On the Mend

I doubt that there is anyone following this blog these days; why would someone want to read about injury and recovery, and not much excitement in the way of running these past two weeks?  But if nothing else it is a useful record that I can go review, as I recently did - a record of ups and downs, of injury and recovery:  the story of an aging runner.

I am glad to report that there is progress, although it is slow.  After an unprecedented ten days of not running, I tried a mile of combined walking and running last Friday, and it went pretty well.  This was the program I used three years ago in which I would walk, then run perhaps a quarter-mile, then walk, gradually lengthening the running portion of the walk-run.  It is a good program for both beginning runners and recovering runners.

Saturday I managed two miles pain-free, taking only two or three walking breaks.  It, too, was encouraging.  And today I made more progress, walking for the first 100 meters or so, and then running without stop for the remaining three miles.  "No knee brace?" Fred asked as we passed one another on Sixth Street.  "So far, so good!" I called back. The pace was slow, but there was no pain in my knee.  And today I am a thankful runner!

I am also an impatient runner, and I know that that single virtue is exactly what is called for during these days of gradual recovery.  So after I came home and had lunch, I did some light yard-work but deliberately called off the harder work (raking, mowing) remaining to be done this time of year.

Today is the first day of October, the beginning of a new month, and one of my favorite times of year.  I hope that I will be running longer and faster by the end of this month, but for now it is nice to know that I may be on the mend.