Honestly today was a day I was nervous for – my first run after 4 weeks of no running and only doing drills. My hesitation and nervousness is directly caused by my right knee. My right knees LCL gave me problems during last year’s training for and running a half-marathon.
It turned out to be a great lesson – pain is an indicator of doing something improperly – I didn’t hold this perspective at the time but I do now.
Today’s run was an 8k run. For me time does not matter – it is all about form, my last stride must be as technical as my first – anything else is a failure.
I got up early, and honestly I had to argue with myself for 5 minutes in my warm bed to get my body out of bed and get moving. There was a moment where I wasn’t sure which side would win – I won.
The night before I set my shoes, compression socks, hydration belt, and apple out so a I could be as quiet as possible and not wake the rest of the family.
I snuck out of the house before the sun rise but not before the humidity.
No music, only the birds and other nature sounds – mornings are beautiful. The simplicity of mornings can only be experienced before the daily hustle and bustle begins. Small town living allows this, I would assume in a big metropolis this would be tougher to find. Me, nature, and the 3/4 moon exist – nothing else – save the odd passing vehicle.
I jog in place to emphasize the pull, lean forward from my hips and fall, and off I go.
Pull, Pose, Fall, and repeat.
7k was solid. Focus on the breath, only inhale through the nose to keep my heart rate in Zone 2, and when my mind starts to wonder I count backwards from 1000 and get as far as I can. 983 was as low as I got – practice practice practice.
There are times during runs that feel great – I tried to enjoy these. There are times that feel shitty – I acknowledged these and realized that these too shall pass.
About kilometre 7 my right knee started to bother me – I immediately did a scan of my form and didn’t ask mmediately notice anything. I walked the last kilometre – got home and realized that when my right ankle collapses into its old, flat foot form, the pressure goes to the outside of my knee.
I have been flat footed my entire life – not realizing that I can fix this through conscious effort.
Since March this has been top of kind. But after 7k fatigue starts to set in and old habits return. Pain and discomfort are great teachers.
This will be my longest run for a few weeks – shorter distances with intervals are up next. The goal for these are simple – maintain good form.
My journey to 50 miles has begun.