Today I got to try a little speed work. The weather was cooperative at 44F (6.7C) and clear, with a little light wind. I warmed up for 4 laps (1600m) in 9:47, doing a couple 100m strides on the last lap. That felt OK on the hip.
Then I did some leg swings and some step-downs with the band to activate my glutes (esp glute med). I was a bit nervous about how this would go, but ready to give it a shot. I told Kelly yesterday that I thought I'd probably do about 17:20, given my long layoff. It seemed like a reasonable guess.
I got started and I was faster than I thought. I did the first 500m in 2:42, and the second in 2:43 for 5:25 for the first km. On the first 500m recovery, my hip did start to bother me a bit - I felt a strong twinge, but it did loosen up and it was more discomfort than pain, if that makes any sense. I did that 500m in 3:00, which wasn't too bad. Then I managed a 2:43, 3:02, and finally finished with a 2:44. I gave that last one a good hard effort, and got my HR up to 168. My total time was a surprisingly fast 16:54. Yeah, I know I was a minute faster back before I got hurt, but I still think that's not bad considering all the time I had off.
When I stopped my hip was definitely a bit uncomfortable, and now (at lunch time) it's still a little uncomfortable with prolonged sitting. From the track, I went over to the gym and rolled it out a lot on the medicine ball and then I did 30 min on the stationary bike, since 27 minutes of cardio is not enough to keep the pounds at bay. I also used the medicine ball at home before work, and am using the tennis ball at work. Obviously I'm not ready for a whole lot of speed work, though time will tell if this was bad or not. At the moment, I think I will be good to walk again pretty soon (maybe tomorrow?) but I am not going to take any chances. If it doesn't feel pretty darn good tomorrow it will be cross-training for me.
2 comments:
I have a tennis ball at the office to sit on....people must think that I am nuts.
People at my work get it :). My boss is a runner and triathlete and the others are physically active, for the most part. At the very least they understand how important it is to me.
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