Gonna Fly Now

Liberty Park: Outer Loop

 First sustained run since my ACL surgery on 03/30/2007. My left knee was a little achy, but it subsided after I stopped running.

The Army Reserve was doing their 2 mile PT at the same time as my run. It's a little sad that I can outrun our armed forces when I haven't run a step in over two months.
 

Ran to 15th and 15th and back, added a loop through "Christmas Street" to bring up the mileage a little.

Left knee is still achy, and I was feeling some pain through my hamstring. The hamstring pain is related to the bruising I sustained during stretching at physical therapy, but my therapist said it's not unusual, and no reason why I should cut back on my activity levels.

I thought I would be able to jump back into 4 or 5 mile runs when I got my feet back under me, but it turns out that two months of relative inactivity sure leave you out of shape. I was huffing and puffing around the mile mark, and started to get some minor side cramps near the end of my run. I know it won't take long to get back into running shape, but it sure is discouraging right now.

 

Sugarhouse Park Loop (1x)

Still trying to get my feet under me. My surgically repair knee is feeling decent, although I'm getting some tightness in my kneecap and a little soreness around my bruised hamstring. Fortunately, it's not unbearable, just a little uncomfortable.

Running the hills at Sugarhouse Park was a little bit of a challenge. Uphill wasn't too much of an issue, but downhill was more difficult. The additional strain that's being put on my kneecap makes it hard to maintain a decent stride. I figure it's just something I need to work through, and that it will be get better as my leg gets stronger.

GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2952317



 

Neighborhood Meanadering

Two miles shouldn't be this hard! My gait (and knee) are starting to feel a little better, but I'm still having some difficulty with my left hamstring. I get little twinges of pain here and there when I try to push out to my natural stride. I feel like I'm really favoring my left side - maybe I should ask someone to watch me run and give me feedback.

Here's the ol' GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2963251

 

Tough day to run. Went about two miles, but got really winded around mile 1.5. I probably ran the first mile too fast, 7:24 pace. (I wasn't trying to run that fast, it just happened.)

Near my house I lengthened my stride to pass over a puddle, and really felt it in my left hamstring. For the rest of the run I could feel a little bit of pain behind my knee, but nothing that made me think about stopping. I see my physical therapist tomorrow, so I'll have him take a look at my leg and see if any adjustments need to be made.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to push it up to about 2.5 miles. I'm going to try to program my watch to beep when I'm running too fast (faster than 7:45/mile) so that I keep my pace down.

GPS output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2996335
 

2.6 miles up (and down) 1500 East. This is a nice rolling course that offered me some downhill sections to test my range of motion and leg extension. I think my gait is starting to get back to normal (or else I'm getting used to my compromised gait!) and I didn't feel too much pain in my hamstring today. My kneecap still feels a bit tight during and after my run, but doing some mobilization exercises really helps to alleviate the condition.

I didn't see as many runners as I thought I would today. It must be a rest day for everyone else.

GPS Output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3004792

Oh yeah: so much for trying to keep my pace down. Somehow I managed to run the second mile in 7:19. I really need to work on keeping a more manageable pace. I tried to slow down when I saw how quickly I was running, but it didn't last very long.

Today was the best run I've had since I've been cleared to run on the street again. No hamstring pain, and only a little bit of tightness in my kneecap. I mixed up the run with about 1.5 miles on the street and 1.5 miles on the grass loop around Sugar House Park. The downhill sections at SH Park were a little difficult, but not overly taxing.

I managed to slow down a bit (my first mile was over 8 minutes!) so I didn't feel quite as dead when I finished. But, then I was disappointed to see that my average pace was over 7:45/mile. I know, I know...I've gotta choose to slow down before I can be fast again (at least over "long" distances) but it's hard to back off.

Things are definitely coming back.

GPS Output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3024420

Ran from the City Creek gates to the water treatment plant, and back. My longest run since the ACL surgery, and probably my easiest. I started out fairly slow running with some friends from <A href="http://www.runloco.com/">Locomotion</a>, but picked up the pace a bit after the first mile as I climbed up the canyon. I had to take a brief walking break on one hill, but that wasn't unexpected.

I had only intended to run 3ish miles today, but I had forgotten how far it is to the water treatment plant. I was starting to get a little nervous when I saw the 2 mile marker, and considered turning around, but decided to push through and see how my knee reacts. Apart from a little soreness on the outside of my leg I didn't have any problems. My hamstring didn't even bother me.

No GPS data today - my watch battery was dead when I got to the run.

Ran one of my normal neighborhood routes - had some uphill, some flats, some downhill, but nothing too extreme. My left knee and hamstring are feeling much better, I'm not experiencing any pain while I running except for the occasional step where my knee hyper extends (uneven curbs, potholes, etc).

My endurance is getting a tad better, but it could be greatly improved. I would love to be back to the point where I can run 3-4 miles without getting terribly winded. I know it will come, but it sure seems slow.

GPS Output:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3063349