Running Commentary (Part 2)

After my initial discovery that I could, in fact, make myself a better runner, I was excited to keep running. I was running after work at the gym, and even ran a few times around my neighborhood soccer field on the weekends. It was on one of those runs that I injured my foot.

I didn't do anything too strenuous during that workout, and to this day, I still don't know what went wrong. All I knew, I was running along fine, and then one misstep caused a sharp pain in my foot. At first, I thought it was just a temporary ache, and tried running through it. After another minute, I decided it was a little too painful.

I still don't know what happened to my foot exactly - likely a sprain or strain of the ligaments - but it derailed my progress for at least a month. I rested my foot, iced it and waited, albeit rather impatiently. Finally, I decided to run, seeing as it was feeling better and I couldn't wait any longer to get back on my running plan. That first run was exhilarating.

I gradually worked myself back into some sort of schedule, although by this time, I'd fallen off the Couch to 5k plan. I was doing intervals of running and walking, a strategy which I believe caused the marked progress I kept seeing. I pushed myself a bit more each week, finally getting to around 1 and half miles near the end of April.

April is the month when my gym puts on their 'Spring Games,' which is simply a series of different events - tennis, volleyball, running, swimming - where members can create teams and have some friendly competition. The last week of April, I walked in to see that the event for the day was a 5k, with the course marked along the nearby road. The temperature wasn't too bad, and I thought, "Why not try it?" I told myself I could walk after the first mile if I really needed to.

I started off strong - a good solid first mile. I don't know the time, because I forgot my watch that day. In the second mile, I started having to walk for intervals, and I barely finished the third mile. The key word in that sentence is 'finished' - because I did actually complete a full 5k! My time was nothing to brag about - 38:00 - but I considered finishing to be winning for me.

My plan was derailed after that success by a month and half-long business trip, where the treadmill was broken. I tried not to eat too much, and walked as many stairs as I could, but I knew I was losing ground. I returned and slowly got back on track, though.

The last two weeks, I've run a minimum of 2 miles every day - which makes 10 miles a week! - with a personal best mile time of 10:19! My goal now is both to increase my stamina to run three miles, while also increasing my speed to get to a 10-minute mile pace. Considering how far I've come already, I know I can do it. It's just a matter of time now.