November 17th, 2011
It was
scary
thrilling
joyous
a little odd
fuckin’ amazing
4 x (5min run/ 2min walk). Much to my surprise, I didn’t feel clumsy, creaky or slow and aside from the huge novelty factor of “OMG, I’m running!”, I felt like me. I stopped to stretch the quad out during the walk portions (I feel like I should still baby those muscles) but it was amazing to run without a wince in sight. It’d been so long.
What was really interesting is that yesterday I checked out Daniels’ Running Formula to get a hint of how much I could expect my paces to have deteriorated. The great Doc has a handy chart of factors by which to multiply your pre-layoff VDOT to get your ballpark current VDOT. It’s based on the amount of time you took off, whether you cross-trained, even weight gain if that’s an issue. For my situation, the multiplier is .931 which brings my VDOT from 49.6 down to 46.17.
In layman terms: before the layoff I was in 1:32:10 Half shape, now I’m in 1:38:10 shape. That comes out to about a 30sec/mi hit. I always run by effort anyway, but it was fascinating to see how close it was, around 9min/mi. I would have expected it to be more like 9:30-10:00 so this was a sweet surprise.
As for the next few days, tomorrow I’ll do a continuous run of 3 miles and if that feels good, I’ll repeat it on Saturday, then Sunday will be a day of rest. This works out perfectly because I have quite a weekend ahead. It’s the Philadelphia Marathon and a group of dear internet friends will be here, some to race and some to cheer.
The racers will be Chris (my pal who just moved to the area) along with Ron, Mere and Nick (he’s the only one I haven’t met yet, can’t wait). Then Amy, Stevi and Chris will be my houseguests/fellow drunkards/cheering partners. So expect some fun photos when next I post.
Have a great weekend everybody, thank you so much for all the support during my whiny time, and to everyone else running Philly (I know there’s a bunch of you), Good Luck!
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Yay! So happy…can’t wait to run (literally haha) into you again!
Fan-f@cking-tastic! Love it. Very happy for you!
This is good news Flo. It’s pretty cool that your comfortable pace lined up so nicely with JD’s table. Enjoy the weekend!
Have a great weekend and congrats on the return to running!
So glad to hear things have worked out for you Flo! I wish I could say the same. I took 39 days off from running and instead did the elliptical and lifted weights. Watched what I ate and gained 8 lbs. (Grrrr!) I tried a slow 1 mile trot on the track yesterday. no go. Walked 3 miles instead.
Saw another PT last Friday and she doesn’t want to work on me until I get another MRI since she doesn’t know if she is dealing with microtears or a full blowout. I’m waiting for the approval from my so supportive (said with incredible sarcasm…) insurance company to get the MRI. We’ll see what happens.
I’d love to cheer for the runners on Sunday, but I’m so emotionally bummed about my running future, that I think it would tear me apart seeing the race going on and not knowing if another run will ever be in the cards for me again.
Enjoy yourself and encourage some runners out there for me on Sunday. I wish them the best in my heart, but can’t be there in body (just yet).
Oh no! It sounds like you have a good PT person since she’s being that cautious about it, hopefully the MRI won’t take much longer to be approved. Sending all the healing and sanity vibes a person can muster. Hugs and strength, may you get answers soon!
Wonderful news!!! Your mind definitely over-exaggerates the amount of fitness you are losing when not able to run. It comes back very quickly. You ran!!!!
WooHoo!! Wait…Fuc&ing Amazing WooHoo! It’s the smal victories we learn to appreciate better than a race of our life (or at least close to it).
So happy to hear that you are back out there! Be careful in your build up, and you will get it back before you know it. The key is that you’ll be a healthy runner, which makes a world of difference.
WooHoo! Welcome back!
I am so impressed with you not being stiff/awkward after the layoff! I remember after my 6 week layoff last year, I felt weird for DAYS. It was like I forgot how to run!
I’m so glad you can finally move on past this injury crap. You definitely have good things in store for you!
And I’m so jealous about this weekend.
I actually looked into Carlsbad b/c I wanted to visit with you ladies so badly, but DANG, those are some expensive plane tickets…
The first post-injury run. A feeling vastly underrated for those who’ve never experienced it. It’s better than _________ (feel free to creatively fill in the blank;)!! LOL
In all seriousness, I’m pumped for you, as I know the feeling well. And it is sooo odd and freaking amazing at the same time.
Not to feel clumsy, creaky or slow after 30 days off is amazing. You must be a natural! Enjoy a cheerful weekend of cheering — can’t wait for the funny photos.
Right on! All the cumulative training deposits in the bank seem to be holding you in good stead despite the down time.