So It Begins Again – RunLog 4/24

My first rehab run, more walking than running, but the primary purpose was running, so I consider it all a run. In the past this is the time where my ego takes control and I attempt to run a couple of miles the first time back and suffer for it. Whatever is injured either holds together, even if it is painfully or else I go back to the injured list.

Today, I did something very different, I ran according to a rehab plan that I put together based on Wilk’s books. Yeah, I didn’t attempt to go out and run 2.0 miles at a 9:00 minute pace to soothe my ego.

Instead, I did the following:

• Walk 5:00 minutes warm-up
• 16 x 1:00 minute with 2:00 minute walking recoveries.
• Walk to 60:00 minutes total

I managed to cover 4.31 miles and best of all, while the Achilles was sore, it didn’t get above a 4 on the 10 point scale. It seems that all the mobilization, balance, strength, and stretching work that I have done for the past three plus weeks has been helping.

This was also the first time that I ran in the ASICS Nimbus Lite 2’s and they did everything that I wanted. They were comfortable, but seems to protect my Achilles and I felt stable the entire workout. They will never be a faster shoe, but they will be a great workhorse shoe that will eat up the miles. At least that is my hope.

All I know is that I needed this run.

I had to know if all this work and downtime from running had been productive or not.

It has been worth it. My legs felt stronger and many of the assorted aches, pains and weaknesses that I had before…well I didn’t notice them. While I could tell that I have lost a lot of running conditioning, for not having run in April, I felt better than I expected that I would.

Surprisingly, once I got going I wasn’t tempted to deviate too much from the plan and did the repeats exactly as the workout that I loaded into my watch. It didn’t matter whether I was on a hill or where when it beeped time to start running, I did, and when it beeped to walk shock of all shocks I walked.

The first few running repeats, I felt clumsy and didn’t have a comfortable stride. As I got the rhythm of running again, I focused on my form. Not anyone else’s idea of what it should be, but what my body wanted to do if I ran tall, but relaxed and didn’t fixate on how I was landing.

Looking at the stats from my Stryd pod, I stayed in the pace range that I was looking for, my heart rate was good and for a first run back I was happy that I completed the workout. That was the most important part – finishing without doing anything stupid or attempting to do more than I planned.

I am looking at it from the perspective of “what if” I do the rehab correctly for a change. Will I come back to running better in the long run and at this point that is what is important?

My “A” race is not until Oct 23rd, so I have time to get the Achilles and the rest of my body right for a change. Plus this gives me a chance to clean up some of the bad running habits that I have picked up over the past couple of years.

It comes down to if I am not focusing so much on dealing with the discomfort, I can focus more on improving my running and strengthen my body for running the way I know that I can if I commit to doing things correctly for a change.

I have to keep focusing on “What if” I do…and the do part is the most important part, not just thinking or fantasizing about it.