Yes - six months. No running for nearly six months. Broken for nearly seven. Has it truly been that long?
Needless to say - I really am starting over. September first doesn't mark the beginning of my picking up where I left off. Six months off has left me with no base. The fact that I haven't been able to do anything lower body means that I have muscle loss and my cumulative inactivity have left me with seriously reduced endurance. I go in knowing this.
I am starting from scratch...and I am actually okay with that.
In some respects, I'm lucky. I have somehow managed to not gain more than a couple of pounds in that 6 months off. In reality, I know that this is because as I lost muscle, I've gained fat. Not good.
This starting over is also going to be starting over with my diet. My willpower is already protesting, but it is going to be really important going forward because every extra pound I carry is an extra pound reverberating through my bones with each step. Truth.
The plan:
- Start Couch to 5k on Sept 1: Dr. Dale told me I can run for 5 mins that day. Couch to 5k is around that for run time so will work well for easing me back in. I have a lady in my office who is interested in learning to run too, so we're going to do it together. At what point should I warn her that I'm a blogger? :P
- Spend some more time figuring out what my new shoes will be. Thanks to a friend, I have a shiny new pair of Mizunos waiting to be road tested. My specialist recommended these so I have high hopes.
- Strength train and cross train this time: Building different endurance and strength is going to be much more of a priority this time around.
- Start tracking my food again: I need to bring awareness back to my diet.
Well, I am certainly not missing out on Rock N' Roll Vancouver in October. No way, Jose. I will be there. I have, however, officially scaled back to the 10k. The is no way I would have time to start over with running AND train properly for a half marathon. I am also preparing myself mentally for this to be WALKED. and I am okay with that too. I really just want to be there. I don't even care if I do it fast. Slow might actually be better because then I can enjoy the bands ;)
I am surprisingly calm about where I am at right now. I was really worried that the time off would leave me really anxious about it but it isn't. I think my time in the cast helped me see that healing was the ONLY thing that mattered...everything else can come later. As long as I can keep this in mind as I go, I can hopefully build myself back to the runner I was a year ago.