After three months of waiting, I was finally cleared to run again on January 1. Of course, the closest thing I did to running that day was dragging my suitcases through the airport. But I did establish a training plan with the goal of running my first 5K of the year in March, possibly at the Oakland Running Festival.

The Plan

• Monday: run (scrubbed due to sick preschooler)
• Tuesday: gym
• Wednesday: Pilates, run .5 miles
• Thursday: gym
• Friday: scheduled rest
• Saturday: try a long run or walk (replaced with gym)
• Sunday: rest

Both visits to the gym were an hour long and featured 30 minutes of low-impact cardio and strength training. Yes, I’m cleared to do high-impact workouts now, but my foot still feels funny, so I want to make sure that I still do moderate workouts during the week specifically so that I can pound on my foot on my running days.

I’m still going to Apex Pilates once a week for my own version of physical therapy. Mercy helps to loosen all of the muscles that have become much too tight from months of injury-related overcompensation. Before I went to see her on Wednesday, I did my first run of the year. I only went for half a mile, partly because I was nervous about going further and partly because my excitement and adrenaline had my heart pounding wildly. But I did it! I actually ran, and not just a few steps, either. I can remember a time early last year when I couldn’t have run for half a mile without stopping. Clearly my body has managed to retain some amount of cardio endurance and muscle memory that should hopefully make my return to running easier.

I was very excited to find a group of women to run with on Saturdays. Through the local moms’ club, I’ve met a few seriously athletic women who have fallen off the wagon due to injury or kids. I was planning to join them for our first run this Saturday, a 2.5 miler, but as Friday drew to a close I realized that I wasn’t sure if I could handle that kind of distance yet. I’ve decided to put that plan on hold until I know that I really have my feet under me again. Instead, I did a lot of walking to continue to work on my cardio endurance.

For now, I’m going to be building in at least two rest days a week. I’d rather underdo it in the short term rather than overdo it and do something to slow my progress.

Tags: 5k, cross-training, injury, oakland running festival, pilates, rehabilitation, running, strength

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