Week 10 is complete which is kind of scary because that means there are only 4 more weeks to go! And only one more week until I start to taper! This training cycle has gone much faster than others so far and that is most likely because 14 weeks of training is less than the 16-18 I have done in the past. I guess we will see if it makes a difference on November 23, but at this point I am glad I am not sick of the whole marathon training thing!
Philadelphia Marathon Training Week 10 (10/19-10/25)
Sunday: Rest
Monday: 8 miles easy, core work
Tuesday: 6 miles steady state (7:55-8:15 pace) (7:58 pace overall), PM- 60 minutes hot yoga
Wednesday: 6.1 miles easy in the rain, strength workout
Thursday: no running, core work
Friday: 4.07 miles easy, core work
Saturday: 16.53 miles (8:58 pace)
The weather was perfect for this run, but my body didn’t really want to cooperate. My training plan said “17 with 3 at MGP”. My piriformis started to feel tight around mile 10 and I debated whether or not to stop. It would come and go, so I ended up just cutting it a little bit short but ran the whole thing easy. I may regret doing 16, but let’s hope not.
Total: 40.7 miles
I probably could have planned this week out a little better as I was recovering from the half-marathon. I was sore on Sunday, but wasn’t sore anymore when I woke up on Monday and had the urge to move my legs. It felt good to do an easy 8 and then a moderately harder 6 miles on Tuesday. By Wednesday, I got worried that I had pushed too hard after the race. I was noticing that my piriformis was tight (if you have ever dealt with this you know how annoying it can be!) and despite seeing my chiro on Monday and lots of foam rolling it wasn’t loosening up. I ended up not running on Thursday and I debated taking off Friday too but woke up and it was no longer tight so I did an easy 4. It all sounds so simple now but during the week it was all stressful like OMG what will happen to my life if I skip a run. A little dramatic, huh?
I was frustrated and disappointed that it was tight again on Saturday, and I think I need to take some time to reevaluate things this week. I’m already planning to go to yoga on Sunday and I have an extra chiro appointment scheduled so if I need to I can go there on Monday and Wednesday. My problem is that the last time that this muscle was tight I took over 2 months off from running and did PT and it didn’t improve at all. I eventually gave up and started running again, and it finally went away once I got ART and dry needling. So the stupid part of me keeps thinking that time off running won’t help. But the smarter part of me is trying to remember that maybe some time off can keep it from getting so bad in the first place.
How were your workouts this week?
Do you get stressed out when you change around your schedule or take an extra rest day?
Have you ever dealt with a tight piriformis? If so, what did you do about it?
I definitely get overdramatic about missing runs! I’ve had a couple of problems with my piriformis, I had a pinched sciatic nerve in the beginning of July which was a real pain. Thankfully I was able to get it sorted out quickly by going to an osteopath – they’re amazing! Hope you start to feel better soon 🙂
Thanks! I dealt with some sciatic pain the last time my piriformis was tight and it was awful! I even had an MRI to make sure it wasn’t a disc problem (which it wasn’t) but I really don’t want to deal with that again!
Gingers crossed that it’s nothing and just magically goes away. I think you’re smart about planning out the chiro appointments! I’m also dramatic when it comes to a
Possible injury-and it stresses me out just Iike you. Fingers crossed!
Thank you! I am not too worried at this point but I think after dealing with so many issues in the past I get worried about every little niggle! But I think the places we have had previous injuries are the most vulnerable, which is why I was so nervous about this!
I can definitely relate to the drama of not knowing whether or not to run! I have been lucky not to have had any pain (YET) during my training, but I know how these things can come on suddenly and throw up for a loop. I haven’t dealt with that muscle being tight, but I’ve had something close to it around the hip joint bother me in the past (bursitis perhaps?) that never amounted to much.
For me the hard effort of a longer race can easily lead to pain in the week following, especially if I’m in the middle of training. This happened with my ankle while training for Boston (after a half) and after one of the 10k’s I did this past spring. Hopefully a little bit of extra rest and TLC will clear it up! Plus, you are one week away from taper, which hopefully will be helpful too.
Yep- I’ve been thinking about taper approaching and that’s a good thing! I am hoping to get in another strong week of training but trying to remember that its more important to not get injured. I’m not sure why its so hard for us runners to take off running when something doesn’t feel right!
My piriformis has been tight before, and really, yoga and pigeon pose and figure four have been the best help, as well as releasing my glute-medius with a lacrosse ball first. Try that and see if it helps!
Thanks! I went to yoga today and OMG pigeon was so good. I do the lax ball thing but I have no idea where my glute med is. I just roll around until I feel a tight spot. Any hints where I could find the glute med?
haha the gluteus medius is the smaller muscle above and lateral to the gluteus maximus. A weird but hilarious way to find it is to kind of hip pop and flex your booty and it is the one that pops out in the back. But it is one of the most important and under utilized glute muscles, and freeing it up could a) help your running and b) help your piriformis loosen. Google it for an anatomy pic, then gently work into it (another way to find it is to get on a foam roller, staring on your outer thigh, work your way up, and then lean/tilt slightly back (as if you were going to roll your glute max) and you will feel it. Believe me, you will feel it. roll up/down, side/side (rotate forward/back, and do leg curls).
Thanks! I will have to give that a try. My chiro worked on the TFL tonight and said that it was pretty tight, so hopefully that will help loosen things up.
It seems like everyone did some running in the rain this week, must be that time of year! Even I did a lot of my long run in the rain, and I live in California where it NEVER rains anymore….
Yea I feel like there has been quite a bit of rain everywhere lately it seems like! Luckily we had a really nice weekend on the east coast. I hope you had some good weather this weekend too!
That is tough. I definitely know where you are coming from about skipping runs. For some reason, it feels like the end of the world. When you explain it to a non-runner, they think you are crazy. You just don’t want to lose what you have worked so hard to gain. It is hard to listen to your body when it goes against what you want. I am sure you will make the right decision, though!
Thanks! It’s funny because I know that i won’t lose fitness, but its still hard to let go of getting in every single run.
Oh, that’s so frustrating that you took two months off before and it didn’t really help! Have you or are you planning to get ART again?
I had to cut my Saturday run short because my hamstring cramped up and continues to feel so tight despite all the stretching in the world. So frustrating!
Yes I get ART almost every week from my chiro! He hadn’t really been focusing there since it hadn’t been bothering me but I went today and he worked on it really well!
I hope your hamstring loosens up quickly!
I have never had a tight periformis to deal with thankfully, but plenty of other ailments 🙂 Training is looking good! You are almost there!
Thanks! The piriformis is annoying but I know it could be worse. Just trying to get it under control so it doesn’t turn into a bigger problem!