Yesterday I hit the treadmill for 6 miles, 1 easy and 5 at tempo pace (8:20/mile). About 4 miles in my sore left hamstring made itself known, and that concerned me because it previously hadn't really bothered me in any distance under 6.5 miles (although that was after it had never bothered me under 8 miles and under 11 miles before that). But I ran through it and the hammy loosened up some and after about a mile it stopped bothering me until the end of the run. It really didn't bother me at all for the rest of the night after that.
This morning my left hamstring is about as sore as it's been at any point since I first tweaked it weeks ago, except for when I had to keep it wrapped for a couple days. This is probably not a good development. However, my leg started to feel better when I lowered the incline on the treadmill yesterday, so I'm hopeful that the Las Vegas Rock N Roll half marathon will be ok for me to run. It goes mostly downhill for the first 7+ miles and the inclines between miles 8 and 12 don't seem insurmountable.
There is reason for me to optimistic about this race. It's on the road, which is the surface on which I had my last really good post-hamstring strain run, a 10 miler in Virginia. While I was hoping to do really well in the half marathon, I think if I take it easier than I have while training I should be ok. And by taking it easier, I mean about 9:00 miles, which is still a 2:00:00 pace. That's not bad. Plus, the race starts at 6:15 am, so even if I have to walk/run/walk the last 3-5 miles I'll still be finished by 10:00am no matter what happens. Also, the finish line is in the parking lot of the hotel I'm staying in.
While my trip to Las Vegas was supposed to be a chance for me to triumphantly cross the finish line as a two-time marathon runner, there's still plenty for me to shoot for and enjoy when I'm out on the course. Plus, I'll be meeting up with a bunch of running buddies, and that's always fun. Even if it seems most of us are dealing with some kind of running-related physical malady.
We're a sorry lot, for sure. But we'll be Vegas's sorry lot in a couple weekends!
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