home cruising the hills on the road though it was nice to return to the shade of the woods.  We elected to check out trail 2B on our way back which was very narrow and slightly overgrown at spots.  There were some switchbacks and lots of roots so I slowed down greatly to be cautious of my footing.  Once again the front guys got ahead of Armand and me, likely due to my slow pace, and I was glad Armand was with me as I almost chose wrong at an intersection and would’ve ended up completing another loop.  He directed me to the correct path.  We finished with a solid 6 miles logged of good trail training.

Wednesday was calling for incredibly high temps and humidity, so I elected to run in the morning rather than with the group that evening.  Jason was up early and decided to join me.  We got in a fairly easy 3.5 miles over to the middle school and back.  It was much cooler and not even as humid as I had expected, so I’m glad I made the right call to run at that time.

Friday Jason and I had a vacation day.  We drove over to the Turkey Hill trail in Lancaster for a change in location.  While there is an actual trail in the woods there (which I’ve never ran but my dad says is rather steep at spots), we chose to stick to the flat trail along the river to complete our 7 miles.  Jason has really gotten better at monitoring his pace and not going out insanely fast then dying at the end of a workout.  I give props to his new Garmin for improving that.  It was lightly raining during the run and we were a bit past 5 miles when the rain grew steadier.  Fortunately it was warm enough that the rain didn’t make me cold, but it did start to annoy me in general and I was glad when it became light again.  I told myself that running in the rain makes you look tougher.  Given we only saw 2 other people on the trail though I wasn’t really impressing anyone.

I intended to run again yesterday (Sunday) morning but my hamstrings and calves were incredibly tight.  I’m not sure why given I had done a mobility workout on Saturday to stretch out.  All I can figure is it’s just my body still adjusting to “normal” training again after being sidelined.  I’m sure running 7 miles of all flat terrain didn’t help either as I’m used to having at least a few bumps in my runs.  I listened to my body and instead of running completed a 15 min MMA DailyBurn workout followed by 2, 10 minute upper body workouts then took a walk to the donation bins down the street to donate some clothing.

As I’m feeling a bit looser today I plan to run after work.  I’m still on the fence about training for a half marathon the end of October.  Originally Armand was interested in it, but now has another commitment that day.  Part of me wants to run it so I have something specific to train for, and another part wants to just continue easing back into my training until the York Winter Series begins in November.  I told Jason after we run Sasquatch I’ll let him decide if he wants to continue adding onto our long runs.  If he wants to then I may proceed with the half marathon and if not, I may just play it by ear.

Do you run trails often?  Do you enjoy rainy runs?  Do you find flat routes to be tougher on your body than hillier ones?

 

Misfit Toys

I’m not one to use my blog for venting too often as I find it too much like the social media drama I left behind when I quit Facebook almost two years ago.  That said I have had a very tough day emotionally for a wide variety of reasons (including hormones) and felt I needed to use my blog as an outlet.  Apologies to those of you who much prefer the running related posts, I’m sure I will snap out of this soon enough and return to my usual running writing.

I’ve read various articles over the years about loneliness being an unaddressed health concern in this country.  With so many people working 40+ hours a week, kids being over-scheduled with activities and the general disconnect of people from one another it’s no wonder.  That said, I have noticed many people I know have a best friend or friends who they regularly spend time with.  By regular I would say around once a month or at least several times a year.  The type of friends who are there for important life events as well as casual fun ones.

Unfortunately Jason and I have not been so fortunate as to have found these type of friends in either area we have lived.  The couple we connect best with lives near Chicago, a high school bestie of mine, Alecia, and her husband, Ryan.  We visited them in 2016, Alecia visited us twice in the past four years (thanks to work trips bringing her nearer to PA) and the four of us took a cruise together in 2017.  We planned to visit them fall of last year, but when our flight was cancelled and rescheduled until evening we realized we wouldn’t even get to spend 2 full days together.  We decided to nix the trip completely as it wasn’t worth the money and they completely agreed.

As I put it to Alecia today via a text vent – I often feel like we’re in this awkward world of not wanting kids, not wanting to climb a corporate ladder, not Trumper enough to live in this area but too nature loving to want to live in a city.  I know Jason wants to move but I feel we’ll be in that boat no matter where we live.  We’re just misfits.

It’s hard to make friends as an adult and even harder to find couples to befriend.  Most people our age are consumed by debt, children, work or all three.  We’ve struggled in vain to branch out and connect to people through other channels in hopes of “getting lucky” and clicking with another pair.  This has been especially challenging for Jason who is naturally an introvert.

We began attending a Unitarian Universalist church in November, but over the months decided it wasn’t the right fit for us.  Like most churches I’ve attended, the majority of attendees while very nice, consisted of older people and families.  They were certainly more liberal than most people in our area, but actually bordered too far left in terms of political activism, something that Jason and I don’t regularly participate in beyond my involvement with Citizens Climate Lobby.

We run with a group sometimes, but it consists of my dad, one of his close friends (father to guys I attended high school with), my hairdresser’s husband and and an older guy.  While they’re all great and fun to run with, they’re not exactly looking to hang out regularly with two 30-somethings.  We usually all attend a pizza and trivia night once a year which is fun, but not something we get to do regularly.

We go through cycles of contentment with it just being the two of us and periods of irritation that we have no friends.  We recently visited Kennett Square for a day trip and I saw a poster for a murder mystery art stroll and immediately thought of how fun that would be to attend if Alecia and Ryan lived in the area.  At those points I’m reminded of how expensive airfare is and how far a drive Chicago would be if either of us could even handle the insanity of its highways.  That’s when the loneliness hits.

Texting is a wonderful modern way of staying connected.  Phone calls and hearing someone’s voice do help to make you feel closer to them.  At the end of the day though nothing beats face to face chatting and laughing be it over a nice dinner or a board game.  In a world where we can so easily connect to so many, it’s incredibly hard to find the deeper connections and makes for some very lonely times in life.

Do you have close adult friends?  Do you and your significant other have couple friends?

Testing Limits

I’m finding that while dealing with an injury is tough, figuring out if you’re truly healed and how to train post-injury poses its own set of challenges.  My physical therapist had advised that it would be normal to feel some discomfort in my hamstring as I intensify my program and tax the tissue harder.  This is due to the remodeling of the tissue.

For the most part anytime I’ve felt twinges in my hamstring in the past several weeks it’s tended to resolve in a short period of time, something that I’m to expect per the therapist.  I need only be concerned if the pain is sharp or lingers.

Last Wednesday I ran with dad and Armand for a 5 mile loop.  I watched my pace to ensure I didn’t push it too much given I had ran a challenging 6 mile loop with dad and Jason on Sunday.  The run went fine though we got a bit wet during the middle portion thanks to passing showers.  I had no issues with my hamstring.  On Thursday I did a DailyBurn yoga workout and took a 15 minute walk around the cemetery with Jason.  On Friday my hamstring continuously ached while I worked.  No matter which way I sat the dullness persisted.  Due to my workload I wasn’t able to get up and move around quite as often as I normally try to and wasn’t sure if this was aggravating the area or not.

Jason had planned for us to do a speed workout Fri. evening.  This was partially due to him wanting to test out the workout feature of our new Garmin watches.  I was debating on the smartness of doing the workout given the dull ache, but figured I could always back off the intensity or limit the number of intervals if needed.  I really wanted to test out my hamstring’s limits to determine if it was bordering on being injured again.

We went to the park and completed a 1 mile warmup over to the high school campus and back.  Then we had a 2 minute rest before beginning the .1 sprints that finished up a slight hill.  I had done a similar workout back in February but couldn’t remember how much recovery time I gave myself before each sprint.  Originally we planned for 2 minutes but that seemed too long, so Jason change it to 45 seconds.  We found out soon enough that 45 seconds was not enough time to quickly walk/jog back to our starting point before the watch beeped to begin the next sprint.  This ultimately pushed our ending point back which wouldn’t have been an issue except there was a fenced off area at the top of the hill so to get the full .1 in we had to turn around and start back down the hill.  Jason continued to sprint, but I tended to ease up on the downhill portions so my sprints were more like .8 of a mile.  We completed 10 of those sprints to get a full mile in then ran a half mile cooldown.

All evening and all day on Saturday I waited for my hamstring to start bothering me.  It didn’t.  Yesterday we went to the rail trail to run 6 miles.  Again I was a bit concerned since the portion we ran was nearly all flat and I tend to need hills to break up my pace and give my leg muscles a change.  The run went well though, and I think I could’ve ran farther as the morning weather felt more like fall than mid August.  My hamstring behaved and I only felt it twinge a bit later that day while in the car for an extended period of time.

I feel much better having pushed my hamstring more and see that it didn’t cause any negative setbacks.  I know I still need to be smart and not try to increase my mileage or pace too much too soon, but I feel like I can begin actual training without so much fear of re-injury.

Have you struggled with fear of re-injury after recovering from an injury?  How do you determine your rest periods during a speed workout?

 

A Few Running Firsts

This past week I was reminded of the children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie“.  If you’re not familiar with the book, it’s a cause and effect story that begins with a mouse receiving a cookie which makes him ask for a glass of milk.  Then he asks for something else once he receives the milk.  Spoiler alert – the book ends with the mouse requesting a cookie.  There is a similar book called “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”.

I want to add another book called “If You Buy a Husband a Garmin Watch”.  Jason decided recently that he wanted to take up running more rather than lifting.  We bought him a much needed pair of new running shoes.  He then began researching Garmin watches as we currently have one, a Garmin 10 I believe, and it can be tedious to share because we don’t always run the same pace.  He settled on the Garmin Forerunner 45 and we bought it at the local running store last Thursday as an early birthday present.

His first running watch of his own led him to wanting to test it out the next morning.  We decided to run a quick mile out and back in the alley behind our house.  He pulled ahead of me before the turn around point.  I turned around, crossed a street and spotted a first on a run – a skunk scurrying across the alley.  I slowed and watched it.  It noticed me and came to a complete stop and began to raise its rear.  I came to an abrupt halt.  The skunk lowered its rear and proceeded across the alley in between two bushes.  I cautiously began walking and kept my eye on the bushes.  The skunk turned around and stared at me.  At that point I decided I wasn’t taking any chances, so I backtracked to the intersection and proceeded up to Main St to run a block before heading back to the alley.

Jason’s first run with his Garmin watch then prompted him to sign up for his first trail race, the Sasquatch Preservation Trail Run.  That day at work he received an email that his company was a sponsor of the race and had a few complimentary entries.  He forwarded me the email and asked me some questions (I had to clarify that “trail race” did not indicate simply a run on the rail trail) and then signed himself up for the 10k.  While I haven’t actually signed up yet, I agreed to trying the 5k and my dad said he wanted to join us and run the 10k.

Years ago dad and I regularly ran a race called “Partners in the Park” that was the closest to a trail run I’ve ever completed.  It utilized well groomed, frequently used trails at Rocky Ridge County Park.  While there were some rocks to tackle, it was nothing like the typical trail run descriptions I’ve heard from other running friends.  The description of the Sasquatch noted that all runners would cross the Codorus Creek near the end and joked that “If you finish and you’re not wet and dirty, you’re disqualified”.  For anyone who knows me I am NOT a fan of being wet while running and I loathe mud.  I am also rather clumsy despite having been a hurdler and have been known to walk into things and trip up steps.  Needless to say this should prove to be an interesting experience.

Due to signing up for the trail race I advised Jason that he would need to get in some hillier runs.  Yesterday morning dad joined us for my 6 mile loop that included tackling Blymire hill.  It was Jason’s first time ever running that course and that hill, and my first time running it since my hamstring injury.  He did very well and actually ran smart, pacing himself at the start so he would have energy for the hill.  I was very proud of him.  I felt my hamstring twinge a bit in the last half mile of the run which I attribute to running hills for the first time again.

Having completed a successful hillier long run, Jason is now set on us completing a speed workout this Thursday.  I told him of one I completed earlier in the year, a warmup followed by a .1 mile partially uphill sprint with a walk recovery repeated 10x followed by a cooldown.  It will be his first speed workout and my first since the injury.

The Garmin watch seems have been a near $200 well spent given how much Jason is using it and enjoying it.  He’s already trying to convince me to buy one.  The watch has certainly kicked off plenty of firsts and we’ll see how many more arise as he progresses into being a more regular runner.

Do you have a Garmin watch?  Have you ever encountered wildlife on a run that made you change course?