Once A Runner…

I AM My Own Worst Enemy

For some absurd reason, I decided to sleep in this morning and take my walk later along Perimeter Parkway after dropping my wife off to work. I guess I just wanted a change of scenery. Yeah, that excuse will do as well as any.

Lots of folks staying at the Doubletree Inn or living in the two apartment complexes there use Perimeter Parkway for walking or running, so it’s not a bad stretch of road for that purpose — except for the construction along there for the Bobby Jones/Interstate 20 flyover turning parts of the shoulder to crap. Yeah, I’d forgotten about that.

Regardless, there are parts further down near the back side of Doctor’s Hospital where the shoulder is still smooth and level. And it’s at these parts that I thought it would be a good idea to ratchet up from an ambling walk to a bit of a jog this morning. Except for my knees, it was okay. It felt really good to try to stretch and stride more smoothly, but I know it only felt like I was smooth — I know I was just jogging.

The right knee was a bit twingy and the left chimed in a few times, too. I still have to hold back a little, even though it was pleasant at the end of my walk to hear Joan Benoit Samuelson congratulate me for a new “PR” for the mile. (Yeah, I know. Not really, but I’m starting all over so it will have to do. The slate is clean and the past just don’t matter in that way now.)

My knees don’t ache… yet. If they do later, I have only myself to blame, of course, but it did feel pretty good to try to jog a bit. I can’t wait to drop a little more weight and for my muscles and knees to get stronger. I know I have to wait a bit longer, though, if I want to keep going for the long run.

I’m probably going to tackle the garage this weekend and get a space cleared for the weight bench. I seriously need to start strengthening my quads to better support my knees, and a general strengthening program would be a good thing to settle into anyway — especially as there are four really good benefits to be realized from it:

• adding muscle mass will increase calorie burn since muscle needs more calories for maintenance
• stronger muscles can do more and do not tire as easily
• strengthening opposing muscle groups can help prevent injuries
• stronger bones — weight-bearing exercises are proven to increase bone density

If I can get started on a good general fitness program and maintain the aerobic activity, I can probably see increased weight loss which will lead to stronger, faster running sooner than just walking/jogging alone. That’s the theory anyway.

In the meantime, I have to take each day as it comes and every little bit of progress in stride. This is a challenge, to be sure, but the real challenges are a long way off, mere dreams at the moment. Of course, there is always the challenge just to keep going, and that’s the one that can make or break everything.