Welcome to Weekly Wrap. This week I am recapping Berlin Marathon training week 16. The Berlin Marathon is two weeks from today. AHH! Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap.
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, week 3, week 4, week 5, and week 6. This week continued my return to run program with two huge milestones!
Monday 8/27
Run: Mountain Goat Monday. This workout was a doozy. I ended up with 2000 feet of elevation gain. I found out later than my coach only meant to write 1x thru instead of 2x! That was a huge confidence boost. The best part was that I could run the 7% and 8% inclines without any problems. Onward and upward!
Other: PT. My PT took another run gait analysis. My hips are much more level than when I started. Glute exercises are working! It was motivation to consistently do them at home.
Tuesday 8/28
Run: 6 miles. Early morning for me! My running plan had 55 minutes or 6 miles, whichever came first. Knowing I had a baton relay planned for Sprint Tuesday, I started my run at 5am at the track. It was pitch black! There was a thunderstorm in the distance, giving me a private light show. Around 6, the crew started to arrive. The winners of the partner relay earned free entries to the NIke 003 race Thursday evening. These partner relays are my favorite to coach!
Wednesday 8/29
Run: 4 mile run + NP. For the month of August, the Wednesday location for November Project was blocks from my house. Knowing this would be the last day at that location, I decided to combine my easy run with the workout. It was a rainy morning, but I am glad I went. It was my first Wednesday workout in…. well over 9 months? Happy I went.
Other: Team Dinner. In the evening, the Windrunners got together for dinner. We talked about the direction we wanted to take the group and the guidelines we wanted to follow. It was a really great evening, and they unveiled our team kits! Just in time for the Nike race on Thursday evening.
Thursday 8/30
Run: 70 minute run. My FIRST run over an hour! I totaled 8.4 miles in the morning. This was a huge milestone for my hamstring recovery. No pain, it just feel like I haven’t used my legs in forever. Granted this was also the third day in a row running – first time that’s happened since July. Naturally, I would be tired. While I totally understand why I felt heavy, I also wish it wasn’t to that much of an extent!
Other: Nike 003. The past three months, Nike has hosted pop-up, unsanctioned races. They’re a TON of fun! Last month’s race was 800m sprint in a parking garage. This month was a 6k race around Goose Island Barrel House. I was able to recruit a bunch of the Sprint Tuesday crew, some athletes I coached, and other EDGE runners. While I’m ready to run that distance, I didn’t want to enter the race. I knew I would want to race it, and I am not ready for speed yet. I had a blast cheering!
Friday 8/31
Run: NP. No running on the schedule today, so I brought my resistance bands to NP. It was PR day. If you remember from July’s PR day, I had attempted running but still couldn’t put any weight on my leg. This time, I did a few test I was able to test run a few lap. I kept it EASY, knowing that I had just run for 3 days in a row.
Saturday 9/2
Run: 1:30 pool run + 1:30 run. MY FIRST DOUBLE DIGIT RUN SINCE JULY!!!! Cue all the feels. Two of my Windrunners teammates, Jill and Maddie, joined me for the run. It was pouring. Actually, it was a monsoon. Lightning, thunder, and definitely not the safest running weather. But my mind wasn’t on the weather. It was on the fact that I. WAS. RUNNING. We ended up going 10.5 miles. I wish I could say that it was 100% pain-free, however my hamstring was… present. Maybe a 4/5 out of 10 on the pain scale. So while this run gave me the confidence that I CAN finish Berlin, I also know that I can’t push anything.
Sunday 9/2
Run: 1:00 pool run. I met Lauren again for an hour-long pool run. Since yesterday was my biggest run day in over two months, the goal for today was just moving time without any impact. I’ll be sad when Lauren moves back to Philly, it’s been nice to have her company.
Other: PUG YOGA! Yes that’s right. Robyn brought Bruce and June and Lily brought Humphrey to EDGE for some pug yoga. It was way more enjoyable than what I imagine goat yoga would be.
And that’s a wrap! Berlin Marathon training week 16 done! This was a HUGE week for me. Lots of milestones on the return to running program. I ran for three days in a row AND did my first double-digit run since July. In total, I ran 29 miles outside, 7 miles on the treadmill, and completed 2:30 hours of pool running. The next double-digit run I do will probably be the marathon. YIKES.
I can’t believe it’s September already! Just two weeks to go until Berlin. Just 8 days until my birthday. School starts on Tuesday. Where did summer go? My September Goals:
- Get through Berlin HEALTHY
- Find the best vegan ice cream in Berlin. Taking recommendations!
- Do resistance band exercises each day
- Read 1 book in the professional development realm (most likely running/coaching related)
- Be ready to start production in a commercial kitchen by October!
How was your week? What are your September Goals? Let’s stay in touch! Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.
Happy running,
Becca
How cute….pug yoga! Congrats on your list no run without any pain.
Brilliant – how lovely to see you so strong and it’s brilliant to see that all your rehab work has kept you fit (and what a good example of actually doing your exercises has made you stronger and feeling better). You’re going to enjoy Berlin and do it, and I’m so pleased for you. I love thinking of the wrap-up ladies running in the same race as my running club pals.
Thanks Liz! I am looking forward to Berlin, and just enjoying the time abroad!
CONGRATULATIONS on the double digit run! You’ve played it so smart with your injury and I suspect that finish line in Berlin will feel extra sweet. I really like the Windrunners team kit. Thanks for linking!
Happy early birthday! Imissed a few wraps due to travel, so glad you’re on the mend. I’m not sure which has the better name — mountain goat or pug yoga. Awesome
Yay for double digit runs! That’s very exciting. Love the badass photo of your team in the new kit. So awesome!
Congrats on a great week!!! It’s awesome that you’re coming back so strong 😉
I can’t believe that Berlin is only 2 weeks away! I’m excited for you! What goals have you set for the race? You’ve certainly played it safe and it’s so great that you’ll get there in good shape.
I set out the summer with lofty PR goals, but at this point it’s just going to be getting a high five every mile and finishing it without re-injuring myself.
Whoa! That Monday run sounded like it was intense – great job on completing that! Also congrats on your double digit run this weekend – that’s awesome! I’m glad that you are feeling stronger every week and can’t believe that the race is only 2 weeks away!
Thanks Kim! It was a great treadmill workout – one that I’ve saved for future ultra trainings. Highly recommend.
I’m so glad you’re on the post-injury comeback trail and your hammy is feeling good! Props to you for not racing the Nike thing. Hard to hold back sometimes but worth it. I don’t remember having any ice cream in Berlin let alone vegan. Tons of great bakeries though.
Haha I will have to find some and let you know! 🙂