My JourKNEE Back

  This morning, I was reading a post about a young man who was in a serious car accident four months ago. He suffered significant injuries, collapsed lungs, lacerated liver, and a traumatic brain injury. He fractured his neck, clavicle, eleven ribs, pelvis, skull, left arm in multiple places and dislocated his wrist. He spent eleven days on life support. His parents didn't think he was going to survive. Four months later, FOUR MONTHS, and he hopped on the family's riding mower and helped his dad mow their lawn this morning. That is miraculous! There's no other way to explain it. I do not personally know this family, but I have been following updates and they give all glory and praise to God.  I will be switching gears here to make a transition, stay with me please. This morning, I completed 2.68 miles at an 11:51 minute per mile pace. Folks, I have never been a fast runner. This was about my average pace before any injuries put my running on hold. What I consider my best ru...

  It has been sixteen days since my last post, and I am thrilled to report that I am still running without pain. As the weeks go along, my walk to run ratio is decreasing as my run time increases. Week one called for 5-minute walks and 1-minute runs repeated five times. Week two called for 4-minute walks and 2-minute runs repeated five times. This week, week three, calls for 3-minute runs and 3-minute walks repeated five times. I am running three days a week. My "Running Blueprint" plan tells me that my number one goal is to work on cadence because this will help with proper running form and prevent overstriding. I am supposed to be working toward 163-164 bpm. My pre-injury cadence was usually between 155-160 bpm. Because I am still walking half of my miles, I am not able to go by the average cadence that I see on my Garmin watch. In these few weeks that I began running again, my cadence has been all over the place, ranging from 153 to 167 bpm. As the running time starts to i...

"Forward is forward, no matter the pace." is the slogan on a shirt I have from a virtual 5K my family participated in to benefit the non-profit organization "To Write Love On Her Arms" in April of 2020 (twloha.com). This morning, I ran for the first time with intention since January 11, 2024, almost 6 months, and it is just about the first-year anniversary of my meniscus surgery which was completed on August 17, 2023. When I went out the door this morning, I certainly had no goal for pace. I have been putting in the work since May when I signed up for The Running Blueprint program (compedgept.com). Although, to be 100% honest, getting sick in late June, followed by going on vacation in July has made me a bit of a slacker. I missed a few days of workouts here and there, but up until that point, I was faithful to follow the plan. I do feel like I am back on track with the exercises. My eating has not been as great, but that's a story for another day. I've done...