The long road to recovery

"I want you to listen very closely. Do not run today. Do not run this week. When I see you next Monday I'll let you know when you can start running again."

Those were the words of my pulmonologist when I saw him on Tuesday. I totally understood his position. He had just looked at my X-Rays which show that I am still battling pneumonia. He stepped up my Avelox and my Tamiflu doses. "This is a serious illness. Do you understand?" Yes doctor.

Later that day my wife and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. We covered about a mile and it really helped me understand that my level of conditioning has dropped. Any thoughts about immediately returning to 5 mile runs under 9:00 min per mile were quickly dashed. Yesterday I ran up the stairs with some laundry and found myself winded. I'm beginning to realize how long the road to recovery might be.

On the positive side it's almost like starting again and I can go into my return to running knowing things to avoid and things to expect. I'll try to maintain the front/midfoot striking form and hopefully that will become a natural style for me. I want to try out some less cushioned running shoes to strengthen my feet and better support the Tarahumara running style. I spent the last year as the Emerging Runner, going from inactive to plenty active. This will be the year of the re-Emerging Runner - version 2.0. I can't wait to hit the road but I will respectfully wait until I'm ready. Doctor's orders.