Progress.
That’s the word. Progress.
Two steps forward.
I am hoping there are no steps backward as I continue to build strength in my comeback to running following Achilles surgery in January. I will hopefully get strong enough to run the New York City Marathon in November.
A few thoughts on all of this before I share the updates on my progress.
Slow and steady makes the race.
19 weeks ago today, I walked in to have surgery on my right Achilles tendon.
I walked out on crutches.
I was on crutches for about 7 weeks.
And then I started running, step-by-step. Slowly.
Today, I powered through a three mile treadmill run staying between 5.5 and 6.0 mph for the duration.
I broke 32 minutes, finishing at 31:51. That’s a strong effort – my best effort to date since the surgery.
I was once a marathoner.
I will be one again.
One of the best people in this world is my dear friend Ed Hasse. He is just the greatest person ever. I treasure and greatly value the times when we are together. I especially love when we can run together.
Today we enjoyed our first ever “Social Distance” run. Ed came over to help me on my first three mile run since my surgery in January.
One might thing that the Governor’s decision to close school the rest of the year would make life easier on teachers and principals…
NOT SO!
The mileage isn’t what matters here.
Friday.
FRIDAY. A big day. A HUGE day.
16 weeks and two days after my Achilles surgery, and, with the permission, dare I say the encouragement, of my physical therapist, I set out for my first two mile run.
After running on the treadmill the other day, and thinking about how great that run was, I have had a paradigm change.
Yesterday was supposed to be my last one-mile run before ramping up to a run of 1.25 miles as I steadily progress…
But progress, or success, and even life itself, doesn’t always go in a straight line. Progress is not always forward. Sometimes, in order to go forward, we need to take a step back.
For this post, I’ll cover my last two runs. It’s basically the same story in so many ways.
Two days ago, on Tuesday, April 14, I went out for my second one mile run. This was the second time I would actually run the full one-mile distance. The run itself felt better than on Sunday, and my time indicated I did much better. I finished at 9:25. That was significantly faster than the effort on Sunday. I was pleased and proud.
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