Second Day on the Road

I was back on the road yesterday, for the first time in almost a month.  I only went a couple of miles and truthfully, it wasn't pretty.  Since the surgery, the area around the incision has been numb.  Apparently, they cut many of the nerves in order to get to the bone.  My physical therapist wife tells me that the nerves will eventually grow back but in the meantime, I have kind of a tingling in the skin, made marginally more irritating when the wire from my headphones hits that area.

My fitness is also off after the layoff.  A couple of miles at 8:30 pace followed by 45 minutes on the elliptical and I was ready for a nap.  Fortunately, Sara (daughter) and Pat (boyfriend) are visiting so they helped keep me awake and away from the bed.

Today was a little bit easier.  The same 2 miles went by without as much leg fatigue and the shoulder/collarbone felt more natural.  The run itself seemed easier as well.

I have picked out a race to point toward - October 15 is the Kansas City Marathon/Half-Marathon.  Mike Slade, my motorcycle buddy from up the street, and I will run together.  I don't imagine that he wants to run particularly fast so I am going to train with an endurance emphasis only.  And remember that half last summer with Sara?  She has me convinced to join her in Chicago again this year, sometime in mid-August.  Her pace is remarkably steady but a bit slower than I am used to so I'm not worried about time there either.  I'll use it as a training run, with lots of water stops and a slow pace.

As far as a training plan, it's "take it easy...increase no more than 10% per week...take two days off per week...relax and enjoy...don't get hurt..."

We'll see.............