Best run ever!!!

I had the best run ever this evening! I don't know whether to attribute it to the Meilus Muscular Therapy that I had done on Thursday, the extra elliptical training I've been doing since I hurt my arse, or the Gallowalking run that I did on Wednesday, but whatever it was... THANK YOU!!!

First though, a quick recap of my Meilus Muscular Therapy session. I arrived at my appt. at 9AM and the therapist greeted me right away. He introduced me to "Therbo" (the robot that actually does all of the work), had me fill out a few forms, and then he analyzed my pelvis & hip. He said that my right iliosacral joint was locked up and was causing a 1" hip hike. My mother came to the appt. with me and she was amazed at how much higher my right hip was compared to my left hip.

After his analysis, I jumped on the cushy massage table and he set up "Therbo". The robot worked on my left and right iliopsoas, left and right obliques, right TFL, left and right quadratus lumborum, and my right glute. The treatment took about 1.5 hrs and it basically felt a lot like heavy duty shiatsu! I couldn't believe the amount of pressure the robot put out! It also has some sort of feedback so that it adjust according to how much the muscle is releasing and lengthening. After the treatment, the therapist told me to go home and put a heating pad on the areas that were treated... which I did.

I woke up Friday morning feeling better than I've felt in weeks! My groin/hip flexor pain was nonexistant! Totally gone! My butt didn't feel "tweeky" at all! I ended up going to a one hour Pilates class yesterday morning and followed that up with a 10 mile bike ride over the canal bridges in PGI (for some much needed hill and traffic practice). Still feeling GREAT!

This evening I had a run scheduled. Since the Gallowalking went so well on Wednesday, I figured that I would just do it again today. Except since I was pretty much feeling back to normal, I would do 30-second walks after each mile. Well, mile 1 came and went and I didn't feel like walking. By the time mile 2 rolled around, I was getting into such a nice rhythmthat I didn't want a walk break to disturb it. Miles 3 and 4 were just like mile 2... super comfy. Why walk?

One thing that I did differently tonight that made this run so wonderful is that I slowed my pace down... SIGNIFICANTLY!!! Mile 1 was sort of a pace experiment, mile 2 was settling into a comfy pace, and miles 3 and 4 were about maintenance... 11:18 it was. Slow, steady... the kind of pace that you're at when you find yourself singing along with your iPod here & there. 11:18... my happy pace!

The Runner's World "Smart Coach" says that I need to be doing my runs in the 12:30 to 12:40 range (aside from speedwork)... can this be for real? I need to investigate the theory behind the Smart Coach programs. Maybe it's the whole run slower and longer to get faster theory? I'm not sure. If this is true though (and it probably is b/c I am finding that I have a WHOLE lot to learn) then I've just been going at it too hard/fast all along!

Anyway, my 4.2 miles this evening were just LOVELY! So lovely that I want to go out and do them again! :o) No hip flexor/groin pain, right glute felt a bit tight but no pain. Awesome run all around!