Onward

I’m back running again. Hardly to the level I was before but at least I’m back at it. The plantar fasciitis I had is under control. There is some pain in the morning but only a little thereafter. Thank God for that, answer to prayer.

 During my last post about working out I whined about the gym policy on no showers. I can’t understand why letting members shower after a workout is asking for a spread of Covid 19, but there it is. I guess businesses have to just get on with whatever measures they need to start making money. At least Oklahoma is mostly back to normal, albeit with a few silly requirements thrown in to remind us about the pandemic. It’s forced me to go back to hitting the gym after a full day of work. I don’t love it. But until I can go back to mornings I’ll deal with the crowded night club feel. It's tough to get a decent treadmill at 5:30 in the evening though. Most of the available ones don't let you increase the hill slopes. 

So it's slow right now. The first time I got on the treadmill I hoped to get three miles. I made almost six, albeit with an extremely high heart rate to finish. I was up around 182 which is going hard. But it had been almost 10 weeks so I didn’t get too upset. Since then I’ve managed a few three mile days and a couple of fives, a few sixes. It’s too hot to get any real distance outdoors. I got up early the other day hoping for six in the sun. I managed 1 mile. ONE FREAKING MILE! I was exhausted. It wasn’t just the heat but I suspect that was the largest part. I’m just not in running shape anymore and it shows up more outdoors than on a treadmill. I need to drop a little weight as well. I got kind of lazy with the quarantine by sitting around and eating ice cream day after day. No excuses now. Gyms are open, I’m back to work and my foot feels a hundred times better.

I’ll have to reacclimatize to this heat though. It’s a process I go through every summer. I can’t go as far distance wise but I really earn every mile. Some days I just have to stop half way through the run and continue at a slower pace or drop from exhaustion. At most that’s once a week though. I still run at the gym a lot in the summer. Drinking water throughout the day helps a lot too. My body doesn’t work as hard when I’m plenty hydrated. For all the preparation you just need to actually get out and grind it out. Nothing gets you back to distance and speed like just doing the work.

Onward.