Back to it again, after a couple of days off to repair some damage that a critter did to the underside of the house on Monday (which the ribs didn’t take kindly to). I didn’t feel comfortable running on Tuesday, then our road trip to Bryant Pond on Wednesday, I was ready to run today.

The weather was perfect for a run and the ribs felt the best they have in four weeks when I started, so I am making good progress on the healing side of things.

My first mile felt strong and kept reining myself in because I knew that I was going to do either 4 or 5 miles depending on how I felt. Sub 9:00 without pushing the pace or discomfort in the ribs felt nice for a change. The second mile was a couple of seconds faster, and I was still purposely holding back.

I could feel myself slowing down quite a bit on the third mile and even more on the fourth one. Going up Stevens Hill was a struggle, but I made it without stopping to walk, so that part was a win. Once I got back to the tar, I decided that 4.0 miles would be more than enough for today. Could I have made 5.0 miles? Sure, but at this point I am focusing more on getting my stamina back than how many miles I am doing in a week, without damaging anything.

When I am working harder, like going uphill, the ribs do start to become noticeable, but not nearly as bad as it was last week, so that is progress.

For running shoes I wore the Topo Zephyrs and while they did fine, the firmness is starting to be a little too much. The bottoms of my feet began to feel uncomfortable at about 3.0 miles and became a distraction going up the hill. Not really what I am looking for in a pair of running shoes.

I will get them to 50 miles before passing any further judgment about them, but if my feet continue to feel like that in them once I get there I will switch back to the Ride 8s as my primary daily trainers and rotate in my Ultraventures as necessary. I am hoping that it is simply getting my feet back into the idea of running again.

Although after the run was over, I attempted to foam roll and do some other work out in the back of the garage. The ribs were not as thrilled about that and while I got a couple of minutes in on the foam roller, I quit before it became more of an issue.