Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Patience is a virtue. If only I was more virtuous.

 
After yesterday's treadmill session I far better  understand my limits. I know that I cannot expect to go out and run for 40 minutes or more like I could a month ago. The doctor said 20 minute runs will work for now and, frankly, I'd be happy to go a full 20 but my body isn't ready. I'm thinking that I'll do an elliptical session on Wednesday, rest on Thursday and run again this Friday. I'm not looking to quickly return to outdoor running at 4:00 AM because I'd be concerned about over-committing to distance. With hope, I'll be able to run 20 minutes on the treadmill.

I would love to get to the Muttontown Mystery trail this weekend for my first trail run since coming back from pneumonia. I'll let Friday's experience determine how ready I am for that. I'm guessing that the toughest part of coming back will be to maintain enough patience to keep me from pushing my distance and speed beyond my present capabilities. Intellectually I understand that, right now, performance is irrelevant. The challenge is for me to get back to the point where I can duplicate my old form (or ideally, develop a new and better one) and efficiently move from anaerobic to aerobic breathing as I run. It was great to be back into the run and to generate some sweat for my efforts. On the other hand it was difficult to admit that I couldn't go any longer than 1.5 miles yesterday. I know the speed and distance will come and that I need to be patient and keep my recovery moving in a positive direction. Where will I be in a week or a month? Hopefully much closer to where I was in mid December. We shall see.

4 comments:

  1. Yes, performance is irrelevant. I think it is natural to want to hurry back to the levels of performance you were prior to illness or injury. You will get there, your body will give you the timetable. Glad to hear you are feeling better!!

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  2. I mountain biked Trailview to BethpageSP the other day. It was very wet and muddy. Might want to let M'town dry out a bit.

    Recovery sucks but it beats the alternative.

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  3. Wow. Pneumonia is a very serious ailment. Coincidently, my 86 yr. old father was diagnosed with pneumonia during the same time period. You are a young man. In time, this too shall pass. Take care and hope to see you on the roads soon.

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  4. Thanks for the confirmation that slow recovery is best. I took another rest day today because that's what my body told me to do.

    Maybe I'll give the MMT another week to dry out. I'm not too keen on mud running although my Helly Hansens do a good job with it.

    Brian - I hope your dad is feeling better. It's a tough thing to go through at any age.

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