Remember when I used to write about running here? It's definitely been a while, but the good news is that my hamstring issues finally have seemed to resolve themselves. 

I can't say when exactly it happened, but gradually over the summer the pain and tightness started to dissipate until it eventually wasn't there anymore. 

Since then I've been slowly rebuilding some of my endurance lengthening my runs and reintroducing weights to some of my lower body strength training. I'm still lifting lower weights than before the hamstring injury, but that's just more a precaution than anything at this point. 

I've been focusing on running about three times per week, with a couple of short runs during the week and a longer run on the weekend. 

I started my "long" runs around four miles several weeks ago and I've been slowly adding on the mileage since then. This past weekend my long run was up to six miles. 

I'm really excited that my running is slowly coming back, but man, this August DC humidity has been making it tough. 

It's hard enough to rebuild a running base, but trying to do it in the midst of this nasty humidity is brutal. My paces are so painfully slow, but I'm trying not to pay too much attention to that right now. I know at the end of the day these slow, summer runs will become much more comfortable runs in the fall. 

In light of all this, I'm excited to start doing some training. I have a couple races penciled in for my fall calendar because running races in-person again is really exciting. 

Of course, at the same time, as my hamstring heals, my IT band/outer hip is now super tight. It's always something! I'm spending some extra time stretching and foam rolling to help loosen things up.

So that's where things are with my running. Definitely in a better place than it was a few months ago and hopefully it will continue moving in the right direction.