Again ... another decision point. In case you didn't read the last post I tend to lose motivation quickly when little things come up (waiting for a machine, forgot my stuff, etc). I decided to think through my options - 1) I leave work, go wait for the bus to bring me back to South Boston, grab my stuff, walk back to the bus stop, wait for the bus to bring me back downtown and then go to the YMCA for my ellipitical workout. In my head this was probably a 1 hour round trip undertaking! 2) Leave work, hop on the bus, head home and change into my running gear and do a quick 30 minute run outside. This option definitely had some benefits including less travel time, I got to run and increased motivation since it wasn't the elliptical and I actually looked forward to running. Of course, the downside was that there was a 90% chance that my IT Band would be sore after.
Being stubborn and inpatient, I elected to go for option #2. I got home, put on my running gear and headed outside for a run. This run was great because Renee was heading out at the same time so we decided to head out together knowing that I would likely peel off early if my knee started to ache. We headed down towards Castle Island and got to Sully's, which is really the point where you can turn around for a 3 mile run or commit to doing ~4-5. Since the knee felt good at this point I decided to push forward with Renee. We were making great time and ran the first 3 miles at ~ 9:20 pace.
To be honest, besides the ache on the outside of my left knee I felt great. Like my previous runs, my cardiovascular endurance felt great. This run also served as a good reminder of how far I have come in my training. I think I may have mentioned this in one of the very early posts, but when I first started training over the summer for the B.A.A Half Marathon I could only run 1-1.5 miles without stopping. This served as a little problem since Castle Island (see picture) is my favorite place to run in Boston. At the time it was difficult for me since it is ~ 0.8 miles from my house and is a 2.0 mile loop around ... making it a ~3.5 mile trip total. In order to do my training, I actually used to drive down to castle island, run the two mile loop (at first with multiple periods of walking), and then drive back. Today ... even with somewhat of a bad knee I was able to do a 4 mile run and didn't even feel tired when I was done. Just one of those feel good moments that help keep you training and gets you through these little bumps and bruises.
For the rest of tonight it will be ice, rest, ice, rest, ice, rest, ice to make sure the knee stays in good shape. Tomorrow ... its back to the elliptical. Monday ... I start physical therapy.
Me in my winter running gear, about to start my 4 mile run. |
No comments:
Post a Comment