Rehab

I've come to an important decision: this hamstring is only going to get better if I really try to make it better. Thus far I've been halfheartedly going through the motions. I did some exercises occasionally and just kind of hoped it would feel better. Then I started to run again since my few-and-far-between exercises didn't seem to be working, and hoped my leg felt better. That really didn't work, and this weekend after working in the yard my leg feels more strained than it has before. So yesterday I started doing the exercises. And after I finish writing this entry, I'm going to do them tonight. I'm going to get better, and I'm not going to try running again until I am better.

Stupid Clock

I managed a decent weekend of training. Saturday I ran six miles, out and back along the parkway. It was my first real taste of running in spring, as it was fairly warm and humid and the pollen was in the air. Sunday morning, after the rain Saturday, was much nicer. It was cool and dry and I got in an easy half hour, which I'm calling three and a half miles. I set my alarm to run this morning, but I didn't hear it go off. When I woke up I could see that the alarm had gone off, but the volume was so low I couldn't hear it. I always check my alarm before I go to sleep at night and it was loud enough last night, but it's been a little screwy since the kids have knocked it off the nightstand a couple times.

Before I ran Sunday morning, I caught the finish of the London Marathon. Ryan Hall had a very impressive performance and ran 2:06:17 for a two-minute PR. Congratulations to Ryan and he is now certainly a medal contender in Bejing.

Comeback

After a little more than a month off, I'm giving running another try. I'm still not completely recovered from whatever ailment was bothering my hamstring, but the running I've been doing hasn't made it feel any worse. There's times when it feels tight, and times when I can't feel it at all. For the most part, the only time I really feel it is going uphill. The furthest I've run so far in my comeback is a little less than six miles. I've been diligent about stretching and that seems to help, but I need to be doing the exercises again. I'd also like to be doing some core work as well. I'm planning on running a 5k at the beginning of may to see where my fitness is. I can't plan too far ahead, though, because J is pregnant and due at the beginning of June. I'm not going to commit to anything until I see how the third kid affects life.