Thursday, December 16, 2010

Baby Steps

So... coming back to running after a year and a half hiatus has been all about the baby steps. I've only been doing one or sometimes two 20 minute interval runs per week and maybe one other short run. I'm trying to keep in the front of my mind that the end result I want is to be able to run pain free again. The other result I'm looking for is a good race at Pac Crest this year. Anything besides that in the running department is just not important. So I'm taking baby steps with the actual running, but I'm making huge leaps by sticking to my stretching and I'm almost convinced, most importantly, that the shoes I'm wearing are where it's at. I have given up flip flops. The main reason I was wearing them so much was because my achilles hurt so bad that they seemed my best choice - a shoe with nothing rubbing the achilles - but I think they were exacerbating the problem (which is probably why I was told by both the doctor and the PT to not wear them).

I am still occasionally wearing my asics that I cut the backs off of..
...but for the most part I am barefoot or in my Nike Frees. After two weeks of nothing but the Frees, I put on my Asics last week and they felt so stiff and weird...like I had them on the wrong feet. Nope. Right feet, just more confining than my Frees. Then a while later I ran a quick errand in my rain boots because it was dumping here in Portland and I didn't want my Frees wet for my trip to the gym later. Again...I felt like I had them on the wrong feet...
...but didn't realize for about 30 minutes that I in fact DID have them on the wrong feet. Who says you have to be 3 years old to carry off this look?!

I'm super proud of my 20 minute interval run today. I felt strong and somewhat pain free and I've added .24 miles to my 20 minutes since I started. I'm still only at 2.08 mi in 20 minutes. When I was at my fastest, I was hitting 2.5 miles in 20 minutes of HIIT, so I've got some work to do. If I could dream a bit it would be to get back to easy 9m/m and then I'll start a new running dream.

So I got my run done, hair washed (I do it at least once a week whether it needs it or not ;-)
and actually flat ironed it, which I'm now regretting because I looked out the window and the weather looks perfect for a bike ride...but I'm meeting SIL and MIL for Christmas Shopping and Happy Hour later so I musn't mess up the do, 'cause it's not getting re-done!

Have you turned in to that woman you swore you wouldn't? You know...when you were 16 and saw moms running around town in wrinkled khakis, no make up and hair in a scrunchy and you couldn't understand how they could leave the house that way? I've been here for some time...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

awesome job! And I have to tell you - I WANT THOSE RAINBOOTS!

Anonymous said...

Good job on the run! You have lots of time, I bet you surprise yourself with where you will be at in a few months!

Have fun tonight! I just got back from the salon, I have been trying to grow my hair out and couldn't do it anymore. But now it's flat ironed and looks good and I want to go somewhere!! And taking the kids to basketball practice doesn't count, lol!

racing dawn said...

Hi Julie...thanks for finding my blog! I really do absolutely love my Ryders sunglasses!
Love those rain boots...
I'm not wearing wrinkled khakis yet but I throw my hair up into a bun way too often - I try to make it look all messy tho like the teens, just to make me feel better... :)

My Life said...

A year & a half, rough! What kind of injury? Riot about the rainboots. :)

A Prelude To... said...

Aren't my rainboots cute??!! I love them!!

I am dealing with achilles and tibial tendonitis. If I had found the right medical care earlier, I probably would have been able to resolve it sooner.
If I hadn't trained with other injuries the last two seasons, I probably wouldn't have had the issue to begin with.

Rest when you're injured.
Stretch daily.

Words to live by :-)

Jen said...

I love that you cut the backs off of your shoes! And that's so funny about your rainboots being on the wrong feet! It sounds like you've got it all figured out now with taking it slow to come back. I think that's a really hard thing to master!

Dawn said...

Ahhh..I hear you! But it passes...I just found out! (It took me many years;))
Love those rain boots!
Would be neat if we could run together- oh the stories we could share on being Mom:))

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Prelude To... said...

Dawn...I guess we could go for a run together and share our mom stories...but I'm thinking I would rather talk it over on a kayak date at Emerald Lake with you.

That picture you have with one of the kids in the kayak surrounded by the snow covered mountains is just breathtaking...and I plan on visiting there someday before my time here is done!

The Hungry Runner Girl said...

Love the rainboots! You are adorable. I have totally turned into that woman I swore I wouldn't ha, oh well I am happy about it now! Awesome interval run! YOU ARE STRONG!!!

Simply Life said...

Oooh I love your rainboots!

Amanda@runninghood said...

oh goodness, I don't even recognize myself anymore. I looked at my reflection yesterday on my way into the preschool to drop my kids off and I was shocked and embarrassed at how I looked. uggh!