12x400 - ~8 Miles Total

3 Mile Warm Up

Jump Rope (290)

15 Second Strides (60 seconds rest)

1. 4:43
2. 5:04
3. 4:39
4. 4:43

12 x 400 With About 30 Seconds Rest

1. 69
2. 73
3. 74
4. 75
5. 76
6. 72
7. 76
8. 76
9. N/A
10. N/A
11. N/A
12. 65

2 Mile Cool Down

I started the 400's struggling a bit. Sean told me to run 70's and try not to tax the adductor on this workout. I told him that I felt 70's wouldn't be fast enough. Well, when I started the run, 70's felt more than fast enough. So I stopped looking at my watch and stopped worrying about Luis and Sean and started running 73-76's. I was thinking that I lost some fitness until the 6th 400 when my body was warmed up and I started creeping up from behind on Luis and Sean with the same effort as previous reps. I felt a slight twinge on my adductor so I slowed it down and still finished with a 72. I was hoping this was nothing because I felt I could give Luis and Sean a little push from behind. Well, that was not the case because right away on the next 2 I could feel the adductor all the way until I decided to stop because it was obviously getting worse. I felt extremely frustrated because I was hitting the part of the workout where my body loosened up. So I stopped and watched Luis and Sean do the next 3 400s as I stood frustrated on the side line. My frustration pent up till I decided that I was going dictate the pace on the last 400 no matter what. If I tweaked my adductor more, I didn't care. Well that is where I busted out a 65 and I felt no pain...luckily. The 65 felt easy and calmed me down a bit, for the moment.

I told Sean about my adductor and he said I should be banned from the track. He recommended that I do workouts by myself and I protested a bit, but deep down I know that this would be the most prudent route to take. As a matter of fact I'm willing to take it a step further.

All throughout the day I've been thinking about what my options are. I have signed up for 3 races so far: The Susan Komen Race For The Cure 5k, The USA 10 miler, The Chevron Houston Marathon. I don't fear the 5k to be too physically demanding, so I'll probably give that one a go. But I have been thinking about just selling my 10 miler bib and maybe half heartedly giving the Chevron Houston Half marathon a try, since I can't sell that bib. Basically the idea is to give up the Fall races and just run slow for a few months until my adductor heals up. The way I see it, I'm not a professional runner so there is no reason why I should risk further damage. Currently I think the injury is relatively minor but I know it can develop into something worse. Giving up the racing will certainly put a damper on things. I mean after all, I don't get most of my enjoyment out of training. I get it out of racing, and without that it's going to be tough mentally.

I have not made any decisions yet. I'll give all this some thought and discuss this with Sean and see where I end up.

I have not mentioned it on the blog, but there is an event that is more important than all of this that will play an even BIGGER factor in determining my racing season. I'll mention it later.