Smart training decisions. Getting back to running {again}

It took a little longer than I would like to admit, but I wanted to make sure I was actually sticking with a plan before I came here to shout it from the roof tops that everything was “OMG AMAZING I LOVE RUNNING”. Just in case I stopped again.  I try my best to keep it real around here, but let’s be honest sometimes it’s sucky enough when you can’t get back on track and then to have to tell the whole internet you aren’t sticking to your plan? Not helpful.

I talked about it a bit here, but this year I really want to focus on running for the love of running.  I know I put a lot of pressure on myself when I sign up for a race, and while that can be a great motivator if I was in good shape it won’t do me any good right now.

After I dropped out of PT, I still decided to stick to their plan for recovery/rehabilitation.  It was a smart plan, it made sense, and had progression which I liked, and so far I was moving along just fine.  I think that had it not been for the holidays and all the craziness that happened in the new year I probably would have stuck to the plan until I was, as they say, “jogging 2 full miles”.  I think that the reason I was having such a hard time going back to the this particular plan was I was full of my usual holiday you-sat-around-like-a-lazy-person-and-ate-too-much-junk-food guilt.  I don’t like having food guilt, I don’t think it’s a good thing, and I don’t advocate that if you feel like you ate too much you should go jump on the nearest treadmill and burn it all off ASAP.  But it kind of kicked me in (my seemingly larger feeling) butt and made me realize I needed to get back to the gym.  If not because of the food guilt because of the speed-guilt.  I knew that the longer I wasn’t running, the slower I was going to be, and the longer it would take me to get back to being as fast as I wanted to be.  Seems to be a running trend with me lately huh?

So I took the things I liked about my PT plan, and made a few changes, and came up with:

One of the things that I really liked, but was hard for me to accept initially was the two days off between runs.  On a regular training plan, even maintenance  I really only like taking one day off.  Sure I might only be running every other day, but one day of rest is good, two days of rest and I start to enjoy the rest and it’s harder to convince myself to work out.  But something about two days of rest, when you are trying to build up a base after an injury just makes sense to me.  And I decided that should stay.  What I decided to change was the distance, and the walking intervals.

The first week would be total trial and error.  I would start with a 1/2 mile warm up walk, followed by running 1 mile with no walk intervals  and see how I felt.  If at any point I felt tightness or pain, I promised myself I would stop.  If at any point in the next two days I felt tightness or pain I promised myself I would go back to the walk/run intervals (or if it was bad enough, go back to the doctor).  Rest two days, and then try 1 mile again.  Same requirements.

And you know what? With the exception of the first day feeling ridiculously hard and heavy because I hadn’t run in what felt like forever, I was really happy with how I felt.  I had no pain while running, I had no pain after running, and I was finally starting to feel optimistic about a come back.

I may or may not have started looking at fall half marathons after the first day.  Ok I did.  But I did not commit to anything.  I know what’s good for me.

I plan on sticking to two days a week for at least a few more weeks, and then moving up to three and then finally four.  Right now, the most important thing is small steps.  That is why I stick to the same mileage two weeks in a row.  Just to be safe.  Just to make sure that everything is going ok.  Just because I cannot deal with another injury right now and I am trying my best to make smart training decisions.

In the mean time I am also walking a lot LOT more because of our little fur ball.

And look I’m wearing semi-athletic apparel.  We try to walk Wesley twice a day, for about 20-30 minutes at a time.   One in the morning before work (always me) and one in the afternoon or evening (sometimes me, sometimes Ralph).  And we’re not talking a little stroll in the park, no sir.  This little gremlin is FAST.  Sometimes he even runs, though we try not to let him run too much, young growing joints and all.

So to summarize I guess you could say, new training plan, walking more, still obsessed with our puppy.

Anyone out there working their way back from an injury?

Tagged as: Injury, Recovery, Training, Training Plans