Two miles

Labor Day was still summer, muggy and low 90's. Yesterday the storms came through, but it stayed hot and humid until mid-afternoon, when the temperature dropped precipitously. Today was our first perfect Fall day, low 60's, crisp and clear, not a cloud in the sky.

A day like today always makes me want to run, even if I haven't in awhile. And it's not that I haven't tried, but I haven't really been able to run since my ACL reconstruction surgery last year. At my first annual eval we seriously considered a second procedure to remove the hardware and clean up some adhesions because I was still having so much discomfort at the site, with bending, and, especially, after running.

The exercise regimen I described in my last news post has paid off, though. I have visible muscle surrounding my knee cap, and I've made great progress with my walk/run program. I had stopped "jogging" because of my tendency to do that without really engaging my quadriceps. But today I really, really wanted to run the whole block, a distance of two miles, and I can't "run" that far yet.

In my previous life I remember running with our head nurse, who desperately needed to pass an upcoming PT test, as a source of support and low-key drill sergeant-type motivation. She was slow but determined, and we ran a four mile loop at a speed that felt like standing still at the time. I still remember the surprise I felt at how easy it seemed. I decided today was a good day to try to recapture that ease.

So I did. I ran, but v e r y s l o w l y. No, I jogged. But I remembered to contract the necessary muscles to stabilize my knee on each step, and I completed the two miles, still jogging. It was a glorious day.

Woo hoo!