Just A Little Running Update

by Bryan on 6/23/2009 at 11:46 AM in Health and Fitness

Awhile back I promised an update on my running. So far I’ve failed to deliver. (Yes, I know that I also promised some pics from the 5K two weeks ago…) Well, hold your breath no more, because here’s an update on my running!

As you all know, I had surgery on my right knee in early February, which was followed by PT, and a gradual return to running. At my 1 month follow up, the doc said it would probably be a couple of more months before I could return to my pre-surgery activity level.

In March I started running again. First, it was just a couple of miles at a time, every other day, eventually working up to 10-12 miles per week. Throughout April, I continued to add miles, still running every other day, until I was closing in on 20 miles per week. At this point, most of my runs were in the 3-4 mile range, I was able to go up to 6-7 miles a couple of times. Once May rolled around, I started to add short tempo runs and short intervals (neither of which matched the intensity level of their pre-surgery counterparts). I also continued to up the mileage, and started hitting 25-30 miles per week. Now, with 7 days left in June, I’m running 5 days per week, averaging almost 30 miles per week, and have upped the intensity and duration of the tempo runs and intervals. And just this past Sunday, I went 10 miles—the first double-digit run since 11/1/2008.

With one week remaining in June, here’s a breakdown of the last 3 months:

  • April: 70.1 miles
  • May: 116.3 miles
  • June (through 6/23): 95.2 miles

Here’s a breakdown of last week (6/15/2009 – 6/21/2009):

  • Mon: Full body strength training. No running.
  • Tues: A.M. – Easy 3 miles; P.M. – 3 miles @ marathon pace
  • Wed: A.M. – 4 mile hill run.
  • Thurs: A.M. – Easy 4 miles; P.M. – 4 x 800m intervals w/400m recovery jogs; 5 miles total.
  • Fri: Upper body strength training. No running.
  • Sat: Easy 4 miles.
  • Sun: Long run – 10 miles.

If you’re paying attention, you probably noticed a couple of doubles last week—this was a first for me (and probably not the last). I feel like my body was able to handle the doubles pretty well, and I can definitely see myself running twice a day a couple of days a week.

This week I am breaking my first new pair of shoes since the surgery—Brooks Defyance 2. I took them out for a test run this morning…a 6 mile tempo run on the treadmill. They passed the test with flying colors.

Well, there you have it, a little running update. See you on the road!