Back on the Track!!

Well, the big news this week is that I had my heart MRI'd (is that a word? it is now) and it was found to have no congenital defects, major structural abnormalities, or permanent damage. This means (cue the fireworks, marching band, and appropriately decorated cake) that I am allowed to run again! I still have to go through the formality of going to the cardiologist's office and getting officially cleared, but the MRI technician assured me that if there was anything worrisome, he wasn't allowed to let me leave the hospital. The whole process actually wasn't too awful- they piped in some Beatles music and I feel asleep for a fair bit of it. Keeping your eyes closed in the MRI machine keeps the claustrophobia away and it can be quite relaxing. The "worst part" was the slight bruising my arm endured as a result of the contrast injection. Not bad at all!

Log:

Monday- AM- River Loop solo, 30:37, felt good. PM- 13 easy, first 53 min with James, Mike B, and Balint, then turned around on Comm Ave when we saw Ellie and ran for about a half hour with her. My strides afterward went pretty good for a 17 mile day, ha.

Tuesday- ~4miles to Heartbreak Hill, 6xHydrant to Hydrant with jog down at a fairly good intensity (untimed) then ~5mi back to BU, changed into spikes, 4x200 easy with 200 jog (31, 30, 30, 29), hurdle mobility with Rob and Billy, short c/d jog. Felt pretty good out there, but it'll be nice to rejoin the group. I also learned something I already knew- I have TERRIBLE hip flexibility. Rob was shooting over those babies like he was born to do it, and Billy has the approximately build of the Jolly Green Giant. In comparison, I could barely do hurdle walkovers. I have a looong way to go if I want to steeple in the spring.

Wednesday- AM- River Loop solo, 30:32, felt pretty good again. PM- Fresh Pond 12, felt unnecessarily good and did the ~5mi section around Fresh Pond at a little steadier an effort (just under 31min), 79min tot.

Thursday- AM- off for MRI appt. PM- Decided to celebrate my freedom by jumping into Elliot's workout with him! 3 up, 8x800 avg 2:19 with 400 jog, felt great, didn't bother spiking up. 2 miles down. It was awesome to work out with a teammate!

Friday- AM- River Loop with Eric- 28:30, got downpoured on.
PM- River West 9 in 59:38 with a big group + the famous Kevin Gilmore, felt good but held back from running steady or doing a progression run. Too hungry to add on and do 12. :(

Saturday- 2pm- Res to Res via Beacon + a lap around JP, ~12mi- run was 86 min. Left quad really sore- woke up in the middle of the night with an awful charlie horse.
7pm- 4 miles easy with Colin, Billy, Dave K, and James indoors, 30min + light strength after. Left quad pretty bad.

Sunday- AM- 5 miles slow/easy by myself. Bruce had originally planned for me to do a 5-6mi steady section during my run today, but my left quad is still sore and tight. I think it feels a little better than last night, so hopefully a very light day will leave me ready to go for the workout on Tuesday. I have a loooong way to go til my first race, which means I have enough time to get scary fit!

Tot- 92mi in 11 runs, one day basically off.