look at me now

I'm getting some run in (singing to the tune of this song). After putting in some diligent work these past few weeks to kick this runner's knee biz-nass into my past, I couldn't be more surprised to see that it might have actually paid off!

I went on two pain-free runs Friday and Saturday. Both were only 3 miles long and I averaged a 10-minute mile, which I didn't find the least bit discouraging. It felt so good to get out again, and you had better believe I did not take a single step for granted. I kept a close, obsessive eye on my knee to make sure it wasn't starting to feel sore, but it held out both times. I took Sunday off to make sure I didn't over do it (and to make sure I had plenty of time to be, let's face it, lazy) but I plan on slowly getting back into my mileage from this point.

Articles here and here discuss how to safely resume running after taking time off from an injury. It seems like 40% of your previous weekly mileage is the proper number to resume at, so I am going to finish off the week at 20 miles. It's going to be tough to hang back on speed, but I need to remember it's alllll good and running the pace I used to will only make the return worse.

Jenae had a post on how much fitness is possibly lost when taking time off, and I have to admit it's a little intimidating. However, I have done a pretty OK job of strength-training and walking while being down and out, so hopefully my body doesn't completely hate me. Only time (and a few runs) will tell.