Mon - 3.75 mile walk in ~55 min
Tue - 4.5 mile run walk in ~56 min (13:30 running)
Wed - 4.5 mile run/walk in ~51 min (18 min running)
Thu - 4.5 mile run/walk in ~49 min (20 min running)
Fri - 4.5 mile run/walk in ~47 min (23 min running)
Sat - 4 miles in ~38 min (.5 mile walk, 3 mile run, .5 mile walk)
Sun - 4.5 miles in ~39 min (.5 mile walk, 3.75 mile run, .25 mile walk)
Total: 30.25 miles in ~5 hrs, 35 min (~11:o4/mile avg). That's 9.5 miles more than last week with the average pace 5:22/mile faster.
All systems go and a major step in the right direction! I’ve got a lot of kinks to work out and a ridiculously long way to go to get fit, but after 13 weeks of nothing, I’ll definitely take it. I know I’m not out of the woods and could still have some sort of relapse, but my foot seems to be 100%. Aside from a complete lack of fitness, the only really complaint I have is soreness/weakness in my ankle and achilles on the same leg as the foot injury. The achilles is the bigger issue and has actually been a chronic problem for several years. As long as I do certain exercises to keep it strong and flexible, I can usually keep it at bay, but after over 3 months of inactivity, it’s definitely barking at me for the time being, particularly early in my walks/runs before it has a chance to loosen up. It actually already seems to be getting better though, so hopefully with a little work it won’t be a big deal.
As for the specifics of the week, I started out with just a walk on Monday to allow for some extra recovery from the day before, which was the first day I had done any running in over 13 weeks. From there on out, I gradually added in a little more running each day until I got to a point on Friday where I ran just about as much as I walked. The way that and the previous few days went told me I was ready to start running full time again, which I did on Saturday by doing 3 miles on the Roanoke College track. That run, as well as the one on Sunday, told me that all the walking hadn’t done much at all for my fitness level, which didn’t really surprise me. The point of all the walking was to strengthen my foot and lower leg muscles to better prepare them for the running to come, and I think I accomplished that goal. Now I start the long process of getting back in shape.
I will continue my conservative return to activity this week with the hopes of running every day. I feel like I’m better off doing a little something every day with no big days rather than taking a traditional hard/easy approach. In other words, better to do a little less than I might be capable of but not have to miss a day than do something that causes me to need a day off. Even at that, I will still take a day off at the first sign of any problems. I will probably also continue to walk a little each day before I start to run, just to loosen everything up prior to starting the more rigorous activity, particularly as long as my achilles remains sore.
Ok, that’s it. I’ve never been this out-of-shape in my life, so I’m certainly facing a huge challenge to get back where I want to be, but I like challenges and situations where the odds are against me, so I plan to have some fun with it and see what I can do. Onward!
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