1600s, 800s, and 400s

This week has been an interesting running week.  Although I have continued to keep up with my miles, my left hip has been quite sore/stiff since Sunday.  I made an appointment with my great chiropractor Dr. Wong at United Wellness Center in Herndon to have him check it out, but couldn't get in until tonight before track.  Yesterday I had a lot on my mind and what started as a brisk walk ended up as a 5.5 mile run.  My body wasn't feeling right, but I still pushed myself a bit farther than I should have because I just needed time to think about life.  After the run I was a bit sore and looking forward to what Dr. Wong had to say.  The only thing I didn't want him to say was, "You need to rest."

As it turns out it actually wasn't my hip that is the problem, it is my adductor muscle.  It just needed to be stretched out really well.  Dr. Wong was just the person for it!  It felt great when I left and I feel like I ran better than I had in a long time tonight.  I really need to be sure I continue to stretch it so it continues to feel this good.  And he didn't tell me to rest, if fact as I left, I told me to have a good run tonight...that meant I was good to go for track!

The track workout was as follows a 1600, rest 3 mins, 2 800s with a 3 min rest after each, and 4 400s with a 3 mins rest between each.  I started off with an easy 1 mile warm-up and was ready to rock the workout tonight.  My running buddy Brooke and I ran together because we are planning on supporting each other throughout the USA Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.  She has been a great running buddy and an even better friend.  I am really looking forward to both of us PRing on March 17th!  Anyway, tonight we focused on pushing ourselves (although maybe if we talked less we could have done more, right Brooke?) and we did great!

I should have done my splits on my watch based on the track distances we were doing, but instead I allowed it to do the automatic splits at each mile.  So here's the break down:

Warm-Up Mile: 9:02
1600: 8:33
2 800s: 8:22
4 400s: 7:39
Cool Down Mile: 10:18
Average Pace: 8:47

Feeling FANTASTIC after this workout!  Thanks Dr. Wong and Brooke!  Looking forward to my 12 miles on Saturday!

Brooke and I after one of our long runs!