Speedin’ up
For the past year or so I have been rather limited running. I spent 2007-2009 suffering through bouts of IT band syndrome and what I believe was a muscle small tear or bursitis in my hip. Last year my doctor finally elevated this pain with a cortisone shot into my knee. The shot worked so well I was able to run the Chicago Marathon pain free only 3 months after not being able to run a mile without severe pain.
One of the main reasons I have not had any flair ups since last July is my heavy cross training regime. In stead of running 5 or 6 days a week I have been swimming and biking. I have gotten to the point where I am even pseudo decent at these other 2 activities and am probably another year of training away from being a pretty darn good triathlete.
This new schedule did not come without its fall backs. The main one is my running has suffered. Last summer, after my shot, I was still in great running condition. To the point where I could run just as fast as before the shot. However, over the winter and early spring I was only running 2 or 3 days a week. This limited activity really slowed me down going into this year.
This was extremely obvious at the Lake Zurich Olympic Triathlon. My swim and bike were respectable (for me), but I died on my run. Granted, it was very hot that day, but what should be my strongest leg was by far my weakest.
Over the past 3 weeks I have been building to correct this problem and I am starting to see results. I’ve increased to running 4-5 days a week and increased my weekend mileage. I can really see a difference in my speed since I started. My goal is to get back to a 50 minute ish 10K and a sub 1:55 half marathon.