It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that when you return from a serious injury, you don’t return at the same level as before your injury!!

But where are you in terms of running?  And when do you get to where you want to be?

In some ways, it is the same as a “new” runner:

• You run slow.
• You get out of breath.
• You have self-doubt. (Can I really do this?)
• You get impatient.
• You walk sometimes.
• You set goals.
• You run a race ahead of schedule.
• You “want” to be fast.
• You get frustrated.

Then, in other ways, it is so different:

• You know you can do it.
• You are fearful of re-injury.
• You are obsessed with pace.
• You rarely run without your Garmin.
• You have many types of running shoes (& are totally satisfied with none.)
• You get depressed easily (because your expectations are probably too high.)
• You are pissed off at having gotten injured.
• You whine about it (all the time.)

So I know all this because several years ago I was a beginning runner.  I will count my 1st two years as “Year 1” since I ran 6 months the first year & 6 months the 2nd year.  I started in the No Boundaries program on April 1, 2008 with the goal of running a 5K in July.  Of course, I ran several 5ks before that.  I was impatient.  I only ran 3 miles because I thought that was all I could do.  In these first years, I progressed from being happy to finish to really wanting to get faster. I had the goal of finishing a 5k under 30 minutes.

I did break 30 minutes several times but it wasn’t until year 2 that I did it more consistently and started to think PR at every race.  I also started to run longer.  By longer, it at most 4-6 miles.  I also succeeded in breaking 28 minutes in a 5k.

That meant that I was ready to seek higher goals – run longer races.  In year 3, I ran 4 mile and 5 mile races.  I even ran 5 half marathons and fell in love with that distance.  I even ran a 15 k.

This is currently year 4 for me – the Injury Year.

After 5 months of nothing, I ran a 5k for my first outdoor run.  Finishing at 35:39 was a dream because I ran. I didn’t know that I could run.

Now, I am running and the type-A in me wants to know where I am, where I should be and when will I get to where I want to be…

Here’s my invented theory:

Newbie                       Returning                    activity

Year 1…………………….Months 1-4 ……………….running

Year 2…………………….Months 5-8 ………………running faster

Year 3…………………….Months 9-12 …………….running longer

If this is true, I will back to where I was next summer…  It also means that I will be ready to run a half marathon next March (That’s what I hope since I signed up for one on Mar 17 in Fla.)  In addition, I plan to break 30 min. in a 5k by the end of the year.

Back to running…now that I can relax.

Yesterday I ran 4 miles in Bolton Landing.  I ran north on  9N for 1 mile which I had never done.  It was straight uphill and I walked a lot and I’m ok with that. Then I ran 1 mile south on 9N – rolling hills.

Then I enjoyed the rest of the day. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Sat:

Sun:

This morning I ran a stress-free Garminless 2 miles before work.

Happy Running!  Does my return to running theory make sense?