I'm back!

After a 11-days off from running, I did a swift three-miler after work today. I'm happy to report that I didn't seem to lose any of my stamina during my running vacation. My bet is that it's partially due to my harder than usual cardio sessions in the fitness center of the hotel. Getting the old heart rate up to 170-180 bpm for 30+ minutes four days/week was the way to go. I also hit the weights pretty hard as well. I'd say my hip is about 50% better than the last time I ran. I'm not sure what to make of that. It feels like the muscles surrounding my hip are really tight and they're constantly being pulled. I'm going to try to get into the massage therapist in my gym and see if she can work things out for me because no amount of stretching that I do on my own helps.

I am worried about my endurance, though. My longest run to-date has been 9 miles, and while that was a piece of cake, between my hip and the rotten weather, I haven't been keeping up with increasing mileage on those long runs. Unfortunately, my schedule is now in taper mode and there really isn't any room for a long run. I might attempt a 7 or 8 miler on Saturday, just to feel things out. The key to taper mode is to run, but run slow short distances in an attempt to avoid all injury prior to the race so I am a bit reluctant to attempt any longer distances.

I bought some fancy new insoles from the New Balance store in San Francisco. These insoles fit my shoes perfectly (no trimming involved) and my feet were really happy (and blister free) during my run. I also paid a very expensive visit to Nike Town, which was a block from my hotel. I dropped around $85 on shorts and running capris (ran in them tonight, loved them!) that I've had my eye on for a couple of months now.

I took some pictures while I was in San Francisco, but they're on my work computer so I'll have to upload them (hopefully) tomorrow.