Well, I pretty much left this blog hanging in the balance last fall. When I last posted I was on my way to run the Chicago Marathon with a healing foot injury and a pretty skimpy training base due to an earlier knee issue that had landed me in PT most of the summer. I will try and get my race recap on that event out eventually, but I am happy to report that I did finish that Marathon, and also completed another Half Marathon 2 weeks after that as well. Following those 2 races, which I used the run/walk/run strategy, I gave my achy tendons a rest and pretty much took November and December completely off from running. I then began a slow mile rebuild. Fairly sporadic at first and eventually picking up to where I have been having some solid training weeks now since mid-March. I am excited to report that I am back to running my miles consecutively without having to do the run/walk/run method. That method is great, and was a true life saver for me last fall allowing me to do 2 halfs and a full marathon despite an injury, but if I can I prefer to run at a constant steady pace. I've been paying more attention to my body, stretching and exercising problem areas for prevention, and making sure I don't increase my miles too quickly. So far, so good :)
Here's the breakdown of tonight's run as an example of where I'm at currently...
I ran 5 miles. It was 81 degrees and I left Abbie (our dog) at home this run. I was able to negative split the run despite the heat.
I felt strong the entire run so I'm feeling better about my endurance level now. I have 2 upcoming races on my calendar. A 5K run on May 18th, and then a week later on May 25th I am running a half-marathon. It feels so good to be back and to be running smoothly again without pain. I am definitely
back on track!
Post-run photo 5/8/2013.
