Week Recap (03/02/08 - 03/08/08) - 12 Miles

Making a return to running after a long break is always exciting news. I didn't run much of course but it's definitely good to be able to put in some mileage. My runs were pain free but I plan on taking my time to build up again and continue physical therapy for another couple of weeks. What was most encouraging was how good I felt on my runs. Unlike other times I took a month long break, I'm not feeling out of shape. I feel that I managed to maintain some fitness by cross training and I'll just need some time for my legs get used to the pounding again.

Alameda - Notre Dame Ave - 4 Miles

I headed out from home around 2PM in beautiful, sunny, 60+ degree weather, nice enough to be out shirtless. I don't really need any more motivation to run these days but with weather like this I was even more excited. I took the usual route up Ralston and went north on Alameda. The climb up Alameda was a bit of a challenge and I took my time going up but after that I was moving along at a good pace. Averaged right around 7:00 pace, feeling pretty good the whole time.

4 Miles + 20 min on elliptical

I left work early today as I had a 4PM appointment for physical therapy. I spent about an hour there as usual and got out for a run in Foster City. I forgot to bring my running shorts and had to run in the basketball shorts I wear while in the gym. I wasn't running very fast for the most part so I pretty much looked like the average jogger. Eventually it will all turn around, though. I was planning to put in 3 miles but underestimated the loop I ran and ended up going a bit longer. I went up in the gym afterwards and hopped on the elliptical for about 20 minutes, then spent some more time stretching and working the core.

2 Miles

I didn't get to Club O until almost 9PM and had to rush things a bit. I went out for a 2 mile loop in Foster City, my first outdoors run in over a month. It seemed weird to be going out for only a couple of miles but it was good to be out there. I was feeling good, no pain on my foot and only some minor soreness in the Achilles. I was planning to add on some cross training afterwards but since I didn't have much time I opted to do some stretching and lifting instead.

Elliptical + 1 mile run

I went in for physical therapy at 5:30 PM, and got on the elliptical after about an hour. I stayed on for just over 40 minutes and switched to a treadmill for a little over a mile. I was thinking of running a couple of miles but my Achilles felt a bit sore and I figured I'd rather play it safe. I don't think it's anything to worry about, though, I have been doing a lot of strengthening exercises for the foot and ankle area so some soreness is not very surprising.

Spin bike + 1 mile of running!

In the exciting news of the day was my return to running after an almost month long hiatus. I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow to start running again but I've been feeling good for some time so I figured there wasn't really any reason to wait another day. I didn't have time to do much today as I stayed at work late again and didn't get to Club O until after 9. I hopped on the spin bike for 20-25 minutes, stretched briefly and jumped on the treadmill. Of course I would hardly call a mile on the treadmill, at just under 8:00 pace, a run but it's a good start after a long break. I pretty much just wanted to see how my foot will feel and was glad that I didn't feel any pain. I'm planning on taking things slowly so I'll probably stick to a couple miles a day for this week and play it by ear from then on. I was planning to do some more cross training after running but I only had 10 minutes or so before Club O closed so I just headed back home. I spent some time at home stretching, doing some strengthening stuff and working the core while watching some champions league football (aka soccer).

Physical therapy, aquajogging, swimming

I had a physical therapy appointment at 5:30 and spent about 45 minutes there, first with the trainers and then doing some strengthening exercises. I went down to the pool afterwards for some aquajogging. The pool went from 4 feet deep to 5 1/2 so it was deep enough for me to float for about half its length. Not perfect but slightly better than Club O. It also helped to have a floatation belt which reduced the impact at the shallower end. I switched to swimming after a while and spent a total of about an hour in the pool. I probably aquajogged for 40-45 minutes and swam for 15-20.

5-6 mile walk

The weather was even nicer today, sunny as usual and in the high 60s, and I thought I'd do a bit of walking like yesterday and go to Club O for some biking or swimming. First I walked by a bike store close to my place to have a look at a few bikes and even took one for a short test ride. I never rode a road bike before and was amazed at how smooth it felt. The test ride made me want to get a bike soon but I'm still not sure if I want to spend $700 to get one. After leaving the bike store I took a long route to Club O. It ended up being a bit longer than I thought and I didn't have much time since I was planning to go to the city for dinner later so I eventually I didn't stop by Club O and just headed back home.