How Bob got his groove back

Distance: .75 mi running, .5 mi walking

Time: 20 min total, 10 min mile pace running

Miles to go: 1999

Well I’m sore, but happy.  I have a feeling that I am just going to hurt for a while.  It sure did feel good to sweat again though…  The pain seems to be centralized in my lower abdomen now.  I don’t know if it’s just weak or if the break is at the point where most of these muscles attach.  Either way, it’s still a bit uncomfortable.  I am, however, able to do a few situps now as well as some single leg lifts and other core exercises.  This is new.  A week ago this was not possible.  I just hope it continues.

I have reset my weight counter to reflect my new goal weight/amount to lose.  My daily stats will now include the number of miles left to meet my goal of 2000 miles run for the year.

It’s amazing how much better I feel now that I have a goal.  I think I definitely experienced a let down after the marathon because I felt like I was running for nothing.  Yeah… yeah… but you did it for your health, your body, … blah blah blah…  I think there is a “no man’s land” after you reach a big goal and even though I tried to plan for “life after the marathon, I don’t think I did a very good job of it.  Now that the haze of injury and pain has blurred the experience into fuzzy memory, I’ve had time to think about what’s next.

I already like the “2000 miles” idea.  It’s a tangible goal that I will have to work hard to achieve.  It’s about 40 miles a week or 8 miles a day on a 5 day schedule.  Definitely doable, but I will have to do some catch up this spring and summer to make up for the low mileage I have to run as I recover.  Runs and races become secondary, “fun” things to do as I work towards the goal, instead of “being” the goal.  Maybe I will run another marathon like our local Heart of America marathon in early September… maybe not…  As long as I get miles in, who cares.  I think it really opens me up to do things like trail runs, fun runs, urban adventure races, etc. which will be a lot of fun and a big change from the “run safe” mentality I had to keep when I was training for the marathon.  I was afraid to run on trails or do anything risky because I was afraid I would twist an ankle, etc. and take myself out of the marathon.  It got kind of frustrating when everyone was talking about goofy races that sounded really fun but I couldn’t/wouldn’t run because I was worried about “the marathon”.  Now?  Who cares!  Those races are actually a way to get in more miles.  If I get hurt?  No biggie.  I’ll just run more later!  I may even come up with a formula that allows me to cross train.  Something like… every 4 miles I put in on a mountain bike equals 1 mile running.  I don’t want it to get too complicated, but I also want to be able to do other stuff for exercise as well.  There is even a Duathlon here in Columbia in April.  It sure would be fun to try a multisport event…  hmmm….  And there is still the little matter of getting under 22 minutes for a 5K…

Anyway, a short term goal is to get back into good enough shape to be able to start running the track workouts when they kick off again at the end of February.  I would like to be consistently running 6-10 miles and be running with the club again by then in order to feel ready for it.  I think I’m gettin’ my groove back…!

W00T!!!!