Back to Racing

Exciting news - I signed up for a race! On Sunday, March 30th I will be running the inaugural Philadelphia Love Run, a half marathon. It will be my first big race since my horrible DNF at Lehigh Valley in September.

I know that I explicitly said in recent posts that I would not be racing or signing up for races anytime soon. However, something miraculous has happened in the past two weeks. I have had little to no pain on all of my runs! Something finally just clicked and I am feeling at about 95-98% most of the time.

That said, I am still being very cautious and as much as I want to jump right back into marathons, I don't think that would be very smart. So, this spring I will try out a few half marathons and maybe some 10-milers. I will save my marathon comeback for the fall.

I am unbelievably excited to be working toward a goal again, even if its just to make it to the finish line feeling okay. Plus, hopefully this will make the rest of winter fly right by and before I know it, it will be race day.

Happy running!
 

Searching for Strong Once Again

I never know how to start a post after a long hiatus. So, let's skip the pleasantries and jump right in.

I AM RUNNING.

Not a lot and not completely without pain, but it's something. About four miles every other day to be exact. I am hoping to try five miles later this week.

After an ineffective round of PT in September and October, my doctor suggested that I try ART (Active Release Technique). The first few sessions left me feeling unsure and I considered abandoning it completely (especially since my insurance didn't cover it and I was paying out of pocket each time). Low and behold though, by session four I was feeling some relief. The Friday before Thanksgiving I ran my first mile on the treadmill and have been ramping it up ever since then.

2013 was a bad year. I spent more months on the bench or recovering from injury than I did running carefree and happy. But every injury is a lesson. This time, I'm adamant about starting off slow and taking my time. Hence, I spent several weeks just running two miles at a time and then slowly added and third and now a fourth. Part of the reason I am doing this is also because, as I said, I'm not running completely painfree yet. My piriformis still flares up depending on whether I'm on the treadmill or running outside and if I've really done all of my stretches and exercises the night before. It's not carefree running, but its running.

The biggest challenge of running after a long-term injury was rediscovering my strength. After sitting out for three months I came back to find my endurance shot to hell and my running crops a little tighter than I remember. Ten minute miles felt too fast (still do) and three miles on the treadmill seemed to take forever. I am still struggling to find my strong in the New Year and still working to make sure I can run without causing more pain or damage.

I have zero racing plans for 2014. Quite frankly, I'm too nervous to sign up for anything. For now, though, I'm happy just to be able to run and hopefully this year I will be smarter than the last.