First, the knees: My last run was 18 days ago, on June 26, and I stopped after 2 km because the right knee was aching.
Today, I set a goal of 3 km because a) it would be an appropriately modest target after a long layoff and b) it plays into my OCD, allowing me to get the total distance run to a nice round figure.
The good news is my right knee came through intact! Allowing for various creaks and things from the nearly three weeks I hadn’t run, the right knee actually didn’t ache at all. This was probably aided by a few things:
- The time off since the last run
- Starting on the north side of the dam, which reduced any uphill/downhill running
- Since it was quite warm and dry, and I was out of form, I was pretty dang slow
Speaking of warm and dry, it was pretty warm and the humidity was low enough that my mouth was kind of dry. My current post-illness phlegmy state meant I had difficulty swallowing a few times, which is not a nice feeling to ever have, but especially when running, and you’re trying to keep all the parts going. Had I known beforehand, I would have taken my li’l water bottle.
I am relieved that the knee is not worse for wear, but am cautious all the same. I will try running again on Monday and see how it goes. I could really feel those 18 days off, though. I had no problem not overdoing it because my body was wholly incapable of it. Still, it was nice to get back out, and I got to take some photos of the lake as a bonus.
Here’s a shot from Phillips Point:
Stats:
Run 786 Average pace: 6:18/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW) Start: 12:55 p.m. Distance: 3.02 km Time: 19:03 Weather: Sunny Temp: 26-27ºC Humidity: 46% Wind: light BPM: 159 Weight: 164.8 Total distance to date: 5810 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (480 km)
