First Full Mile Run W/No Pain. 1.13 Mil (11:19 min)

Ok, so two things are happening. 

1- Since I am not running, I am lacking that boost I used to get to keep active and workout. 

2- Gaining weight.. Slowly but surely.. uggh..   

Every run I have done since the marathon has ended in lots or serious pain, forcing me to have more rest days than active days. The fear of causing the injury to get worse is always there so the "Run With Caution"sign is always in my mind. I can't run faster for fear of pain, I cant run longer, for fear of pain, I cant run often for fear of pain.. What a pain in the ass.. really.. 

I wanted to run again this past Sunday, but fearing it was too soon to do so, I held back. Don't get me wrong, the itch and desire to run is still there. The urge to take on The Long Island Marathon again is 100% there. There is no way I will let this go that easy. Yes I finished the marathon and I got my medal beating the clock by 20 minutes. However, I am not pleased one bit with it. 

We got home last night and Joyce gave me the Ok to go out for a run, LOL, no I didn't need permission, but she was cooking dinner and I wanted to make sure I had enough time to go and come back. I got dressed and ready. Now, I have to be honest, I was a bit nervous about this run, I didn't know what to expect and if my knee was going to take it. In an effort to make this a painless run, I wore my knee brace again (it hasn't been helping but I wore it anyway)

Headed out my usual route at a upper 9 pace. I tried to keep it steady, short strides and tried not to think about what could happen. 

I got to my only hill on this 1 mile route which is a nice steep one. I noticed that after clearing it, I wasn't getting that usual tingly sensation on the back of my knee (so much for not thinking too much huh?) I figured I was going to feel it shortly after so I kept close attention to any signs. Got to the half mile marker and nothing. I was not going to stop and check so I kept running. Went down the hill on my way back and nothing, got to .80 on my Nike and still nothing.. Please note that by this distance I had already stopped 3 times on previous runs.

Got to Edison and Lafayette which is about 3 blocks from the house, and holy Crap, next thing I know I was half a block from the house.. HA.. I managed to run a mile none stop.. How sad but how great it felt. 
- Sad because after running 13-20 miles to try and run 1 single mile none stop is... well I am sticking with sad.. I know it's due to an injury but still, one cannot help thinking like that.  

 - Great: because for over a month I have not been able to do this, so to finish 1 mile with no pain, is not only great but it is also a PR.. lol. 

With no races for the rest of the year (at least for me) I will be focusing on endurance more than speed. For example. I will stick to the 1 mile run for the next 2 weeks. and if it continues to to be painless, I will add another mile for another 2 weeks and so and so on. The goal is to show the knee who is boss and get it back to shape slowly without killing it.

This will also help me get use to run long distances without the need of taking walks. It will be a long process but at the end it will be worth it (at least in my head seems that way) Looks like I will be getting my Garmin back pretty soon. :-)

After the run, I jumped on the chin-up bar and did 50 and 20 crunches.  Even though I ran only a mile, my body felt as if I had run 13. It is crazy how fast your body looses that endurance.