Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Good Progress

I decided to test the hamstring out this morning and had great results! Big thanks to Neighbor Kate for showing me some stretches she learned during her stint in physical therapy. She also loaned me her bottle of BioFreeze and a rolling pin. All of that combined with some icing and compression really helped.

The hamstring felt a little tight still, but nothing bad. Kept a lid on the pace for the first few miles but the tightness was dissipating as the run went on and I felt comfortable putting the foot down on the gas a little more (but nothing crazy).

Plan is to continue running and monitoring the hamstring, but will hold off on any tempo runs. I had planned on getting in at least one this week.

HR data appears to be off. It says my average heart rate for the first mile was 86 for an 8:46/mile pace. I knew I wasn't quite awake when I set out, but I think the lower HR is a bit extreme. I threw out the data for that first mile so the stats below reflect the run from the beginning of mile two to the end of the run. With that into account, HR data still looks pretty good, just a bit above normal levels.

Ran 5.6 miles @ 8:11/mile pace.
AHR/MHR - 152/163 (see notes above)
Paved and dirt roads.
Very hilly.
Mid 50s, sunny.
Shorts, long-sleeved shirt.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad all of those years in physical therapy are good for something! Also very glad that it's feeling better. Tight hamstrings can be so annoying. They're like a nagging younger brother.

mindy said...

Listen to Kate - she will take care of you! Glad the ole hammy is feeling better. Way to take it easy and not push it too hard. You'll be flying in no time.

Phil said...

86 BPM for sub 9/mi miles is pretty good :) ... happy to see that your hamstrings are improving