The Outdoor Runner

Lessons learned from a habitual outdoor runner

Month: September 2019

Sept 2019 summary

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On September 30, 2019

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I ran 11 total miles in September. Yeah, I know, sad. But, I learned I can run again and that I shouldn’t push so hard after an injury. Yup, I re-injured the knee on the second run. The first run of 5-miles left me recovering fairly well and I was ready to run again in 2 days. I now know I should have stayed with less than 5-miles, for when I exceeded five, I felt the pain increase and at the end of 6-miles I was done.

The injury isn’t as bad as the beginning of August, but enough to know I’ll be riding the bike for several more weeks to recover. I have continued walking at least 2-focused-miles a day as well. Focused miles means, I went on a 2-mile walk, not just that I had X number of steps in a day.

Not that riding the bike is bad, it’s just not the same workout as running. Below are the bicycle stats for September 2019.

Speaking of the bike, at the end of September, I’m 18 miles short of 1000 miles on it, not too bad for a low-end bike. I did replace the rear tire at 850 miles as it was pretty worn out, but overall it’s holding up well!

The combined walk-run-bike summary is below.

Gratitude on the 1st day of Fall – I ran again!

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On September 23, 2019

In Blog

I ran again today. The first time in over 6 weeks. I ran so slow it makes me laugh, but I ran.

I was like all Forrest Gump out there once I got past the fear of re-injuring my knees. The first mile was very cautious, but after that I didn’t want to stop! Just a little more… just until the next intersection… just go until the next mile is complete…

Before I started the run, I had made a deal with myself to pay attention and listen to my body. Don’t over do it! I did listen, but it was so amazing being able to run (even slowly) on my knees where I was concerned I’d never run again. I did listen… mostly…

Perhaps you’re not a runner and think this is crazy and maybe it is a bit, but as a runner, this is a big deal. It’s like being set free from a long captivity, like getting outside on that first warm Spring day after a long cold and dark winter. It’s refreshing and I’m grateful!

I ran 5 miles. I stayed close to home, just in case. I believed the knees were doing better when I could feel other body parts start complaining louder than my knees had previously. The patella, the plantar, the quads all started to chime in as if to say “hey wait, where have you been?”, it was great.

I forced myself to quit at 5 miles, then did a 2-mile walk to celebrate.

The bike has been a great way to keep my cardio in shape as there were no issues with breathing or heart-rate. I’m going to experiment with mixing the bike in my routine going forward as I have felt the benefits from it.

Happy Fall 2019! Running is back on the menu! 🙂

Resistance is futile

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On September 18, 2019

In Blog

Really? They had to make Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s!

I was having a hard time resisting the regular Peanut M&M’s, now resistance is futile. I surrendered… and are they yummy. 🙂 Now, back to my regularly scheduled exercise to compensate for the “yum-factor”.

August 2019 Stats

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On September 1, 2019

In Blog

Wow! Such a month of fitness change! The leg issues, the bike, the way the body changes when not running… yet, I’m grateful to report a pretty full month of activity! There was no running in August but a lot of cycling and the bike stats are below.

August 2019 Bike Stats

I was able to start taking a few 2 mile walks toward the end of August and I’m still hopeful to try some running mid-September. If you’re working through an injury, find what works for you and keep moving!

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