Only One Way To Go

No two ways about it, being out of shape stinks! Paces that normally feel like a joke are suddenly challenging; paces that are normally challenging are completely impossible; and a 40 mile week feels like 90. That’s pretty much what I’ve learned over the past 10 days of returning to running, and I have to admit I’m very much torn right now. I’m very thankful to be back on the roads and able to run. As miserable as it might be at times, it’s better than the alternative of sitting on the couch. At the same time, I’m really not having a lot of fun at the moment and my daily jaunts are certainly not what you would call enjoyable.

That said, I am making progress, both in terms of my fitness level and how I feel. It’s just very slow progress and leaves me a little frustrated much of the time. I’m really hoping I’ll turn the corner as the calendar turns to September, which is now less than a week away as hard as that might be to believe. My thought process is the weather will start to cool off right about the same time I begin to get in shape, and that combination will lead to a significant jump in performance. I don’t really care about workouts, races, pace, mileage totals, etc. right now, but I would like to be able to run at a reasonable pace and have it not feel like a struggle. Like I told Matthew last night, I don’t mind running slow, I just don’t want to run slow and have it feel hard. In other words, I would like to enjoy my runs rather than have them feel like a chore.

Aside from the fact that I’ve felt like garbage much of the time, this week has actually gone well so far. I’ve put in runs of 6, 6, and 6.5 miles, and my foot seems to be holding up just fine. I’m still battling some left shin pain in addition to right ankle/achilles soreness, but hopefully I’m on top of both those and will have them gradually disappear in a week or two. I’m also still adjusting to running every day, so I’m more tired than I should be, but that too should pass.

The plan for the next few days includes easier/shorter runs today and Saturday, and lengthening out my longest effort since starting back to 7 and 7.5 miles tomorrow and Sunday. I may try to throw in a few short strides as well, mainly because I feel like I need to start working on my form and I know that’s a good way to do it. Finally, I need to see if I can’t drop a few pounds. I did great holding my weight down while I was hurt, but now that I’ve started to run again my appetite has increased faster than my metabolism, and I’m up 5 pounds from where I was when I started walking a little over 3 weeks ago. I know that’s not a lot, but the less I have carry around the easier the runs will be, and I need all the help I can get right now.

Anyway, I’ll conclude with this. I might have a long way to go, but at least I’m no longer out of commission, and the best part of being so out-of-shape is there’s only one way to go and that’s up!