Am I the only one so enamored with this weather that I can’t bear to be inside unless I have to? Of course that also means that all of my indoor to-do list (including posting here) has fallen by the wayside. So I’ll also be happy when the weather turns chilly so I can curl up inside and write posts.
While the weather is turning from late summer to early fall, though, you can find me anywhere but on the couch. Lately, I’m beyond excited to say, you can even sometimes find me running. That’s right, RUNNING! If you’ve been here a while, my knee and it’s desire to ruin running forever has been a headache for nearly a year and a half now. I’ve shared how I finally opted for a surgical solution, my first outing back on the run, and how frustrated I was when the surgery didn’t seem to work. After that final post in June, running was pushed to the back burner, in part due to frustration, but mostly because my focus was bike time in training for RAGBRAI. Since getting back I’ve once again made running a priority in my workouts.
I almost don’t want to say anything, but so far, I have been pain-free! Working with my physical therapist, I’ve now completed three Level 1 runs and three Level 2 runs (in the past, my pain has always come back during the first Level 2 run). I’m still very cautiously optimistic – over a year of pain will make a pain-free run feel surreal. I’m hoping that the surgery, combined with a summer of biking (strengthening my quads, hamstrings, and glutes) did the trick. I’ve now been cleared to start on Level 3, which is four repetitions of walk one minute, jog four minutes. It’s still not much, but I’ll take it, especially since fall is my favorite season to spend outdoors.
Is the weather changing by you? How do you celebrate it?
