So far I’ve been on three actual jogs.
The first one was on March 24th, did a distance of 2 miles at a pace of about 11:25. So it was an easy jog. I didn’t really try anything at all because I wanted to get a feel for my knee.
When I would open my stride I could feel my calf stretch and when I’d land it would be testing the mobility limits that I’ve been working on overcoming with my stretches and other movements that I’m doing at home.
The second run was March 28th, I wanted to test myself this time. I felt pretty good the day after the first jog so I decided I would see if I could put some distance in. This run was 5.15 miles at a pace of 9:20. I was feeling really good most of the run. Of course some of the feeling in my leg has not come all the way back so I made sure to be careful on ground that was uneven at all because that’s where I feel like I could re-injure myself since I don’t have all my strength back.
I took some time off between that run and the third one because I wanted to let my body tell me exactly what happened on the 5 mile run. I kept exercising and stretching at home. There was some pain for a couple days after but it was all muscle soreness, especially in my calf.
The third run was April 11th. This run was to see if I could just use the same running muscles I remember using and see if there was strength in them through the exercises and recovery. I did 3.73 miles at a pace of 9:34. I took it easy but added an acceleration to the last 1/8th mile. This was to see if I had some quad and hamstring strength that I’ve prided myself on for all of my active life. Previously it was my acceleration that produced all the power I found and enjoyed. I feared that would be completely gone after this surgery and I would never have any explosive strength at all.
I felt like I could ramp up really well and my legs were performing. This is all good stuff.
So my goal for April is to put in consistent 3-4 mile runs every few days, focusing on some acceleration and then recovery periods within the run. I’d also like to see if I could pace myself to put in an 8 minute mile then follow it up with a 9 minute mile then alternate and see how I feel after changing pace and the like during the run.
My goal if I get to the marathon is that I can plan out which miles I actually want to use energy. I don’t want to blow it all in the early miles and I don’t want to sit back and only try to use it for the final sprint. I really don’t want to have sprints in there, but rather acceleration periods followed by “rest” miles that I can sit there and stride without thinking too much.
We’ll see how it goes…
ACL to Marathon 