Wanting and needing a change of scenery, on Monday I drove into town and ran 5 miles along the river. The weather was cool and the route was semi-peaceful - just a little morning traffic and one barking black lab protecting his domain.
Spoiled by my bike trail run in Ohio, on Wednesday I recruited mr. C for an adventure. We drove 25 minutes to Peterborough to check out the bike path I heard about from my Daily Mile friend Colleen. It was a mix of paved path-sidewalk-neighborhood road. We loved it. We parked on the south side and ran north through Depot Square where we found a quaint collection of shops and cafes.
I developed a pain in my left hip- turned out to be a tight inner hamstring muscle - that went from nagging to almost making me limp, so on Thursday I went for an easy walk of 4.15 miles on the treadmill and used my brand new laptop board. I told mr. C that I wished I could multitask during my walking workouts and voila! He's the greatest.
My 5 mile run on Friday became a another rest day to give my tender hamstring more rest time before Sunday's long run. I still completed my daily exercises for the #AugustCoreFocus and #SweatADay challenges I am doing this month. I also iced, rolled, and compressed in my Aspaeris pivot shorts.
Feeling in good shape, Sunday we went back to the Peterborough Trail to do my scheduled 9 miles. This trail is a gold mine for runners who like paved paths, peace from traffic, and shade. I made a point to stop to stretch my crabby hamstring a few times during the run, but overall it was a good run.
Heading into next week, I know I need to take it easy or this hamstring issue could get worse. I'm thinking I might return to a three day running week again and cross my fingers.
How do you deal with injury?