Long Wind

Howdy. It's been about a week and a half since my last post. Just wanted to check in and get some thoughts down. Today is two weeks without running. School and other things have kept me fairly busy and I've actually managed to stay quite active too, flopping around in some local swimming pools and doing various stationary jigs at the gym.

When the doc verified the sfx in my foot, he recommended slowly working back into running after two weeks off. I sensed however when he told me this that it was meant to be taken conditionally. Most cases I've heard or read about require at least 6 weeks off, and when I asked him about this, he seemed confident that it wouldn't be that long. Regarding the healing process, his words were "if it hurts, you can't do it." Per this advice, for the first few days afterwards I was literally gimping around because to walk normally caused pain. Quite annoying really. After a few days of limping things improved, and I can now walk around without any discomfort. Actually, yesterday and Wednesday there were a few moments where I completely forgot about it. I was reminded when I stepped down a little too hard going upstairs in my home and got a sharp twinge. Things seem to be easier if I wear supportive shoes as opposed to being barefoot. So, while things are improving, I'm giving myself a bit more time before lacing up. Anything besides really easy runs won't be on the menu for a little while anyway, so I don't really have much to lose by waiting. It's not like I'm gonna be able to hop right back into 10 mile runs. More like 10 minute runs.

Meanwhile I've been contemplating what factors contributed to this happening in the first place. I really don't think I was overextending myself in terms of volume really. Maybe intensity, as it's only been a year really since I started running after a long break, and I did run in eight races over that time. I definitely don't rest appropriately, meaning that while I might not run on a given day, I'm doing something else like biking or walking far distances. I keep thinking back to last month when I attended a family reunion in Tennessee. I covered 50 miles that week running alone. On my "recovery" day, meaning that I didn't run at all, I did a 5 hour hike on the AT with some family members. My dad and I brought along a bunch of gear because we thought we'd stay the night out on the trail. If it's any indication of the vigor with which we were trekking along, my dad had to call it quits after 8 miles because his feet were sore. I was carrying 40 pounds on my back and was wearing the only decent pair of shoes I'd brought along, which were some lightweight trail shoes, definitely not appropriate for the task. That week saw a couple other shorter hiking jaunts in addition to the running. And the hills down there...

So, while I may not have been running too much, I just don't think my down time always qualifies as down time. This is a double-edged sword, because I think one of the reasons I like to run is so I can be more active. But maybe I have to modify this way of thinking a bit. Toodles, sorry for the long post.