Running Recovery

At the end of February, I injured myself on a long run and have been slowly coming back from it. I’m now back to running about every other day, and I have been able to cautiously increase the distance little by little – I’m now up to about 5km per run. I don’t feel any pain, and could probably run longer, but I am going to go slow. I’m not training, after all. I just enjoy running and I don’t want to jeopardize that freedom by getting injured again.

I also have to accept that my body doesn’t recover as fast as it used to. 😁

Pick-Me-Up

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/12800 sec, ISO32
“Found Smile” Cedar Park, 2022

Today’s run was great for a couple of reasons. First, my left leg (which has been giving me trouble) didn’t hurt at all, and secondly, I saw a cool smiley face in the street. 😀

I haven’t been able to run very far before my left knee, or rather the soft area behind my left knee, starts hurting. So I have been trying to just run a few kilometers while it heals. And today, I ran over 3 km with no pain! I think I will gradually increase the distance, while taking one or two rest days in between runs. Should be good, right?

I hope you had a nice day! またね

Marathon Swag

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 23.3mm, f/3.2, 1/45 sec, ISO3200
“Marathon Swag” Cedar Park, 2022

The swag bag arrived from the Austin Marathon people and it was filled with a lot of goodies. I’m impressed! Of course the best thing is my race bib and I was fortunate to receive number 900, which I like because 9 is my favorite number.

Other items include the finisher medal/belt buckle, long scarf, hat, coffee mug, hand sanitizer, gummies, tote bag, t-shirt, and long-sleeve running shirt. Those last two items are really nice Under Armor shirts. Pretty good, right?

In the photo, I also show my black On Cloud running shoes which I am retiring. I’ve put almost 600 miles on them so it’s time to switch to next pair of shoes (same model). Thank you, shoes, for helping me finish two marathons. Enjoy your retirement!

Maui – Running, Ramen, Ukuleles, and a Sunset

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/2100 sec, ISO32
“Wailuku Heights” Wailuku, 2022

I woke up today ready to go for a run near our house so I put on my shoes and headed out the door. The area is super-hilly though, and I was still recovering from very sore/injured muscles from the marathon I finished on Sunday, so I ran carefully. The residents of the neighborhood are all very friendly, and you can expect a nice wave and a “good morning” from everyone you see. It’s really nice!

And of course, the views are stunning:

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/7800 sec, ISO32
“Wailuku Heights Park” Wailuku, 2022

On the way back to the house, my left leg started hurting so I walked the rest of the way. Luckily there wasn’t any pain just walking along. I am just thankful that my legs were strong enough for the hike in Molokai.

One thing we wanted to check out was the Upcountry Farmers Market in Makawao. It was crowded and fun, and we enjoyed a ramen from Alohana Vegan Ramen. Beautiful and delicious!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 44.4mm, f/4, 1/400 sec, ISO320
“Vegan Ramen” Kula, 2022

After that, we met up with my Uncle and Auntie for another bite to eat in Kahului, then did a bit of shopping. And another highlight of the trip was a visit to Mele Ukulele. They have some beautiful instruments and I chatted with the owner and shop helper and learned about the history of the store. It was really fun and I enjoyed listening to some relaxing ukulele music. I’m planning on buying a ukulele from them next time we visit. It’s the dream!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/100 sec, ISO125
“Mele Ukulele” Wailuku, 2022

For dinner, we found ourselves in Wailea where we had reservations at Lineage. But before that, we had a drink at Bistro Molokini and watched baby whales frolicking under the sunset. It was awesome. Another wonderful day in paradise.

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/1600 sec, ISO32
“Sunset” Wailea, 2022

Virtual Marathon Struggle

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 2.71mm, f/2.2, 1/460 sec, ISO25
“Virtual Marathon” Cedar Park, 2022

I switched my Austin Marathon registration from in-person to Virtual, which meant that I could run the distance anytime between February 20 (the date of the in-person race) and March 13. After looking at my calendar, today seemed like a good day to run the Virtual Marathon.

So at 10:45 am, I headed out to run the same course that I ran in January, which is basically four 7-mile loops from my house. This meant that I could stop at the house for water, snacks, and bathroom break 3 times. The weather was perfect: sunny and in the 40s F.

The first 7-mile loop was good, and I was taking it easy to conserve energy. But the second loop was when things got difficult. My legs felt dead… no energy! At the half-way point, I had my water and snacks, but when I started the third loop, my left leg could hardly move. It was not good. But I decided to start walking and hopefully it would loosen up. It sort of worked, but within a mile, I started feeling a bit of pain in my left leg, so I began walking again.

At this point I was worried that I would not be able to continue. We are going on vacation in a few days, and I didn’t want to get injured. So I kept walking and thinking about if I wanted to call it quits or not. Well, alternating walking and jogging a seemed okay, so I persevered and completed the third loop. I’d say I walked 80 percent of the time.

When I started the final loop I knew I would be walking the whole way (except crossing streets). My walking pace wasn’t too bad, and after I resigned myself to finishing slowly, my spirits rose, and when my Strava said I had reached 26.2 miles, I was so relieved! I had completed the Virtual Marathon without injury! Of course, I am not happy that it was such a struggle, but there were some small victories, the main one being that I didn’t give up, of course. 😌

Anyways, I’m not sure exactly why my legs were so dead, but perhaps it’s because my running is not as consistent as it was last year. Of course that must be the reason. 😀 またね!