Hamstrings

The other day I caught a glimpse of my lower half in a mirror while wearing a skirt. I don't have a full length mirror, so this view was a new experience. I did a double take when I realized for the first time that I have hamstrings. [insert the emoji face with the buggy out-y eyes here please]

I've never had hamstrings before.

I had issues with my quads in high school track because my hamstrings were so weak, my quads had to pick up the slack and then *POOF* I severely strained a quad coming out of the blocks in a 100m dash because your muscles aren't meant to work double duty. Who knew?!

Anyway. The other night, after my track workout....

Which reminds me. Yes, I just interrupted myself in the midst of writing a blog post, and I'll leave it as such.

I came home from the track armed with a monster runner's high after nailing some 800m repeats at paces waaaaaay faster than I'd expected to. I said to Kyle all serious like, "Kyle did you hear the fire truck sirens??" To which he replied, "no," with a quizzical look on his face. "Oh. Well, I just lit the track on fire!!" And then I proceeded to laugh like a maniacal idiot, because. duh.

Ok, so following my hilarious joke, I started flexing in front of him, as you do when you're on a runner's high, right? And I thought it'd be a good time to bring up my newfound hamstrings. I asked Kyle if my legs looked any different to him (which was clearly a trap).

KK: I was actually just going to say, your legs are looking a lot meatier.
JL: [insert death stare here]
KK:  NO no no! I meant meaty in a good way!!! [lolz] Seriously, they're way stronger looking than I've ever seen!
JL: Nice recovery. But seriously, have you noticed I have hamstrings??

end scene.

So next time you see me, feel free to comment on my newly found hamstrings. Just don't call em "meaty" mmmk?

Beer Cures What Ails You

All last week I was hardcore itching for a run.  In between rolling pin + IT band tears, I kept going knowing that it would get me out running quicker.  I had high hopes that Thursday would be the day.  But I failed the “jogging in place without stabbing pain” test that I had set forth for myself.  Luckily Friday afternoon I was passing with flying colors.  As soon as I got home from work I got changed and flew out the door.  I wanted to run somewhere in the range of 3-6 miles depending on how I felt.  Ok, full disclosure:  I wanted to run 6 miles, but I was willing to let my IT bands dictate the distance.  Annoying.

I was seriously flying for the first mile and a half.  My legs were FRESH.  And fast.  And fabulous.  And the air was cold.  Long sleeve tech tee and shorts weather is my FAVE.  But about a mile and a half in, my right IT band and quad started tightening up.  So I turned around at the 2 mile mark.  My leg got tighter and tighter and my pace got slower and slower.  Wah wah.

I did 4 miles in 38:18 for a pace of 9:35.

Let’s play:  When does the leg start to hurt??

1. 9:27
2. 9:18
3. 9:45
4. 9:48

It’s a new board game Hasbro is coming out with, I think. 

To celebrate commiserate my run, Kyle and I went out for dinner and drinks Friday night.  Oktoberfest mini tour?  Yes please!  I’m fairly certain I read somewhere that great beer heals IT band issues.  Bottoms up!  I had four 6 oz. samples of four of the tour beers….. and I called it a night.  Or I did after a mini dance party at my apartment with Kyle shaking his head at me in embarrassment.  Truly I just think he’s jealous of my moooooooooooves.

Saturday I was bummed to miss out on the group run.  I had high hopes of joining but after Friday’s run, I decided some biking/stretching/icing/rolling was in the cards.  I biked a boring 11 miles on the stationary bike at my gym, and then walked behind the building to get some froyo. 

P.S.  Whoever decided to put the great froyo place in the same building as my gym is awesome.

And because I could feel the beer working its magic on my IT bands, clearly we had to enjoy some more on Saturday night.  I got dolled up for the first time in 4 weeks.  True story:  I hate unpacking, and instead leave my suitcases open in my kitchen and “unpack” as I need the items.  I found my curling iron still tucked away inside.  Uh… sorry I look like a pile all the time KK. Ooops.

Since Bama was playing, I had to sport some crimson.  ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Sunday I was bound and determined to get in some miles, though I promised myself that as soon as my leg started hurting/tightening I would stop and just walk home.  I was concerned that continuing to run on Friday was just putting off my recovering.  I kept the pace slow, and made it 6 pain free miles.  WHOO!

I did 6 miles in 59:10 for a pace of 9:52.

My legs definitely didn’t feel fresh as a daisy, as they had on Friday.  Apparently biking zero miles and then trying to bike 11 miles fast will cause your legs to be tired.  Who knew?!?!  Towards the end of the run, my legs were feeling tired, and I started to get concerned, until I realized that they were just feeling fatigued vs. dead.

It got me thinking about the IT band issues from the race on Sunday.  It almost felt like my IT bands and quad were non-functioning after a certain point.  Instead of the muscle contracting and relaxing with each step it was just contracted and locked up.  It explains why my leg felt so heavy and my stride was so shortened, because my hamstring (which is definitely weak in comparison, and possibly part of the problem) was doing most of the work instead of sharing the duty.  It also explains why my hamstrings were insanely tight after the race (hamstring issues are about the one issue I haven’t had, knock on wood!).  Anyone have any knowledge or experience on this?

Either way, it was nice to have this worked out in my brain.  I know I couldn’t push through whatever it was, because I tried, but it was still annoying the heck out of me that I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t, you know?  Hmmm… now on to correcting!

Oh and then some more beer was consumed while watching the Packers win (although they were looking rough to start with).  Beer is medicine I can get on board with, clearly.