Week 7

I'm now over halfway through and also just updated my template. My blog will be changing and morphing as I start maintaining things a bit better. I promise... really. :)

A Good Run

(w3+r2)5+(w5+PT)

overcast

roadways

Today was the first day that felt like I was really running and it felt so good. I managed a couple of miles in the time frame and for the first time since April, I've felt like I'm on my road back to normal.

Week 4: Day 1

Today: w15+r1+w2+PT

Felt: Really good

Weather: overcast

Surface: road

NOTES:

I can't believe I'm on week 4! It's a little easier considering week 2 was called due to weather. Today was weird in that the 15 minute mark couldn't come fast enough for me. After that taste of running segments, I want to just run and it's sometimes difficult to put the brakes on. So I chomped at the bit and when 15:00 showed on the watch, I was off for a minute at race pace. It felt so good to just open up. It was one of those days where I felt in motion the whole time. I could feel my pony tail swinging with each step but I felt smooth and tall.

All in all, today was a really good day out there.

Finishing week 1

The nice thing about working a long shift is the hour long break I have.  The bad thing is working a long shift.  However, today I was able to complete week one on my break (some what unexpectedly).  I went for a walk and thought, "I can just jog for a minute..." after all, I was on a shaded, wooded path so why not?

Today I finished with a (walk 5 + run 1) x2 + walk 5 + PT

Tomorrow is a rest day and then week 2 starts Tuesday.

Walk to Run: Day Two

Week: One

Day: Two

Felt: Excellent

Weather: Sunny, blue skies in lower 60's

Surface: road/asphalt

Workout: (walk 5/run 1)x2 + walk 5 +grapevine on toes +walk on toes

Music: "True Believers in the Long Walk Home" by Thick as Thieves

Did I learn anything? That "Mars Viglia" is a great song to run to.

Monday I got the word I could start a walk to run program, to take it S L O W and if things bother me, to back off.

Yesterday was simple: a 15 minute walk. *pbbbttt* I can do that in my sleep! So uneventful really.

This morning was my first real test: running for a couple of minutes is exciting. I never thought I'd say that but there it is, it's exciting. It's exciting because I know I'm on the way back to recovery and running. :) :) :) Soo so so happy today.

The only down side was the guys from the Mass Pike here to mow the grass on the other side of the fence. I get it guys, watching a woman grapevine back and forth for a block is pretty freaky goofy looking, but that you had no shame in openly mocking me thinking I couldn't hear you is just pathetic. Personally, given the beer guts you two were sporting, you're the last ones to be laughing at anyone.

finding my path

Recently I feel like I've been living in Seattle and forgot I moved. I mean, it's practically July and it feels like all it's done all month is rain, drizzle, rain and drizzle again. Today there was a bit of a break in the clouds and the sun made a surprise appearance. I parked McGreavey by the old running path and went for a walk.

The majority of the walk was wonderful. I forgot how much I love the sights and sounds of the river as I walk along. The lush green foliage, the sound of the rushing river, watching the geese and squirrels play in and along the banks of the water. I needed this as the other option, if the rain had come, was another couple rounds around the Natick Mall. :p

A mile and a half from the car, the sky opened up for a few minutes. I managed to walk along under some trees, so it wasn't too bad.

Best site today: a young squirrel hanging upside down from a branch to reach some berries on a tree. When I laughed, he gave me this "What?" look. His tail was wrapped around the branch and his back claws were dug it - but still, it made me laugh.

I got 3 miles in and included some of the PT stuff: walking on my toes, grapevine on my toes and such With a little icing and ibuprofen, it feels fine.

Mall Walking

Apparently I moved to Seattle and forgot - is there another way to explain this weather? I have been walking as part of rehabbing this Achilles injury but it's hard to be consistent when it's raining the way it has been.

What's a girl to do?

Answer: bite the bullet, pick up the iPod and drive to the mall. :shudder:

Because of the popularity of mall walking programs, most customer services desks can tell you how many laps = 1 mile and then it becomes a matter of the mind numbing journey staring at odd window displays and such. My usual haunts have been the Natick Mall, where each lap is just over a mile (if you include the collection wing and a couple of other little wings here and there scattered through the structure). The other night I was sore after all sorts of tension and frustration lodging in my back and sprung for a massage from the people on the second floor.

It was 20 minutes of pure bliss.

Saturday the weather held enough to walk the short loop of my old running paths and Sunday it held enough to take a walk up Heartbreak Hill to Centre Street. But today the rain is back and I'm sighing into my coffee and figuring on making a drive up to Natick where the parking is free and the walk is dull but climate controlled.

And she's back

After battling injuries, I started running again. I did an ill-prepared Hyannis 10k at the end of February. A more confident Ras Na Heirann and a positively wonderful Doyles 5 miler at the end of March. The world was my oyster and I was feeling good until April came around and it happened again.

On a lovely morning, it felt like someone stabbed me in the back of the heel and I pulled up lame. Cursing and swearing all the way home, I called the orthopedist and got the bad news: most likely a torn achilles.

FUCK!

It is the only word that could be uttered with enough force to begin to express my frustration.

Six weeks with inserts and a boot, I am now ambulatory again. The boot is off and I am now walking. I get to arrange for PT and I go for another check up in 6 weeks. Hopefully then it will be: OK, you can start that c25k again.

But yesterday and today I went for a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood. My goal is to walk at least 30 minutes a day and keep up my muscle strength, regain some of my fitness and move on from there.

So here's to new beginnings.