running: back in the sneakers

[aroraborealis]

Last you all knew, I was having runner's knee and had cut back on my running a lot. That was back in May or June (looking back at my log, it was actually the beginning of May), and I had decided to give myself a break from running while rehabbing my knees a bit. Then I went to SF and watched Bay to Breakers, and then I had my crazy traveling summer, and, although I brought my running gear with me, I never actually used it. So it's been four months since I ran at all.

Tuesday, moominmolly and I got up early and went for a "let's see where we are" run. I figured I'd be back in the early weeks of the couch to 5k plan that I love so much, so I was pleased to discover that running the 4 minute intervals that we did felt entirely doable.

So, my goal for today was to do run/walk intervals of 5/3/5/3/5, for a total of 15 minutes of running. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I discovered at 5 minutes that I felt good enough to keep going. And again at 10. And at 15. So I ran a total of 16:30, and I felt like I could have kept going, cardiovascularly, and decided to stop on the theory that I actually shoudl ease my body back into this by not pushing it and keeping myself to comfortable paces and distances for the next month.

But, seriously! How awesome is that? Runners had been telling me that once your body knows how to run, it's way easier to pick it back up than to start from scratch, but, honestly, I didn't believe them. Now, to be fair, I've lost :45 off my pace, but, hell, who cares?

Oh, and, of course, I'm reminded of the best part: After running, I feel awesome. I can do anything today. Just watch.

Comments

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Whoohoo! You rock! YOu *can* do anything!

(P.S. Do you still have your wrecked bike? Can we cannibalize it? Thx)

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thanks :)

Yes, I still have it. It's in the basement, so we can either find a time for you to come by, or I can just put it under the back porch for you to swing by at your convenience.

[lazyz.livejournal.com]

YES, you go girl!!

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Hey, congrats! Yes, strangely it does seem that once the body is in decent shape it remembers how to do things. I'm surprised my run last night wasn't bad as I had feared, given that I hadn't run at all in three weeks. It was actually great!

I still have to work on the whole feeling-good-afterwards part of running. I always feel mentally empowered but physically weak and icky. Maybe I'm just not destined for it. Even so, I'll do it for my heart.

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I enjoyed reading about your run last night!

That's interesting that you don't get the jazzed afterwards feeling. And kind of a bummer! But I admire that you keep doing it even without that hit, since I think that's what kept me going with it for the first several months.

[trom.livejournal.com]

It's just like riding a bike! Oh wait....

[veek.livejournal.com]

It is THIS awesome.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

That's inspirational to read -- I've had a hard time getting out on the road this week.

[kcatalyst.livejournal.com]

w00t!

You're a rock star! And my running role model.

[laurenhat.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! I'm so glad that this held true for you as well. And hooray for the fucking awesome post-run feeling!

[amber-phoenix.livejournal.com]

i'm late, but...

YAY!