eastcoastrunner’s AchillesBlog

Our local Woods has a free weekly trail running series from May till September. I have been running these races for years. This year I was the “designated volunteer” working the timing at the finish line. (volunteering can be very rewarding, too, and I was happy to “give back” to my sport while I couldn’t participate this year) I haven’t been able to make the races for the last month as I coach Cross Country and our meets have conflicted with the races.

Last night was the last trail race in the series…and we didn’t have a xc meet, so I ran my first race since surgery! It was a 4 miler and I felt fantastic! Uh, my time was much slower than ever, but I was so happy to be out there running, and I felt like a rock star with all the cheering I got throughout the race This race makes my Goal Race next month feel more like a reality now. I know it will be slow, but I don’t care too much about that.

 I have been running regularly for about 5 weeks–up to 2.5 hours on the trails for my long runs this past weekend–but I haven’t done any speed work yet, and I have still been adding walking breaks into my running. This informal little race felt so good to open my stride–felt like I was flying (even if the pace more closely resembled the Tortiose) Hey, I didn’t even come in last!

Last night and this morning my foot felt tender at the insertion (where the screw is–wonder if that will go away at some point?) but my tendon felt petty good. Progress!