This was a great running week for me. I felt great, ran a lot, relieved stress, and managed to fit a good amount of running into my busy life.
I managed to get a solid 5 days of running in which is more then I’ve been able to make happen in recent weeks. What made this week easy was the drastic improvement in NYC weather/daylight. With temperatures in the 50s and the sunsetting past 7pm it was much easier to get out and run.
Sunday: We came back from Saint Kitts Saturday night. I woke Sunday with a mission, I was going to run a lap of prospect park. While the family ate breakfast I put on my running gear and headed out. Immediately, I knew this wasn’t going to work out.
My hamstrings we’re silly tight. The combination of not running for a week, swimming, walking on the beach, picking up 30lb 2 year olds, sitting on airplanes and in ubers, had tighted up my hamstrings majorly. I resolved to run/walk to the top of the slope, to touch Prospect Park and then head back.
Sure this was a compromise. But given my fitness level and some of the challenges I’ve had staying healthy is paramount.
Afterwards, I got on my Viper (Vibrating foam roller) and rolled out my legs.
Monday: Monday I ran home from work. I brought my backpack and packed all my clothes into it. I left my computer at work and hauled home slowly at an average pace of 11 minutes per mile.
The hamstrings were still tight but manageable. Running up the Manhattan side of the Manhattan bridge presented a bit of a challenge. But I took my time and made it happen.
Afterwards, I rolled out again and had a great dinner of Atlantic Salmon, vegetables, and Brown Rice.
Tuesday: Another run home from work. My hamstrings felt better, my pace improved to 10:18 per mile. It was a bit warmer and I still had a backpack full of stuff.
Afterwards my legs felt a little restless. I had a hard time falling asleep that night. The lack of good sleep made me resolve to take Wednesday off.
Wednesday: A day off. Slept great. Felt much better.
Thursday: This time, my run home from work involved a backpack loaded down with a Macbook Pro.
I happened to have no meetings scheduled for Friday. With the time largely free I decided to work from home. I specifically choose by running backpack to hold my laptop Macbook Pro. It did its job wonderfully, holding the laptop, a down coat, two shirts, pants, boxers, socks, and a belt.
Friday: Working from home allowed me to get a morning run in after our nanny arrived. I immediately headed out to Prospect Park. I took a slightly irregular route. There was a house on 8th Street that I was curious about that I wanted to run by. So rather then take my usual direct route to Grand Army Plaza I ran down 3rd Avenue to 8th Street to check out the house.
With the house checked out I entered the Park at 9th street and took a leisurely lower loop. It seemed like everyone was in the park compared to other late morning weekday runs I’ve gone on. I finished up and got home to get to work.
Saturday: Saturday I was feeling pretty tight from running on Thursday and Friday. With a full day of activities already on the calendar I took the day off. With temps in the 60s late in the day it was a great day to spend time with people you love.
Sunday: While my family ate breakfast I did a full lap of the park. I felt some tightness coming up the hill but it was otherwise a good run. Also, I managed to beat the rain which started soon after I returned home.
As the day progressed my legs tightened up. Making me think I may have over done it. Only time will tell.
Next Week’s Plan: I’d like to pull off something similar in the coming week. If I can run home 3-4 times and get 1-2 weekend runs in I think I’ll be in good shape to continue to make progress toward getting back in shape. With the Brooklyn Half Marathon looming in May and a goal of breaking two hours I feel like I can reach the goal if I just keep plugging away each day.