Last night I took things easy on the elliptical, 45 minutes after a strength training session. No pain or issues this time. But I knew I needed extra sleep and decided to cut it short.
After pretty good sleep, a good portion of my hamstring felt stiff first thing this morning… no pain, but a bit stiff. I had intentions of running this morning but I woke up fairly weary, probably still needing more sleep despite about 8 hours or so. Also, obviously, with wildfire smoke rolling into Vegas once again, it made sense not to anyway.
Still, no pain. Stiffness in this case could be seen as an improvement. I’ll play work breaks by ear and do plan to train long on the elliptical tonight.
Yesterday’s morning run felt okay. I was tired so I just walked during lunch, and an attempted break run in the afternoon was a total slog. No pain, but I stopped after about 3/4 of a mile and just walked the rest of the way. It was one of my slowest runs in a while. Again, poor sleep, and I only took that afternoon run hoping it would wake me up a bit during afternoon doldrums. It did not have the intended effect. Thankfully, it was just that fatigue and not my leg itself that slowed me down yesterday. It also didn’t help that temperatures in Vegas have risen and are now once again over 100°F.
Tomorrow is a scheduled off day from training, and we’ll see how I feel about an evening spin bike session to relax (now that I can ride without pain, apparently). Otherwise it’s another full day (of mostly just walking) to see if my leg further heals up.
Right now, barring any developments, I’m planning to move ahead with the Labor Day half marathon in Milwaukee. I’m improving and feeling better enough that it feels worth a shot, even if I’m nowhere near trained and ready to do it. I can run aid station to aid station and just walk while pounding water if I must. Meanwhile, I have five days to maximize my training ahead of the event, before a week of tapering and rest, which should help my leg either way.
I am feeling better today, and am looking forward to going long tonight.