Saturday I hit the streets again

Okay, I'm psyched for tomorrow. I'm planning to get 8+ hours sleep and then go for a 2 mile neighborhood run that I've mapped out on Gmaps. I know that I need to mitigate my speed from the beginning and not fall into the "This feels great, I can push harder" mindset. I made that mistake on Monday when I slid the speed control far enough over that I ran in the low to mid 9's for the first mile. I dialed it back after that but the damage had been done and I was fully spent after 15 minutes. I was so tired from the run that I fell asleep 30 seconds after I finished. I'm sure that if I had started with a more modest pace I would have felt much stronger by the end. I probably would have been able to go a full 20 minutes as planned. My plan for tomorrow is use a modified version of my race strategy - start at a moderate pace and reserve enough energy to push hard at the end. In the case of tomorrow it will be: start slow, stay slow and have enough left to finish my planned route.

Impatience and apprehension about my return to running

Another morning without a run. How long can I go without my daily workout? I've reached the point where my impatience to run is beginning to compete with my need to support a full recovery. Earlier in the week I had designs on running on the treadmill and working out on the elliptical while incorporating rest days in between. My return to work, with the early commute and a challenging schedule has been exhausting and I've done none of that so far. While I've been tempted to push through the fatigue and exercise I keep thinking that it may do more harm than good.

The question on my mind is whether I'm being smart about resisting this temptation or whether I'm just apprehensive about facing the fact that I need to rebuild everything I've worked for over the last 16 months. I really want to run outdoors, ideally on a trail. Trail running inspires me and I miss the experience a lot. I also miss my neighborhood runs and as I drive the streets I think about how I used to own them at 4:00 AM - my streets, my playground. I know that the first time I go back out  it will be tough. Those early, 20-25 minute maintenance runs that I would do 3-4 times during the work week will present a very different challenge to me today.

I know I'll get to where I need to be, and soon. I have a 5K scheduled for April and there's another 5K in March that's tempting me. It would be nice to have a short term goal like a race to help frame my expectations for getting back to peak conditioning. I'm conflicted about whether to run tomorrow on the treadmill or just wait for the weekend. I'll see what my body says, I'm ready to listen.

Many thought running caused my pneumonia

Rest days are the theme of the week for me. I had planned to do an elliptical session this morning but I figuratively hit the wall on Tuesday afternoon and dragged myself home. My wife said it's crazy to work out when I still haven't adjusted back to the work-week schedule. I took that as sound advice and skipped today's workout. Perhaps tomorrow I'll try again or I may just wait for Friday for a moderate run.

It's hard to write a blog about running when you're not actually running. People have been very gracious and encouraging in their comments and I guess some of the reason is that we've all been forced into recovery for one reason or another. According to what I've read more than 65 percent of runners suffer running related injuries each year. Many haters people probably find that to be solid evidence that running does you more harm than good. My wife said she was asked numerous times whether my running caused my pneumonia. She simply responded by saying that my conditioning probably helped keep the illness from being as debilitating as it might have been. My brother had great response when someone suggested that my pneumonia was triggered by working out too much and keeping my weight too low: "So would he have been better off packing on the pounds and sitting around on the couch than exercising and running?"

With everything that's transpired over that last three weeks my weight has actually dropped lower than I want it to be. That's what happens when you go two full weeks without an appetite. Well my appetite has fully returned and I'm tempted to regain about five pounds via junk and comfort food. I'm happy to say that I've been good about not doing that so far. My weight will come back to the proper level on its own - that's one thing I thing I know I can count on.

Patience is a virtue. If only I was more virtuous.

 

After yesterday's treadmill session I far better  understand my limits. I know that I cannot expect to go out and run for 40 minutes or more like I could a month ago. The doctor said 20 minute runs will work for now and, frankly, I'd be happy to go a full 20 but my body isn't ready. I'm thinking that I'll do an elliptical session on Wednesday, rest on Thursday and run again this Friday. I'm not looking to quickly return to outdoor running at 4:00 AM because I'd be concerned about over-committing to distance. With hope, I'll be able to run 20 minutes on the treadmill.

I would love to get to the Muttontown Mystery trail this weekend for my first trail run since coming back from pneumonia. I'll let Friday's experience determine how ready I am for that. I'm guessing that the toughest part of coming back will be to maintain enough patience to keep me from pushing my distance and speed beyond my present capabilities. Intellectually I understand that, right now, performance is irrelevant. The challenge is for me to get back to the point where I can duplicate my old form (or ideally, develop a new and better one) and efficiently move from anaerobic to aerobic breathing as I run. It was great to be back into the run and to generate some sweat for my efforts. On the other hand it was difficult to admit that I couldn't go any longer than 1.5 miles yesterday. I know the speed and distance will come and that I need to be patient and keep my recovery moving in a positive direction. Where will I be in a week or a month? Hopefully much closer to where I was in mid December. We shall see.

Doctor's orders: It's okay to run again

I had my follow up visit with my doctor this morning and my condition has improved enough to allow me to return to work tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've been in the office and I'll admit to being a little ambivalent about the whole thing. While I miss my co-workers and the energy of the work day it's hard to give up that extra sleep and the happy avoidance of the commuter trains. All the same, it's time to come back. The best news I got was that I am now permitted to run so long as I keep the distance to 2 miles or so. That is until the weekend when I can expand my distance and duration based upon how strong I feel. The doctor still cautioned me that I should run easy this week. No problem, I am not anxious to set any speed records at this point, I really want to get back into the rhythm of the run.

After I got the go-ahead from the doctor I decided to hit the streets for a 20 minute easy run. Although I haven't got far enough into ChiRunning to do anything useful in terms of technique I've read enough to start incorporating some elements into my style. Along with that is the form I had been working on prior to my illness using smaller, more frequent steps and midfoot striking. By the time I finished doing some necessary tasks plus spending time with my daughter doing homework and practicing her skateboard skills I felt like I was running out of light. Yesterday, while driving in my neighborhood I twice came upon some women who were doing their "health walking" in the street, side by side. They took up half the road, and foolishly, they were walking in the same direction as traffic. I tried to signal to them that they should move over but they clearly did not appreciate my advice.  Later I came upon them blocking another street. How they could trust people who speed through the neighborhood while talking on the phone? It's stupid, naive and a tragedy waiting to happen.

So to be safe I did today's running on the treadmill. 15 minutes was enough to humble me. I did the first mile at 9:30 without feeling like I was exerting myself too badly. The remaining distance (totaled 1.52 miles) was at a slower pace but my overall pace was about 9:50. It was a tough run and I can see that I have to be patient about my recovery. It doesn't matter though. 15 minutes today, perhaps 25 minutes this weekend and then a gradual increase in speed and distance will get me back to my late-December performance levels. It was great to run today - guilt free!