Shhhhh...Making Progress

I'm not a superstitious person, but I'm almost afraid to talk about my current situation when it comes to running.

It's going...well. In fact, it's going REALLY well.

Man, it's been a LONG time since I could say that.

As I write this, I'm on day 25 of a running streak. I also ran 7 miles yesterday, which is my longest run in over two years. Even just a month ago, a 6 mile run would leave me with a sore heel for a couple of days. This time, after KT tape, a post-run ice bath and compression socks, my foot and heel feel fine.

I'm slowly inching my mileage upward. Granted, it's still low (low 20's per week), but it's about double what I was running earlier this year.

As for pain...oh, it's still there. Currently, though, it's manageable (and flighty.) I've got just a touch of plantar fasciitis in my right foot to go along with the heel and Achilles pain. I've been doing more consistent self-maintenance, though, in the form of stretching, icing and massage.

Back to the streak. I'm not doing a running streak just for the sake of a streak. I'm doing it because I had a hunch that I could increase my base mileage without stressing my heel too much if I ran every day, while keeping many of the runs short and slow (i.e. 'dog jogs', with my lab Apollo.)

To summarize, I still do three "main" runs per week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday), with distances ranging from 4 to (now) 7 miles. The other four runs per week are currently 1 or 2 miles with the dog. Some might argue that those are junk miles. On the contrary, aside from giving the dog some exercise, I believe they keep my body in "running mode" and may even slightly improve my fitness. After 3 1/2 weeks of it, I feel stronger and more fit. I'm choosing to believe the anecdotal evidence.

I'm still not sure how far my body will let me go. I have a faint hope that I can return to where I was pre-injury, but I don't want to get my hopes up too much. I've been hurt before (ha!)

Right now, though, I'm enjoying this bit of progress.

We'll see if I can stay the course and see what happens from here.