Grand Opening

This entry officially marks the opening of this chapter in my training. Here goes:

Got out for an easy 10 miles in my new shoes. Somewhat of a surreal air about the city today as the temperature at 5:15 AM was in the upper 50s, on a path into the upper 60s by midday today. I wore a short sleeve shirt and shorts.

Today was a repeat with slight modifications of the run I did on Sunday. Just as my inner voices duked it out during that run, they battled today over whether or not I would cut the run short. This began about 4.5 miles out, just like Sunday. The source of my contemplation stems from some tenderness in my left knee and ankle. The knee had been an issue since just after Brian’s Run in December. That day after the race, just before ascending the steps into my house I bent down to retrieve something I’d dropped on the ground and felt a “pop!” in my knee. It swelled up immediately (although not severely) and remained sore for a week or two. I took it easy and it gradually improved.

An unfortunate side effect of pushing my weekly mileage into the upper 50s this last month has been the return of some pain in this knee. Additionally, an abrupt change of shoes 3 weeks ago caused irritation in the outside of my left ankle. My slightly altered gait (due to the knee discomfort) and constant running on canted surfaces certainly hasn’t helped the issue.

So last week I maxed out around 30 miles of mostly easy running, and I’ll very cautiously reach 50/week again before Caesar Rodney. The stretching/strengthening routine I’ve implemented over the last week has been going well, and I’m quite surprised at how much better I feel already. I’ll continue to push myself at the gym with non-weight bearing aerobic activities until I feel confident that my legs are ready for dedicated running again.

Overall, today’s run felt much better than Sunday’s of the same distance/effort, with very minimal muscular soreness. Incidentally, after nearly doubling back at Broad St., I felt much better once I got to the PMA and witnessed 5 or 6 others out enjoying the pre-dawn serenity of the city. It helps to know I’m not alone. 10 miles in 1:25 for an even 8:30.

[2 x 25 pushups, 2 x 25 situps, 2 x 15 lateral left lifts, 2 x 10 “donkey kicks,” 2 x 10 standing piriformis lifts, various stretches]