Welcome to Weekly Wrap. Berlin Marathon training week 13. There are just 35 days until the Berlin Marathon – just 4 weekends left until show time. I’m going on week 5 of hamstring and adductor injury so figuring out how to get to the starting line has been a challenge to say the least.  Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap.

Injury update:  I WAS ABLE TO RUN THIS WEEK!  Cue ALL OF THE FEELS. I feel happy. Buoyant. Frustrated. Excited. Anxious. Cautious. Antsy. Basically, I feel like the Seven Dwarves.  But it’s a start! 

In case you missed it, I injured my hamstring and adductor at the beginning of July and have been rehabbing it ever since.  Check out my other weekly wrap training posts to see how I’ve progressed: Injury week, week 1 post-injury, week 2, and week 3. 

Monday 8/6

Run:  I did a 2 mile test run on the most cushioned surface I could find.  NO PAIN!  Just soreness/stiffness.  I ran WAY slower than my pre-injury pace and gave myself permission to walk whenever I needed.  No pressure or anything.  2 miles in 19 minutes.  Before I would have been really disappointed with myself but I was elated!  And I even got to see the SUNRISE! I’ve missed my sunrise runs so much this past month.

Tuesday 8/7

Run:  I coached Track Tuesday in the morning.  I test out some jam-filled oat bars and nerded out with my crossword puzzle before heading to the pool for a quick intensity workout.  5×10 minutes of: 2 medium, 1 easy, 3 hard, 1 easy, 2 hard, 1 easy.  I was sweating so much by the end!

Other: Team strength at On Your Mark with Emily.  The workout consisted of lots of band work and glute strength.  Emily is brutal in all the best ways.

Wednesday 8/8

Run: Second test run of the week.  3 miles on the blue stripe of the 606 trail in Chicago to get some cushion.  Again no pain, but I am still not able to open up my gate fully without feeling a pull.  I went slower than pre-injury, but faster than Monday. The run left me feeling cautiously optimistic, but also doubting myself.  With each step I thought, “Will this one hurt?  Is that pain that I’m feeling or just soreness?”  I’ve never experienced doubt in my body on a run before.

Other: In the evening, I helped out at EDGE’s open water swim clinic.  Chris Mosier led the athletes through some drills so the athletes could familiarize themselves with OWS and practice techniques.  You might be asking yourself, “But Becca, you HATE swimming in the lake, how could you help out?”  Don’t worry, I didn’t get in the lake – I just served as the marker for swimmers to sight and made sure everyone stayed safe.  And took pictures of course.

Thursday 8/9

Run: Officially one month since my injury.  I tried not to get too anxious over it and reminded myself of what I COULD still do.  Like trying out a 1 hour elliptical workout before work.  It was ok, but I prefer the treadmill and the pool.

Other: In the evening, I met my friend Angela and her coworker for the live taping of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me in Millenium Park.  It was great… until the storm clouds rolled in.  I left at the first sign of lightning, but still had a blast.

Friday 8/10

Run:  I had all intentions of going to November Project, but opted to sleep in an extra hour instead.  Went to EDGE for a 5 mile treadmill hike.  Crescendo of 6%, 7%, 8% inclines and with 5 pound weights.  If only I were training for another ultra!

Other:  Published a NEW recipe! After my vegan peach pesto pizza recipe, I’ve been on a peach kick.  Peaches and apricots were on sale at Costco earlier in the week which lead to this easy 5-ingredient peach apricot jam.  I use it in the jam-filled oat bars I brought to Track Tuesday this week (recipe to come soon) and have been spreading it on toast all week.  Check it out here or click on the photo below.

Saturday 8/11

Run: Another test run – 4 miles this time!  I met the EDGE group training crew and did 4 miles with them before they continued on to finish their 16.  I was thrilled to do 4 miles.  However, the doubt was there too – “Will this step re-injure me?”  I felt better than the other runs physically, but still was not able to fully extend my leg.  As a result, I adjusted my cadence to take small short quick steps.  I could be Fred Flintstone’s understudy.

Sunday 8/12

Run:  I met Jill and Sarah for 1:45 of pool running.  Both are dealing with injuries so we decided to all train together.  The time passed really quickly and we ended up getting kicked out of the pool because there was a water workout class.

Other:  Blogging at my favorite coffee shop and making Becca Bites filled my afternoon.  This evening I am going to another Thoughtluck.  This time the topic is “Resilience.”  Some of the questions include: What does resilience mean to you?  How can we build it? How can we help others build resilience?  This injury will certainly give me a LOT to talk about!

And that’s a wrap for Berlin Marathon training week 13!  One month post-injury and I FINALLY ran outside pain-free.  This week I ran 9 miles outside, hiked 9 miles on the treadmill and ran for almost 3 hours in the pool. Outside of that, I racked up 24 miles of cycling just from my commutes this week and completed my PT exercises each day!

Overall, I’m looking forward to more test runs this coming week.  But I hope that my Seven Dwarves of injury emotion dwindle down to just happiness and excitement.  I’ve never experienced doubt in my running abilities before, but it’s definitely there.  Especially as the calendar ticks closer to Berlin. Come on hamstring and adductor, heal up!

How was your week?  Have you ever doubted your running abilities or your body before? Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

Happy running,

Becca