let it rest

My hamstrings have been making me nervous. I pulled my left hamstring a few years ago and it wasn't pretty. I was playing softball at the time. I sprinted to a base and felt that awful pain. I was left with a big bruise and several weeks of physical therapy. I eventually healed and added my physical therapist to my list of friends. Good thing because after I healed I went on to finish a half marathon, which left me with patellar tendonitis and sent me back to PT.

This time I really want to not be hurt. I have been pretty consistent with my training and have added mileage at an appropriate rate. Though I'm not sure I'm any faster, I am already more prepared for the half marathon than I was then, and I still have more than a week left. I still do my physical therapy exercises to strengthen all of my leg muscles and I sit in a cold bath after every long run. I also weigh about 20 pounds less than I did the last time I ran a half marathon.

This week I have felt tired and stressed and sore. So I decided to skip my Thursday run and give myself three full days away from running. Tomorrow I'll run a short 3-4 miles and do a long, slow 12 miles on Sunday. After reading this article, I'm reminded that I probably need to eat a little more a little closer to finishing my long run. Maybe I won't feel so tired. Getting more than 6 hours of sleep a night would probably also help.