Running After An Injury

For the past two months, I haven’t been able to run due to an injury.

From the what the doctors can tell, I had serious soft tissue damage in my left leg. It’s one of those fun injuries where the doctors aren’t sure how you got it, and the only cure is rest.

And as any distance runner knows, there are few phrases we hate more than “you’ll just have to rest it for a few weeks, maybe even a few months.”

 

And like most distance runners, I thought the injury wouldn’t take that long to heal.

 

I figured I’d be back to running in a week. I was wrong.

On January 4th, a full two months after I first saw the doctor, my physical therapist finally cleared me to run.

Actually “run” is a little inflated. I was cleared to walk for a minute and jog for a minute, alternating for a total of 15 minutes. Every other day. Humbling to say the least.

And I’ll be honest, as much as I understand you have to put the work in, I can’t say my heart was into the thought of a 15-minute walk/jog. My first day, I seriously considered skipping it.

I rationalized my feelings with my husband. What if instead of this walk/jog business,  I just give it another week of rest and start back with 20 minute jog?

He kindly suggested that was a horrible idea.

So Friday morning I dusted off my wireless headphones and headed out for my ‘brief’ workout.

 

And while I started off focusing on the negative, I quickly remembered how much I love running.

 

Being outside, listening to a good podcast, and getting my heart pumping felt really nice. And it was fun to run… for fun.

Right now there is no race date breathing down my neck. No pace I’m trying to hit. No pressure to “beat yesterday.”

Sunday marked comeback run #2, and also an increase to an interval of 2 minute run/1 minute walk, still for a total of 15 minutes. And again I had some negative thoughts while I laced up my shoes. But the second I got out there, once again I felt the joy instantly.

Grateful to walk/jog without pain. Happy to be outside.

Now, I’m actually pretty excited about tomorrow’s run. I don’t mind that I won’t burn many calories, or the fact that I can’t start to build towards any real distance yet.

I’m just looking forward to timing my walk/jog with the sunrise. There is nothing better than jogging and looking at a gorgeous sunrise. Even if you also have to look down at your watch frequently to make sure you don’t jog too long!