Running on Nothing

This is the time of year when I usually start looking forward to running a Thanksgiving Day road race and gearing up to begin training for next spring's marathon/half marathon/relay/whatever. Only problem is, I haven't run in seven weeks.

My last run was on September 17, a 3.4-mile sprint as we were wrapping up Reach the Beach in Hampton. I had been dealing with Achilles tendonitis in my right foot for three or four months by that point and I knew I had to stop or risk doing something really bad like tearing or snapping the tendon. Since then, I've done limited cardio workouts and lifted weights, as well as played hockey a few times, but man, am I out of shape. It didn't help matters that I took on a new position at work and have been a lot busier the last two months as well, meaning fewer trips to the gym during the day. As a result, I've put on a few more pounds than I'm accustomed to. Doesn't help that I enjoy beer, I suppose.

I started physical therapy a few weeks ago, so hopefully that's helping speed things along a bit. I'm hoping to be back on the road by the end of the year. I'd like to do a spring marathon, but I don't want to commit to anything just yet. It's been tough to watch these beautiful fall days go by (well, not today, but the rest of this week has been gorgeous) and not be able to go out and run.

But I know I'm being smart about this in taking things really slowly. I want to be able to bounce back at 100% like I did the last time I went through this in late '04/early '05. In the meantime, gimme another doughnut.