Transformation Tuesday: 6.2 on 7/4

By | July 4, 2017

US Road Running’s I Run for Bling medal

I’d hoped to do the Firecracker 10K, but registration logistics didn’t work out and I still needed to earn this US Road RunningĀ I Run for Bling medal** that came in the mail earlier this week. It was gorgeous and I knew how to get roughly 6.2 out of Central Park, so off I went.

About 2.5 miles in I knew my hip was having a moment and I would need to foam roll so I decided to end my run at the gym. Disappointed, but I knew that if I wanted it to ever heal (helping Peapod Driver up and down the stairs and squats do not help), I needed to listen to it. When I got there I realized I’d done four miles and it was about four minutes faster than I had in April!

4 miles, April 1 and July 4

The course wasn’t exactly the same as I started north of Cat Hill, but even that evil hill and .03 shorter doesn’t make a four minute difference. I’m so glad I’m tracking as it’s much easier to see the progress.

After a session with the studded foam roller and some good stretching, I felt good and said, time to finish this. I wasn’t sure I was going to get 6.2, but I knew I at least had it in me to run home. After the first mile felt surprisingly good and “fast” (for me), I knew I was going to get 2.12. I hadn’t wanted to do the Harlem Hills with my recovering hip / quad so I knew I’d have to make up some mileage to make this be 6.2.

Loop de loop de loop for 2.2

Loop de loop de loop! I wasn’t coming in short. I’m actually pleasantly surprised how fast that initial mile was after a half hour break at the gym. I clearly wasn’t as tired or sore as I felt. Those 2.14 miles came in at 12:32, three seconds faster than my first four. (And yes, going to log them separately for honesty even though it will bring down duration).

I’m not counting it cumulatively as a 10K other than in posting my results for the medal above, but if I were it would be: 6.22 miles at 78m, 7 seconds or 1:18:07, a PR. Does it make me wish I’d gone for the full 6.2 at a clip? Yes, but I’m not sure I’d have finished without the break to tend to my hip. Even at four, but definitely at 6.2, this was my longest run without others / a finish line to push me forward. I think that’s the transformation even more than the pace improvement.

**Funniest thing, I like the shirts way more than medals. They’re more practical. But bling is fun.

2 thoughts on “Transformation Tuesday: 6.2 on 7/4

  1. Liz Dexter

    Good work and well done for looking after yourself rather than running through the pain – a lesson it takes a lot of runners rather longer to learn!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      I think my knee injury from soccer taught me that. Hip is healing well in general and I’m trying to listen to it when it says “rest!” I’ve gone back to backs in last week and that probably wasn’t my best move so back to every other day.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *