On March 21 I wrote about a little bit of running I did (to catch the bus). And it had me stating that "I will not be running". I'm eating my own words now.
I used to run. I took a learn to run program from January to March 2009. And I continued running for a few more months after that. I injured myself a few times throughout that time (not running, but at other sports). One of those injuries was bad enough I had to stop running for a while. And I never went back.
And while my body was fine with me not running, part of me missed it. Why have I decided to start running again? I love the intensity of the workout I get with running. I love knowing that my body can do this. I love the zen like feeling that comes over me at a certain point in the run. I love the energy I have for the rest of the day.
What is different this time? I am trying to pay more attention to the biomechanics of how I run and really listen to my body. That would have been a great idea last time but since I was new to running just dealing with the increased cardio needs and trying to keep up with the training schedule of the program was enough.
Today was my first run so at this point I'm just curious to see how retraining progresses. I'm following the same training plan as last time but allowing myself additional time at each step as needed to really feel ready to move on. I'm trying to focus on planting my foot below me (not reaching) and letting my arms and legs relax. And I'm really tuning into what my body is telling me during the run to make any adjustments I need.
I'm shocked that my knees don't hurt right now. Running in my neighbourhood means lots of hills and I did 5-6 km today. And my legs are sore but my knees at this point feel great (not the case back in March when I ran that short distance).
I'm looking forward to seeing how my next run goes and seeing whether I continue to want to run.
