Good News

I have some exciting news which I will share at the end of this post.

Last night I went to Bikram with Stephanie "I am more of a second row kind of girl" Tabb. She walked in right as class was starting and that landed her a spot smack dab in the middle of the front row. Way to go Steph!

I personally prefer the front row because there are fewer distractions. Additionally, being in the front row gives me more drive to do the poses better because you're supposed to be a model for the newbies.

After class I refueled with a Green Monster: 2 cups spinach, ice, banana, milk, and protein powder.

Today is speed work day! However, I can feel an old problem creeping back into my life: my hamstring. Whenever I turn up the mileage and speed, my left hamstring starts to feel pulled. Fortunately, I've been working on strengthening it already and continuing to do so will (I hope) prevent a full-blown pull from taking over. In a recent issue of Runner's World, someone submitted a question about a hamstring injury (same issue) and the answer recommended strengthening and then also swinging your leg back and forth in a pendulum motion (all post-run). I just found an article online about healing your hamstrings and you can read it HERE. A quote from the article below:

"Avoid the temptation to rest a pulled hamstring," says Nicole DeAvilla, an Ananda-certified RYT with a background in sports medicine. When muscle fibers tear and then begin to heal, they tend to bunch up and shorten if there's no stretching, which makes recovery even harder. Don't over do it, though-stretch only to the edge of the discomfort. And don't forget about strengthening. "Injured muscles can atrophy quickly and then it'll be harder to rehabilitate so add strength," says DeAvilla.

When someone says, "pulled hamstring" that says to me that it's over-stretched. But, in order for it to heal, you do have to continue to stretch it. That seems counter intuitive to me, but I have actually heard this advice before.

I'm hesitant to do a lot of speed work today because it will only exacerbate the situation. Warming up is DEFINITELY important, and I might do a short tempo run instead. I'll just see what my body is saying to me this afternoon!

So here's my good news:

There is an organization called Girls on the Run which reaches out to young girls to promote healthy lifestyles and goal setting through running. There are chapters all over the country and there is one in Louisville. I had been wanting to get involved with the group, even before one of the popular bloggers I read did (just saying). The opportunity to do so fell into my lap yesterday! The mother of a family I babysit called me and asked if I wanted to be their oldest daughter's running buddy. I said YES YES YES!!

I'm not sure what all my job will entail, but the group of girls will train to run a 5k and they are partnered with a running buddy (me) to help them get through it! I'm not sure if I will train with her, or just run the 5k, but I am very excited. It would be beneficial for both of us to run together several times before the race so I know what her pace is like and perhaps work with her on her form too. She's only 9 years old, so I'm not expecting her to move mountains, but I hope she learns a lot and has fun too!