Captain, you’ve been cleared for takeoff.
Yesterday, I got the go-ahead to return to running from my doctor and boy was I ready for it. It’s been almost a month and while I’ve been keeping busy with cross training, my legs and head are anxious to pound some good ol’ fashioned pavement.
The psoas muscles have calmed dawn, the inflammation is dissipating and with continued work on strengthening my glutes and stretching, I should be ready to get back in the game.
To be honest, while I’ve been slowly running three to five miles a max of three times a week, I can notice a clear loss of fitness. My legs are slower and heavier, my heart beats a little bit harder, and then my head starts to play games on me and I find myself saying some not-so-uplifting things about my personal ability.
Chicken Face reassures me that, “Babe, you’re FINE,” but I can’t help but to get a little down on myself about how much fitness I’ve lost over this rest period. But I know that he’s right…with time and hard work, I’ll be back, hopefully even stronger than before.
So for now, I’m going to focus on running to run. I’m going to try and avoid brining my Garmin with me as glancing at the watch will surely send my head into illogical rants. Instead, I’m going to run based on perceived exertion. I’ll try to jump back into my Las Vegas training plan, but the doc did say, “You better not go out and run 13 miles this weekend…it needs to be a gradual build.”
Will Las Vegas be the PR crusher that I had hoped it would be? Who knows right now. But will I be back in action come race time? You better believe it.
What do you do to get back in the game with a loss of fitness?
Oh, and because I hate blog posts without photos, here’s a random one (albeit a horrible iPhone photos) of the costume I think Chicken Face should have been for Halloween instead of the “runner” that we can all agree looked totally normal:
Sorry, babe!
Happy 11.1.11 and Happy Running!
Congrats on the go-ahead to pound pavement Page! Its always a sucktastic feeling the first time you notice ANY lost fitness, but I guarantee you that the rest from running will allow you to come back and kick ASS in a few months.
And the picture of Chicken Face? Priceless.
I’m glad that you got the okay to start working out again. And as for loss of fitness, I’m sure you’ll get that back in no time. If it makes you feel any better, your loss of fitness is probably my race pace.
Glad you are back running. I think its the hardest when you were in such good shape, had to take time off and then come back. You still have the feeling fresh in your mind of how it felt to be in good shape and then you run after a break and you don’t have that anymore. BUT from past experience that speed and endurance DOES come back and usually pretty quickly! Keep at it girl and you will have your speedy legs back in no time!
It’s always hard to come back after a break, but I’m sure you’ll get your fitness back pretty quickly. Maybe you won’t be right where you want for Vegas, but I’m betting the break and recovery time will pay off in a few months.
When it comes to coming back from an injury- I’m the same! I’m still recovering from my sprained tendons. I started feeling like the kid who gets picked last in gym class because my heart would beat SO fast while running and my speed was not where it use to be. Going the “run for fun” route really helped me. And I know I will be speedy again- I just have to work back upto it.
Still jealous of the Vegas run! And- HOORAY that you are running again!
Glad to hear you are running again! I totally get the “lost fitness feeling.” I had to take some time off because of shin splints and getting back into was not easy (and still isn’t since it’s still an ongoing injury). You will bounce back quickly though. Our bodies have incredible muscle memory so just be patient!
P.S. I also saw nothing weird about that runner’s costume. Looks totally everyday normal to me!
YAY for getting cleared to run again!
I think you’ll be surprised how fast it comes back. I thought I’d be suuuper slow forever after having Ellie, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with some of my runs!
I know how frustrating it is to feel like you’ve lost fitness, but Chicken Face is right…you will be fine!
I’m a huge fan running sans Garmin or watch. After my last marathon, I took 2 weeks off then got really sick, essentially taking 3 weeks off. Distances and paces that used to be easy felt so hard. So, I basically let myself just “fun run” from mid-May thru end of July, making a goal to do a long run each week. It takes the pressure off of “time/pace,”allowing me to ease back into things seamlessly.
That’s not to say I don’t say mean things to myself, too, such as “gah! why do you suck now! you are so freaking slow!”
I think if you take a few weeks or maybe a full month sans Garmin, you’ll gain fitness back even quicker because you won’t be stressing out about what the Garmin says and, instead, focusing on pushing yourself.
…says the legit crazy person who is going insane right now…
So, you can take my two cents with a grain of salt.
Congrats on the return to running! Sometimes ditching the Garmin is easiest way to get back into the groove without getting too crazy or caught up mentally. Baby steps are the best to ensure you get to the starting line in Vegas healthy and happy. Patience is key, and you’ll be back to full force in no time
When is Las Vegas? I was also off for a couple of weeks and lost a lot of fitness, but my marathon is looking good. I would have had 6 weeks!!!
good luck
Glad you’ve been given the go ahead to start running again. Make sure you listen to that doc though
After my injury in May it took me awhile to get my fitness back, albeit I was not in shape like you are. But it helped a lot to go out and runs sans Garmin and just find my happy place in running again. Enjoy!
Yay congrats on getting the go ahead
! How exciting! Enjoy getting back into it. Some of the first runs are the hardest because they feel awkward and hard, but the most awesome because you have missed running so much! Good Luck with building back into things. Time without the Garmin can be very freeing. Happy Training!
Glad you got the go ahead for back to running! Though I would take it easy at first, you don’t want to get reinjured again. My guess is that you won’t be ready to set a PR at Vegas, that seems too soon. Maybe go for that PR again at Surf City half marathon?
And yea, Chickenface should have gone with the costume above instead of as a runner, he looked normal too all of us!
ahhh i can so relate with those feelings right now! except mine aren’t from an inury-related break but simply a break post-marathon. i really want to get out there and run and get some consistency back, but i can really feel my loss of fitness and that in itself is a little discouraging, so therefore i find myself running less often. it’s a vicious cycle! but i agree with you, for now i just need to run to run, and not worry about paces or mileage. glad you’re healing, i’m sure you’ll be back to 100% in no time!
I’m sure you haven’t lost as much fitness as you think, and whatever little bit you have will come back easily. Don’t beat yourself up!