Half-Milestone

It has now been a little over four weeks since I fractured three ribs in Atlantic Beach.  Over the course of my running career of some 44 years, I have faced many setbacks, some caused by injuries such as tendonitis or pulled hamstrings, some necessitated by eye and hernia surgeries.  I think the longest I have gone without running may be last year when we were traveling in Italy, when except for one memorable three-mile run in a park in Florence upon our arrival I did not run for about six weeks.  I did walk an estimated 75 miles during that trip, though, and I resumed running pretty quickly when we returned in December.

This recovery has been different than other ones, and I have not always known what to expect from day to day.  I have never broken bones before, and I read on several sports websites that I should expect down time of four to six weeks.  But ultimately it is up to me to decide when I can begin running again, and what kind of physical activity I am capable of doing.  I have progressed from being able to sleep only in a chair at night and standing/sitting with difficulty to lifting light weights and walking up to three-and-a-half miles.  

Today was a milestone.  My plan this morning was to walk one mile in Highlands, despite a temperature of 37 degrees and a brisk northerly wind.  After I had gone a block or so, I gingerly took that first step, jogging slowly down Fifth Street, with no pain at all.  I managed to complete an estimated one-half mile in all (so I suppose it should be called a “half-milestone”), taking walking breaks on the hills and toward the end.  I came home and proudly entered “0.5 miles” in a running log that has during the past few weeks only listed walking and light weights.  And I was elated!

I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, because like all veteran runners I have learned the lesson of “too much too soon.”  But it is a start.  First a half-mile, then a mile, then two and three miles.  So this afternoon I am spending some time on the internet looking for a 5-K race to complete this spring.