Running Down the Dream: (T)winning April

April 2023 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 181.8

rabbit twins

Races:

April 8: Easter Sun Run "10k" and "2 mile". I thought these races, with warm ups and cool downs, would make a perfect long run workout while I was visiting my parents for Easter, and they in fact did! I was 1st OAF in the 10k and 2nd OAF in the 2 mile, and 1st masters woman in both.

Quintuplets here, kind of (Ann has on green &
Claudio is hiding in a jacket)

Workouts:

April 4: 6 x 1 mile with 1:00-2:00 recoveries at about half pace, 5k pace, 5k pace, 10k pace, 5k pace, 10k pace (6:17, 5:58, 6:00, 6:08, 5:52, 6:11). My plan was 2 x (1 at HMP, 1:00 jog, 1 at 10k, 2:00 jog, 1 at 5k, 3:00 jog), but by doing what I did instead I maximized the number of reps I was able to run with Spencer, and running with someone else always helps immensely! The 5:52 mile with him was easier than the 6:08 mile solo.
April 8: The Easter Sun Run races were my long run workout for the week.
April 12: Mixed system workout of 4 x 300 m on the track on 1:00 recoveries, jog to road, 3 mile tempo, jog to hill, 4 x 1:30 hill reps. My 300s were good (all in 1:02), my tempo was solid (6:02, 6:03, 6:00), and the hill reps were the hardest 90 seconds of 6:30ish pace ever! I ran the 300s and tempo with Casey, then she left me in the dust on the hills. Not sure why I felt so strong on most of the workout and so bad on the hills, but I'm sure they were good for me.
I did some workouts on the Elliptigo but didn't really track them.
Strides: April 3, 7, 12, 14.
Doubles: April 4, 5 (I didn't count days when I ran and Elliptigoed, though technically those were doubles too and would have really added to this list!).
Favorite workout: April 4!

This one wasn't even planned! It's
a shirt from a local race.

We called this one #asskickingapril
but I couldn't hold my kick in the wind

Also #asskickingapril

Long Runs:

April 2: 15.6 miles (8:28), run-spectating the Go St. Louis Marathon.
April 8: 17.2 miles, with the Easter Sun Run races.
April 15: 20.0 miles (8:14), that was not pretty. This started as a 22 mile workout, which quickly changed to "just slog to 20" (and only that because I'd run 10 miles out on the Frisco trail). I felt completely out of gas, and I later hypothesized that my body wasn't letting me go fast to protect itself because of my looming instability issue (explained below). I didn't have any pain during this run, but I could NOT speed up for anything.
I did long Elliptigo rides on the two weekends I was unable to run long.
Favorite long run: April 2 and 8 tie, because run-spectating and racing are both such fun!

rabbit shorts match

Near match

Running Highlights:

Run-cheering at the Go St. Louis Marathon, where my running buddies Casey and Rebecca took 2nd and 3rd overall females, respectively.
A definite lowlight was a little issue I had pop up. The short: an imbalance is causing pain.

The long: First both of my glutes were really sore (I thought it was the I-overdid-strength-work kind of sore), and my right got better quickly but my left didn't. I thought it was my left piriformis that was giving me grief, and immediately began rolling on a lacrosse ball and doubling down on strength and rehab stuff. Then my piriformis felt fine but both glutes got sore again, then my lower back joined the party. Next that all felt better and the pain moved to my right piriformis, then that went away, then the front of my left hip hurt. A PT friend graciously assessed me on April 16, and told me that lumbopelvic instability was causing the pain. Pain that moves is common with that, and she gave me lots of things to work on, which I have been doing religiously. It's really weird because there is no damage, but there is pain that is sometimes very intense and that can alter my gait. I'm really good at having odd things wrong with me and at having bad timing (ahem, Lincoln Marathon on May 7 is not happening)!
The longer is here.
I'm thankful for my Elliptigo, but I always prefer to run.

Three of my running buddies who I also coach ran the Boston Marathon this year. I loved tracking them, 33 other people I knew running it, and the professional races. I didn't get to watch the race until the weekend after, and this is a note to myself to take that day off work next year.
I also have a lot of thoughts on doping in professional running...maybe I need to start an anonymous blog for this.

St Louis Galleria Easter
back-drop photo op

Pre-marathon carb loading
for the St. Louis racers

We stopped at Uranus on the way home, which
was more funny than it should have been

Boston send off day for Spencer, Sierra, & Amy!

Life Highlights:

The closest we got to twinning

Books:

My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni
The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher and Mary Pilon
The Longest Race: A Lifelong Runner, An Iconic Ultramarathon, and the Case for Human Endurance by Ed Ayers
Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper
Meaty by Samantha Irby
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline
No 5-star reads this month!

Theme for the month:

"Twinning" for the first half of the month; "I miss the endorphins and my running buddies" for the second half. It was not necessarily a winning April, but I liked that play on twinning for the title.

Sunday, April 30, 2023