Fire up the Garmin!

Today, I did a 'long run.'  This was on the advice of Julie the Physio who, despite her disparaging remarks about my gait, felt that I could be pushing myself a bit harder than I have been.  She even suggested adding in a couple of minutes of going faster during the shorter runs, which I haven't done yet because it makes me feel so anxious.  Logically, I know that Julie is right and that I am able to do more; I'm not sure, though, how to move past the lurking fear that I'm going to strain/pull/tear something again. 

Anyway, I looked at my data from the previous week and, taking a conservative approach, added 6 minutes to last week's longest total run/walk time, equivalent to approximately another half-mile and a 10% increase from last week's mileage.  I kept the total distance covered (including walking before and after the run/walk) to 3 miles and the run/walk ratio to 4 minutes running/30 seconds walking.  I also charged up the Garmin, which had become buried and forgotten under a pile of papers on the desk over the past three months.  Nothing like strapping on a proper sports watch to make me feel like a runner again! 

There wasn't a great deal of interesting data for the Garmin to track, but I was pleasantly surprised to note that my speed varied between an 11 and 12 minute mile.  I figured that I had been managing maybe a 13 minute mile pace, so that perked me up a bit.  My calf didn't ache, nor did my hip, which I put down to maintaining better form than I had been able to in the Shetland wind.  I really enjoyed myself and had more than a few moments where the running felt effortless. 

If I listen to my body (and to Julie), I think that I am ready now to go a bit farther, go a bit faster.  It'll just take my head awhile to get used to it.