Last night I ran for the first time since the Las Vegas Marathon. I did 5.5 miles with my running group. The first mile or two felt pretty good. It felt good to be out there. But I think I was running too fast and I was totally overdressed. Still, I finished 5.5 miles at a 9:30 pace with minimal left leg discomfort. My hip was a little achy for the rest of the evening but it feels better after a night of sleep.
Which leads me to my next though: taking a break. Obviously I've pushed my body hard this year. I've run lots of PRs, two marathons, and 30 races total. I've been dealing with left leg issues since the end of January and while I've been able to run through them I'm pretty sure my body needs some time to heal. Plus, I've got an appointment with a surgeon to talk about my labral tear on December 21st.
So it was rather timely that this month's issue of Runners' World had an article about how to scale back your running during the holiday season. Because that's exactly what I plan to do.
I took 7 full days off running after Las Vegas. I'll probably take another 7 full days off running in the near future. I'll be visiting my mom for the rest of the week and she has an elliptical that I plan to use a few times.
I have a Groupon for a month of unlimited yoga that I plan to use. There are some classes at my gym I want to try. And if I can get up the courage and find a time that works with my schedule, I'm going to try some swimming. Gulp.
I'll probably throw in some light strength training, too, if I can figure out what works for me. I do have another CrossFit coupon that I'd love to use but we'll have to see if it aggravates anything.
Some of this is dependent on what the surgeon says next week but I'm hopeful that I can find something that will keep me fit but let me heal. There might be some trial and error but and I'm a little weirded out to deviate so much from the schedule I've been sticking two for the past year. But I'm also looking forward to trying something a little different. Who knows? Maybe it will be awesome.
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