I have been running again now for going seven weeks now and today marked the first time since my return that I hit double digits on a run. 10 miles. It was a muggy and humid 10 miles on the Monon with Marshall and the stroller. Lindsey had a long brick to do for Muncie this morning so I loaded up Marshall and hit the path.

Lindsey ready to hit the road for 50 with Jake. Muncie 70.3 is coming quickly.

Marshall at the end of the muggy 10 mile run. Don’t be fooled. He was ready to be done and so was I.

It has been a slow progressing build back to 10 miles but it is coming back.

Week 1:

• 4 runs
• 14 miles
• 1:51 of run time

Week 2

• 4 runs
• 18 miles
• 2:15 of run time

Week 3

• 4 runs
• 20 miles
• 2:28 of run time

Week 4

• 4 runs
• 21 miles
• 2:37 of run time

Week 5

• 5 runs
• 31 miles
• 3:41 of run time

Week 6

• 5 runs
• 30 miles
• 3:36 of run time

Week 7 (In progress so thus far)

• 4 runs
• 30 miles
• 3:31 of run time

The first couple weeks back all I focused on was getting used to running again. Nothing strenuous. Easy miles. To be honest, it was kind of touch and go for a while with my mind. I had some scar tissue that was flaring up on my hamstring but the more I ran and the more I foam rolled the better it felt.

Beginning in week 5, I started to add some small stress workouts into my running. It has been the Wednesday run. It began with a one mile fast finish near tempo and has grown each week by 1 mile.

So this week was a 3 mile warm up, 3 miles @ descending tempo (6:10, 6:02, 5:45), and a one mile cool down. Good lord…that one hurt on Wednesday. The 3 miles was long enough that it really began to tax me but still short enough that I could handle it. I have yet to decide for next week if I am going to take it up to 4 or  maintain for another week and then add…my guess is that I will add but we will see.

As it stands today, I am starting to feel really good about my running again. I have 3 or 4 more weeks of base building before Chicago training officially kicks off. I should be up to about 44 miles or so by the time Chicago kicks off and that will provide a nice starting point to ramp up the marathon training. I have yet to attempt a repeat of any sort…but I think that will come in a week or two. That is the last mental and physical check box for my return. I injured myself during a repeat workout so I need to do a repeat workout.

It has been a long road back from my hamstring injury in January but following that 10 miles today I feel good and I am ready to chase down that 2:45 marathon come October.

I had 10 on the schedule today. All of my runs this week are 10 except for the hellacious 20 on Saturday, and I’ll probably do some non-scheduled easy miles on my off days. I really wanted to run outside because of the weather. Hello 50 in February, and I was itching for a stroller run anyway, so when Marshall wouldn’t nap,we were off.

Ready for nap time in the stroller. He loves it.

This week is all about hard working, mostly faster miles. I’ll probably slow it down a bit tomorrow so I have a good amount of juice to work my butt off for Wednesdays tempo. Today, I wanted to be sure I didn’t creep over 8 minute miles even with the stroller. We started off with a pretty quick first mile, and progressively sped up, until mile 8, when we progressively slowed down.

I headed north on the monon for five and as I ran north, I had a good feeling the run back south would be much harder due to the wind. It was. Thankfully the 86th-75th st. stretch is blocked pretty well by lot’s of trees, so the wind didn’t get too crazy until we had 3 miles to go. Which is when we started slowing down.

The most ridiculous stretch wind-wise always heading south between 54th-52nd st. No wind barrier at all. I was using both hands (which I never do… I usually keep my left hand on the stroller) and forcefully pushing the stroller against the wind. There was a guy standing outside the Developer Town Building who probably thought I was crazy, because I was just smiling and almost laughing at what was going on. I didn’t know how else to take in the craziness of the wind I was experiencing. I could have slowed down or even walked it in at that point with a half a mile to go, but I was determined to keep my pace decent for that last bit. It was hilariously hard.

My Splits:

Mile 1– 7:41 
Mile 2– 7:13 
Mile 3– 7:15 
Mile 4– 7:06 
Mile 5– 7:00 
Mile 6 – 6:51 
Mile 7– 6:50 
Mile 8– 7:17 
Mile 9– 7:25 
Mile 10– 7:35

Average Pace: 7:14

That felt good.

Something about creeping under that 7 minute mile mark with the stroller feels kind of… awesome.

With Buddy after our 10. It was pretty warm, but he was bundled in his standard go to fleece.

Reasons I Love the Stroller Run:

• It makes me feel powerful & happy

• I look forward to it more than the standard 10 on the treadmill

• Fresh Air

• There is a pressure that is taken off when it’s you and the stroller. Meaning… it’s OK if I need to slow down a bit, after all I’m pushing a stroller. 

• Along with the above reason… also comes the desire to run fast with the stroller at times. It’s an added incentive to work hard. You feel extra accomplished if you get a nice paced run in with the stroller. 

• Although I can’t do the creepy stare anymore, I like that Marshall is with me. I know that he enjoys it. I think he finds it soothing and comfortable. The kid has been hearing my noisy feet smack the ground for a long time now, he’s used to it.

Happy Running everyone- hope you were able to get the week started off in a good place. 

Tried out the Vega Protein Powder today- loved it! Also, you’ll notice the baby formula back there… if you are into buying organic formula, Kroger brand has hella cheap organic!