Taking it Outside

I did my first outdoor run this morning for this comback attempt! I'm fortunate to live close to both a small park and the canal system. The park isn't large but it does have a dirt path through it that I think would work for a short run. The canal system has a very nice paved recreational track along it that people use for running, walking, and biking. They system is quite extensive and goes for miles and miles. I am within easy walking distance of two branches of it, with one being just a bit closer than the other.

Today I didn't plan on running too far, just a mile-ish, so I opted for the closest branch of the canal. It's a route I'm familiar with as I've walked it often with one of my little goobers. I know the route door to door is a little under 2 miles, so I knew I'd get my mile in along the canal path if I walked to the start of it and then began running. I ended up running 1.29 miles wth the rest as a walking warm up/cool down.

When I started out I felt like I was barely moving, so I picked up my pace. However, I could quickly tell by my breathing that I was running faster than I thought I was. I looked down at my watch and I was running a 10:21 min/mile pace, which I know is waaaay too fast for me! I slowed down a bit and felt much more comfortable. Of course, I forgot to put on my knee braces, but luckily my knees felt fine once I got going.

There were a few other runners out, along with a few walkers and bikers. I really enjoy seeing the other runners, though. I guess it just gives me a sense of comradery and community seeing them. Us runners are a breed all to our own!

I did quickly realize that I need to purchase something new for water and my phone. Years and years ago, I bought a fuel belt since it was the thing back in the day. It served it's purpose but I never really liked it. When I started running again in 2013, I ended up buying a hand held bottle/phone holder that I really liked but phones have gotten larger over the past 10 years and my phone doesn't fit in the pocket. I ended up just tucking it in the waistband of my pants but it wasn't exactly comfortable. I do own a camelbak and I will probably end up trying that if I end up actually getting up into higher miles, but for short runs I need something else. I guess I'm off to see how much running stuff has changed in the last 10 years!

Here is the data from my watch:
(I've started only recordng my actual running time on my watch so my splits are more accurate.)

Temp: 65° F

And a photo along the canal...

And of me near the end of my run...

A Hiking We Will Go

I did a little cross training today by way of an easy 2.3 mile hike at Lost Dutchman State Park. (Is it still cross training if I'm not actually training for anything?) I went with my parents and took two of my little goobers.

I can't actually remember the last time I went hiking, but it definitely was sometime during the pandemic. I've pretty much been in survival mode the past couple of years and I'm finally coming out of it. It feels really good for things to be returning to a new normal and to be resuming some of the activities I enjoy! It made me happy to be out in nature getting some exericise!

Here are a few photos from the hike:

And my Apple Watch workout info for the hike:

As I said, it was a leisurely hike so I didn't exactly work too hard. My dogs do pretty well with hiking but they definitely aren't speedy about it, so anytime they're along it's slow going.

Scooby Dooby Doo, Where Are You?

So, I did sign up for the Scooby Doo Challenge. I have always loved Scooby Doo and I think the challenge is just enough motivation to keep me running so I can find out what is next along the course. It lets you set your own finish time frame so I picked 13 weeks as my goal (February 1, 2024). That works out to an average of 3.85 miles/week, which seems very doable. Even if my knees don't let me increase my distances very much, I think I should be able to do a mile or two a few times a week. I'm only counting running miles toward the challenge to keep me true to my actual goal of trying to get back into running.

Today was the first day I've been back on the treadmill since Tuesday. It was a crazy work day so I came home and took a short nap. I didn't have much ambition when I woke up. However, I'm really trying to make some positive changes in my life and I knew I'd feel better mentally if I got on the treadmill than if was lazy all evening. So, I told myself I only had to run 1 mile. Giving myself permission to stop after making a small effort is often the push I need to get myself to do something I'm not in the mood to do, and most of the time I end up doing more. Today I ran 1.77 miles. There was nothing eventful about the run, except knocking out one of my airpods and sending it flying when it landed on the treadmill. It took me a little bit to get going since I wasn't necessarily feeling it, but once I got going all was well.

Here are the splits, etc from my watch (Again, I doubt the accurracy. How about if we just let that be a forgone conclusion about every indoor run going forward, shall we?):

Another Run Done

Halfway through my work day yesterday I was full of energy and was planning on coming home to hop on the treadmill, but by the time the day actually ended I was completely exhausted. Instead, I ended up coming home and sitting in my recliner, staring at my phone until it was late enough to go bed and stay asleep until morning. Luckily I had a bit more energy this evening and it didn't take too much effort to get on the treadmill for a short 2 mile run.

I have to say the run wasn't the greatest. At the beginning I was struggling to get into a rhythm that felt good and I was teetering on the edge of a mild panic attack. My breathing felt a bit labored right off the bat and I had on my over the ear Bose headphones, which I normally prefer to wear during exercise, but every once in a while they contribute to the feelings that set off the panic attacks. However, I didn't give into those feelings. I've learned over time that the more I give into the early hints of a panic attack, the more I actually have. I'm better off riding it out and trying to talk myself down before it actually happens, which I can do about 90-95%% of the time now.

So, I opted to take a quick little break to switch out my headphones for my airpods and to get myself a piece of gum, both of which instantly helped and I was fine the rest of the run. I settled in and was able to finish the rest of the 2 miles.

I've also still been thinking about what I want to do to try to get into some sort of a running routine and I came across this. I'm thinking about maybe singing up to do it and only counting my running miles toward the 50 mile goal. I'm just trying to get a week or two of running under my belt to see what kind of a time frame might be reasonable and how my knee(s) are going to hold up. (I did wear my knee brace on my left knee today and it felt fine when I was done. My right knee seemed slighly cranky about the whole thing but now it seems fine, too.) It does let you pick your start date, so I could pick the date of my first official run and go from there.

I'm also trying to decide if I am going to be disciplined enought to get the miles in if I just randomly run whenever I feel like it or if I need to come up with a 'training' schedule even if I'm not training for anything. I'm afraid that if I don't have a schedule to follow I'm not going to stick with running as consistantly as I would like.

Again, I think the splits are probably a bit off but it's what I have to go by so it is what it is:

Decisions, Decisions

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do to get back into the running grove.

After my first offical run a few days ago, I decided that I don't want to do a couch to 5K program. I realized that I'm further ahead than I thought I would be and I think I will find the program a bit too easy. I'm not a big fan of walk/run intervals and that's what I remember the program being like. I find it hard to pick back up to running after I slow to a walk. I tend to prefer running as slow as I have to to keep going as long as I can, or maybe go really slow to give myself a break and then speed back up, but if I slow to a walk I'm usually done.

I've been eyeing some virtual races with fun metals, but that kinda feels like I'm just buying a metal. Of course, I'd run the miles but I struggle with what makes it a 'race' versus any other random run. I did two virtual races back in 2020 but didn't quite get the appeal. At least one of them was supposed to be ran on a specific day but the other was just a run it whenever race. It just doesn't feel the same as an actual in person race and without the specific race date as a deadline it's not the same motivation to stay on track with training.

So, I guess that leaves signing up for an actual in person race. I haven't done any research to see what upcoming races are in my area, but I imagine I could find one what would be doable. Our temperatures are cooling off and I'm seeing mention of a lot of races in the local running groups I've joined on Facebook. The issue with an in person race isn't the availability of options or time to train for a race, it's my headspace and where I am in my life right now. The post-divorce haze has had me in hibernation mode for the better part of the last year. I almost never leave my house except to go to work or to the rare appointment. Most of the time tackling the grocery store sounds like more than I'm up for dealing with and I schedule curbside pick up. And I honestly don't know if I have the motivation to get myself to actually show up to a race right now. I can 100% see myself signing up for a race, training for it, and then talking myself out of actually going to run it the morning of the race.

As I said, I've signed up for two local running groups on Facebook. I'm not sure one of them is going to be a fit. It seems like a close knit group of people who have been running together for a long time and their distances are drastically longer than what I could do now. Even back in the day, I think I'd struggle to hang with them. The other group seems more my speed, no pun intended, but so far every run they have scheduled is insanely early. Most of them have a 5:00 AM start time even on the weekends, and that feels like the middle of the night to me! It doesn't even get light here this time of the year until about 6:30, so the run is over before it's even light out! They did just post an easy 2 mile run followed by coffee with a start time of 7:00 AM this weekend. Ironically, the location is the same place where the Breast Cancer Walk was held yesterday and while I was there I was thinking to myself it was such a great location and I really needed to get back there for a walk or run. Maybe I can convince myself to make it to that one, but 7:00 AM still sounds insanely early to me on the one day a week I can actually sleep in.

The final thing I've been trying to decide about is if I want to keep posting here. Obviously, blogging is mostly dead. It seems people don't have the attention span to write or read much of anything these days, prefering quick videos. However, I just can't seem to bring myself to go that route. I really don't like being on video and I like to have the time to think about what I want to say before saying it. I much prefer writing and I honestly really enjoy blogging. I was hooked almost instantly when I started this blog back in 2006! But part of that love of blogging was interacting with other bloggers. The online running community I had back when I was actively training was a large part of what kept me going. Sometimes knowing people were expecting a run report was the main thing that got me out the door. If I continue blogging going forward, it has to be 100% for me and me alone because the likelihood of anyone else reading this is next to nil. I'm probably ok with that, as I have thoroughly enjoyed going back and rereading my posts here the few times I've done it and I like the idea of being able to do that in the future. At the same time, blogging can be time consuming and is it really worth it if I'm not interacting with anyone here but myself? I guess only time will tell.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk

This morning I walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in memory of one of my closest friends who passed away from breast cancer last summer. Today would have been her 49th birthday and walking today felt like a great way to honor and remember her.

Our birthdays were about a month apart and we always used to go out to dinner in between the two dates to celebrate every year. It's been really hard not being able to do that the past 2 years. It's also been difficult with each year older I get knowing that I'm living into a future that she never got to have.

She left behind a young daughter, parents, siblings, and so many friends. She had a charismatic personality that just drew everyone into her sphere, and she had the most infectious laugh. I think that's what I miss the most. Hearing her laugh.

Her mom put together a team of Kim's family and friends and together we raised $3760.00. Not too shabby!

The walk was a good experience but at the same time it was heartbreaking. The number of people whose lives have been touched by breast cancer is astounding.

I took a lot of photos at the walk, but our whole group was never together at the same time, so unfortunately we never got a complete team photo. Here are some of my favorites from the day:

There was talk about making this an annual event, which would be a great way to continue honoring Kim!

Catching the Running Bug

I can feel myself starting to catch the running bug!

I felt so amazing last night and today after my run yesterday. It's a hard feeling to describe if you've never experienced it but the best way I can put it into words it that it feels like my body is wide awake but completely comfortable at the same time. It's a glorious feeling and I had completely forgotten it existed.

I came home from work today and was itching to run, but I knew it wasn't a good idea. I am slightly sore from my run last night and my left knee is very unhappy with me (more on that in a minute), and I knew another run would be too much the night before the 3 miles Breast Cancer walk. So, sadly I refrained from hopping on the treadmill no matter how much I may have wanted to do so.

Ok, the knee. I had surgery for a torn meniscus in November of 2021. It healed really well and I went through a lot of intense PT afterward to regain as much funciton as I could. Post surgery, I discussed a return to running multiple times with the therapist and he was confident I would be able to run again as long as I maintained the strength in my leg muscles to support my knee. However, it took more than a year to regain full range of motion and to be able to resume all normal activity. During that same year my life completely imploded and maintaining my PT exercises was the furthest from my mind. I still have a full range of motion but I no longer have the strength I had built up.

And yesterday's run proved that just might be an issue.

I hadn't given my knee much thought because I didn't have any issues with it acting up the few times I ran in the middle of getting my StepBet steps in. However yesterday was a different story. I could feel my knee a little bit as soon as I started running but it seemed to settle in once I got going. Unfortuantely, as soon as I stopped running it started to really hurt. I immediately iced it for a while and the pain subsided but it hasn't felt great today and I've been taking some ibuprofen and wearing a brace this evening.

I'm definietly going to have to dig out my PT exercises and get going on them again if I have any hope of giving this running thing a real go! I also need to run with a brace on, at least for the forseeable future. But in some really good news neither my right knee nor left ankle are bothering me at all. Since those are the injuries that sidelined me in the past, I'm very happy that neither has reared its ugly head today. And I have hope regarding the left knee. When the physical therapist explained what it was going to take to be able to run on it, it made perfect sense and I know I don't currently have the strength I need. But if I got there once before, I can get there again with some effort!