71 days, to be exact. 71 DAYS since my last run. I have not run since my birthday at the end of May. 2 months came and went, and I still have not run. At this point, it is a difficult decision for me, for various reasons. And the longer I wait, the harder it might get.
At this point, I have no delusions about the fact that I may be starting from scratch. I have never in my memory taken this many weeks off in a row. So I am rather afraid of what it will feel like when I try to run again. Part of the problem is that I really, really, really want to go for a run. But I want to walk out the door and take off like I used to, and fly through the miles at a sub-7 minute pace and feel great doing it. But realistically, there is a 0% chance that I will be able to do that. There are days when I think about going for a run, but I don't trust my ability to keep it slow. And so, I don't let myself run at all. When I start running again, I have to be able to start slow. And knowing myself, I know that will be the hardest part. And sometimes it's easier not to run at all than to think about going for an easy jog.
My personal desire to run fast and hard aside, there is also the fact that I really have no clue what the state of my tendonitis is. Most days my foot feels perfectly fine. Sometimes it aches just a bit, but not necessarily in the precise spot that it used to. 10 weeks and 1 day after my last run, and I have no idea if my foot is actually better or not. I am pretty sure the only way to find out is to run. And to start with a flat mile or two and slowly build up if there is no pain.
Obviously I'm going to have to make a decision. I'm going to have to pick a day when I think I can make myself jog (right now I'm thinking I will have to go for a long bike ride first to tire myself out...), and I'm going to have to find out whether or not I am pain free. When precisely that day will come...I have no idea. I have some vague notion that it will coincide with the beginning of school (in last than 2 weeks!!).
In the meantime, I will continue biking. I have had to take some time off to let my back recover from the wheels of hope ride. Last week I had content myself with my minimum weekly mileage of 75 miles, rather than pushing for 120-ish like I usually do. However, despite the fact that I had to lower my average daily mileage and my average weekly mileage due to back pain, I have recently noticed that my legs have gotten significantly stronger. Some of the hills that used to wear me out even in the easiest gear, I now find myself climbing easily in harder gears, sometimes without even changing my front gear. Stronger legs help me keep more pressure off my back. I've also had to start doing some yoga stretches for my back, which have helped me loosen it up. The fact that biking has finally started working for me is another factor that is helping me take extra time off from running to give my foot as much time as possible.
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