Seemingly smooth sailing

Post NYC Half - my recovery seems on track to really return to full strength hopefully by the end of May.  It's actually scary for me - I feel nothing wrong with my leg anymore - and having felt something wrong for literally a solid year this week, it's really weird!

With each passing week, I've been increasing speed and duration (not together - except when I break the rules which although I try not to, sometimes it happens).  I  have 2 PT visits left and then my PT girl said I can likely fly away on my own back to my coach to ramp up to normal training.  Yay!

My next race is Doyle's Pub Race on 4/22.  I'm just excited for that race because I haven't done it since 2005 and it's a fun one and of course there is beer.  I'm excited to see our friends Thor and Heather that we haven't seen in awhile and just really enjoy the day.  It finally feels like things are looking up.

I'm very committed to doing all the little things to keep me healthy.  If things stay steady I hope to sign up for the Toronto Marathon in the fall as my goal marathon.  I'm taking it day by day though but it's looking like I'll make my first trip to Canada in October!

Run/Walking: Starting the Climb back

Well this was a good week.  I saw my MD and put in two more PT sessions and got permission to start run/walking.  I was actually petrified to try it.  In the past year, so many of these 'tests' have been met with more pain.  With it being spring, the days getting longer and a half marathon a week away (although no chance of racing it), feeling pain when I gave it a test for the first time would have made me just sad.

So Tuesday night post MD visit and post Monday PT visit, I suited up for my brief 'test' run.  I was allowed to do 20 minutes of run walking like 1 minute run/1 minute walk, 2 minute run/1 minute walk and 3 minute run/1 minute walk.  Very exciting - no really - I couldn't wait to get home although I was scared.

It was first fun just to get ready for a run - it feels like it's been forever.  When I started out, it was like someone let me out of jail but also a bit of "how do I do this again?".  My body felt like it needed a little lesson on running again but before I knew it - I was run walking around my condo complex.  I felt so happy to be out there.  I had no pain - a bit of tightness but no pain.  I came in from the run ready to tell my husband of the success and hit the first stairs to lead to my basement and felt an 'ouch'.  What the heck is that?  Then paranoia set in - maybe this wasn't so successful after all or am I just too tuned into every little pain I feel?

The next day I visited my chiropractor and PT girl.  Both looked at the injury and remarked on how good things felt - this meant a lot coming from the chiropractor who had yet to note this.  The PT girl dry needled the calf again finally getting a trigger point that had been 'running' (HA HA) from her the prior two dry needling sessions before that.  I knew she got this point because as I left, this one spot felt pins/needles - just numb- that one spot - so weird!  The PT girl also gave me two more days of run walking - one of which I did yesterday.  This run went even better than Tuesday which was a relief.  It was also 50 degrees out which made me want to run forever! This time I did 2-4 minute run periods and almost ran pretty much the entire 20 minutes the way it worked out.

I'm feel really optimistic.  My next run/walk day is Saturday and I can't wait!  Long story short, things seem to be looking up!