So that's what that feels like

More often than not, when I take time off from running my first run back is a complete disaster. For instance, you may recall this lovely little run a few weeks back:

That first run after time off usually feels as awkward, exhausting and just plain weird as it can get. Add to that the fact that I haven't taken more than one full week off from running since....well, I don't know, and you can understand why I was a little apprehensive about resuming training this week.

Josh went for his run first and I stayed with the puppy and the whole time I thought "ugh, this could be bad." What feeble attempts at running I've had in the last 3 weeks have been just that, feeble. Nonetheless, I laced up my shoes and headed out the front door as soon as Josh came in the back.

What I got? A beautiful run! The weather was perfect and my legs steady and overall it just felt like a lovely little afternoon trot.

Despite today's awesome effort, I'm feeling more and more unsure about this November 3rd half Marathon. Last week I had an appointment with my friendly Sports Doc. and got both good and bad news.

Good: my back is just a bad muscle pull. He gave me some exercises (that I was already doing) and prescribed a muscle relaxer. Unfortunately, you can't drive or really do anything while taking said prescription, so I haven't even had it filled. We'll see how long this "hold out" lasts. Two weeks later and my lower back is still one big ball of OUCH 

Bad: I finally got my knee looked at. While he could definitely feel the swelling and tell there were differences between my legs/knees, he couldn't figure out the cause. Luckily none of the ligaments or muscles appear torn and the structure of my knee is intact. Unfortunately, he wants me to get an MRI. With work the way it is, the likelihood of me actually getting said MRI before Veterans Day is unlikely. On a positive note, he didn't give me any restrictions - manage the pain as best I can and just don't do anything more than what I've been doing. Since "Marathon" is on my list of "recent physical activities" I'm pretty sure I'm cleared for anything

So in light of these most recent developments, I've basically scrapped my original training plan. Lucky for me there was a great article in the August issue of RunnersWorld (I'm a bit behind!) tailored for just this situation. You can find the article here and while it's listed under the Beginners section, I think it's applicable for just about anybody. So in accordance with their advice and my desire to actually heal, here's the plan for the week:

Monday - Check! Tuesday, I'm coming for you next!

Have you ever taken a significant amount of time off? How did you recover?

Happy Running!