I've been successfully running for the last two and a half weeks. I was reluctant to want to post too soon, as I didn't want to claim victory right away. I still won't know if this whole thing is a done deal for another few weeks... but so far, so good. Total downtime from my stress fracture was about 10-1/2 weeks.
I started back with my first run on a treadmill, on Jan 8th. A whopping 2 miles.... and at that, it was run a quarter, walk a minute, run a half, walk a minute, run 1-1/2 miles. The second run a couple days later was 4 miles, and also included some walking in there too. No troubles from either run. That was a big green light: After a week of being 100% pain free, I was able to successfully run pain free. The doctor confirmed a couple days later that I was able to start rolling back up.
Since then, I've only occasionally experienced a slight dull aching. But typically that shakes out either during a run or with some ice and/or heat post-run. I'm still using the ultra-sound on a daily basis... Hey, if it actually makes feel better, then why stop?
I put in over 30 miles last week. Not much compared to my previous mileage, but a minor victory. The only pain I had was in my pride and motivation... I'm VERY out of shape compared to a few months ago; and it's difficult to want to get out the door during the cold winter. OK, so that statement comes with a grain of salt too: Sure, I can run now. And 5-7 miles really doesn't phase me... but again, light years away from where I was back at Halloween. My 10 mile run last week was a reality check: It's going to be a long battle to get back to where I was.
The London Marathon is 12 weeks away. I need to get my shit in gear. Up until now, I've been very careful about coming back and not pushing it too much. I'm guessing it takes me another 3 weeks to get up to 50+ miles/week. No speed in there. After my final check up with the doctor, and assuming no troubles at that point... then I should be able to roll 6 or 7 weeks of solid training before London.
Ultimately, I have to look at this as a stepping stone for my summer season, but I still have a chance of running a good marathon in April.
I started back with my first run on a treadmill, on Jan 8th. A whopping 2 miles.... and at that, it was run a quarter, walk a minute, run a half, walk a minute, run 1-1/2 miles. The second run a couple days later was 4 miles, and also included some walking in there too. No troubles from either run. That was a big green light: After a week of being 100% pain free, I was able to successfully run pain free. The doctor confirmed a couple days later that I was able to start rolling back up.
Since then, I've only occasionally experienced a slight dull aching. But typically that shakes out either during a run or with some ice and/or heat post-run. I'm still using the ultra-sound on a daily basis... Hey, if it actually makes feel better, then why stop?
I put in over 30 miles last week. Not much compared to my previous mileage, but a minor victory. The only pain I had was in my pride and motivation... I'm VERY out of shape compared to a few months ago; and it's difficult to want to get out the door during the cold winter. OK, so that statement comes with a grain of salt too: Sure, I can run now. And 5-7 miles really doesn't phase me... but again, light years away from where I was back at Halloween. My 10 mile run last week was a reality check: It's going to be a long battle to get back to where I was.
The London Marathon is 12 weeks away. I need to get my shit in gear. Up until now, I've been very careful about coming back and not pushing it too much. I'm guessing it takes me another 3 weeks to get up to 50+ miles/week. No speed in there. After my final check up with the doctor, and assuming no troubles at that point... then I should be able to roll 6 or 7 weeks of solid training before London.
Ultimately, I have to look at this as a stepping stone for my summer season, but I still have a chance of running a good marathon in April.
