BACK IN ACTION

All my runs after getting back from the broken toes.

For the first time in a very long time I feel like I am back running without issue. It is exciting! The whole toe situation has dissolved into a non-factor. The swelling in the toes is continuing to go down, and while they aren't quite all the way back, they don't bother me in the least. So that worry is completely over and I'm sure within a month all the swelling will be gone and I'll basically be as good as new.

As for the knees, they feel fantastic too! Almost ready to declare them a non-factor. Now I have to pay attention to whether any "not so fresh" feeling in them is just caused by fatigue or a case of my arthritis flaring up. I went back to running pretty quick and the response so far has been great. After my five mile run they did feel tired... that was my longest run since the Miami Half Marathon in January. For a second I was like "oh no" when my knees started to fatigue but then I realized the sensation wasn't the inflammation I was used to, it was the "tired" feeling I was used to back when I was actually running. The feeling that got better the next day and didn't cause a flare up. And sure enough I bounced back.

So everything is feeling almost back to normal. It's kind of weird. Battling shit and starting and stopping has been the status quo for almost two years. I almost want to swing a hammer into my calf or something just to keep that going. Kidding. Anyways, like I said, it feels good. I've built up enough fitness now I can actually go on enjoyable "easy" runs again. I can sign up for races. I can go to my running groups and see people on the regular. All exciting things!

My next race is the Boring Half Marathon is just over a week. I'm going to run six miles this weekend in preparation for that. I figured if I can get almost halfway there then I can bullshit the other half on race day. And then the next race after that is the Warrior Dash 5k with Brandon in early October. I'm excited for that now that I can actually run, jump, climb, etc! Although it will give me ample opportunities to hurt myself and start the cycle over, so I'll have to watch out for that, hah! First time doing that race since 2012. I really enjoyed it the first time and always wanted to do it again, so here I am five years later.