Running, resumed

After a layoff of almost 2 weeks I finally hit the road again today. I have to admit I was pretty apprehensive about this run, since I knew my foot was not fully healed. It definitely has improved, however, and my physical therapist was not against this run at all. She thought I could run, that I would be sore afterward, but that I should recover quickly. She just wanted me to take it easy.

I planned to run with Mike on the trails at Smithville Lake. Before we left, I jogged up the street a half block and back again. Not good. I just didn't think I'd be able to go 10 miles. We talked it over and devised a route that would keep us within about 3 miles of the car at all times in case I had to just give it up.

We kept the pace slow, averaging 10:25. I was doing OK on the flat and downhill portions, but any kind of uphill quickly brought on the pain. By the time we hit 4 miles I was sore enough that we discussed driving all the way to English Landing Park so we could finish on a level, soft surface. But once we got to the car at the 5 mile mark, I decided if I didn't finish right then, I wouldn't want to 45 min. later at a new location.

After a short rest we headed out on what we thought would be a flat route. The first mile felt so good that I announced I was sure I could make the full 10. Almost immediately, it got hilly, I got sore, and doubts crept in. I kept going, though, and at the 8 mile mark we turned around and headed back. Now we were running into a 35 mph wind and it forced me to lengthen my stride.To my surprise the discomfort in my foot eased up a bit. I'd been keeping my stride short thinking that would minimize the possibility of further injury. Turned out that a more normal stride was better.

Anyway, I did 10 miles averaging 10:30 per mile. The layoff didn't seem to have hurt, and I had no problem with the distance. The effort all came from dealing with the foot. I favored it enough that my right hip got a little achy. I still don't know if I can go 26 miles, but I still have 2 weeks to heal so the chances are good.