First Week Back is in the Books

Today I ran my final run of my first full week back to running.  I accomplished a whole 7 miles.  But, I steadily increased my miles so i’m happy.  I went from .5 miles to 2 miles.  Next week I will do even more as I steadily increase to 6 miles.  Why 6 miles?  Well, the OKC Memorial Marathon takes place at the end of April.  I’ve been a part of this race for the last couple of years (on relay teams) and I can’t imagine not participating this year.  With that, I’ve decided to do one of the 10K legs of a 5-person relay team.  7 weeks to get up to running 6 miles?  No problem.  I’m not in “full training mode” but I will informally follow a plan to get up to 6 miles.  Mentally, I’m just not ready to get back in to that “I must run X number of miles this week on these days…”.  I’m just trying to enjoy being back out there.

I’ve not run outside yet.  I’m just a little nervous.  Since i’m doing short runs right now, the treadmill suits me fine.  Obviously i’ve got to get outside and see how the bum hip feels on the pavement, but I think I will wait until next weekend.  Besides, i’ve got a busy travel schedule this week (visiting both Ann Arbor, MI and Harrisburg, PA) that will keep me on the hotel’s treadmill.

One last thing; I HATE springing forward.

The (Not So) Long Road Back

I sound like a sap these days, but i’m just so happy to be running again.  It’s slow going—only up to a mile and a half—but who cares, right?  I’m running and my mile(s) are increasing.

My hip is feeling a lot better, too.  That has nothing to do with the running, though.  Once the doc told me what was causing the pain, I knew what I needed to do differently in order to decrease that pain.  Now that i’m paying attention to how I walk, how I sit and how I perform even the most basic movements, the pain is nearly gone. Granted, long car rides still bother me and that won’t change, but at least i’m not in pain all the time. 

I make it sound so easy.  I never realized how often my everyday movements cause me to spread my legs (you know what I mean) and slightly squat: getting dressed, getting in to bed, getting in and out of a car.  I really have to pay attention.  Oh well, just a part of life now.  And like I said, i’m not hurting all the time!  Small price to pay if you ask me.

I'm a Runner!

That's what I posted today on Facebook after running a mile on the treadmill. It felt good. No, it felt great! This mile long run was actually the second run of my return to this amazing sport. For the first run (yesterday), the plan was to do a mile. Alas, it was not to be. I made it about half a mile and called it quits. I came out of the gate too quickly and ran out of steam. I wasn't down or mad at myself. It didn't bother me one bit. A half-mile run was the longest I had run in over 4 months. It felt great. Today, I tried it again--and hit that mile. Again, I felt wonderful.

I think we all start to take running for granted when we've been training for a long time (I think most of us are in a constant state of training). We over analyze how far we've run and how quickly we got there. We worry when our pace is off and when we didn't run as many miles in a week as we planned. Right now, i'm in a wonderful place. I'm not training for anything; I don't care how far I go or how quickly I get there. I'm running for the love of running. Ok, you got me--i'm also running to shed the 10 spot I gained while I was sidelined. But either way, i'm running for me.

Who knows how long this will last. As I get stronger and start running more, i'm sure I will have the urge to hit this pace or run that distance. But for now, i'm just happy being a runner.