Progress... I am running!

Last Thursday I tried to run for the first time in almost 2 weeks. The last time I tried to run I had to stop at 1.6 miles because the pain was too much in my knee. For the last few weeks while I waited for the MRI and results to be completed on my knee, I just ran in the pool and rode my bike on my rollers in the basement. Both allowed me to stop immediately if the pain came back, and the workouts were non-impact. So, when I decided to run on Thursday I ran on my treadmill figuring it would be another failed attempt.

I was excited by the fact that I ran 2.5 miles and stopped on my own without knee pain. For me, this distance isn't much but was more progress than I have experienced in 3 weeks. I also did 45 minutes running in the pool afterwards again without pain. I'll take it! Friday I had a good hour on my bike while the power was out as I had blogged previously, which was again a big accomplishment. Saturday was even better, I decided to try running on my treadmill again since I missed pool running while I was at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

I was proud to see my son Derek's friend Matt make Eagle Scout. I hope Derek too will be receiving his Eagle Scout rank this Fall... when he gets moving on his project. The project has been the downfall of more Eagle candidates than anything else. Its a real challenge to learn to project manage at 17 and if you can't manage a project you will have a very hard time completing the elusive Eagle Project. That's why only 4% of all Scouts make it to the rank of Eagle Scout.

Okay back to running... I ran 3.5 miles again on the treadmill without pain! I actually felt very good when I stopped and it seemed like I could have gone much further, but I chose baby steps in the way of progress. If I push too hard I will regress and I DON'T want that! I got up early Sunday morning and did another hour in the pool with my trusty side-kick Erica keeping me company again (it's nice to have my daughter keeping me company because its VERY boring doing pool running if I haven't said that recently). I felt great afterward but it was a hectic day... I brought my son and a few of my other Scouts to Scout camp for the week and will head back up there on Thursday to spend the last few days with them too.

Monday was the best day yet though. I finally got up the guts to head outdoors for a run. I put on my new New Balance 909 trail shoes that I had tested on the treadmill and headed out for a run on the trails at the local park. I did a few loops around the lake, ran a few decent hills (both up and down). I tested the new shoes' "Rockstop 2" layer on a very rocky trail and it works way better than my Salomon SpeedCross 2 shoes do at protecting the balls of my feet! They are very good shoes... weight of only 11.1 oz and with my orthotics they only weight 12.3 oz. Nice and light to fly along those mountain trails!

I feel much better about my recovery and I start physical therapy on Wednesday morning so I should be recovering fast now. I am very confident that I will get my 145 mi AT run done this summer as well as the Race to the Top of VT! Now that I can see success again, I need to get back to fundraising which I had all but ceased while I didn't know if I would be running this summer.

I am... Running for Other People's Lives!