More advice on returning to running after and unexpected hiatus: don’t make your first run a long one, and especially don’t follow that one up with an even longer one. It just doesn’t work well.

Today I took the bus downtown to meet a friend for a run around the esplanade. The loop is 3 miles and we did it twice. Its a flat run, but an interesting one as you cross two bridges over the Willamette and several raised piers on the east side. Being a Saturday it was really crowded down there, this despite it starting to snow right as I got off the bus. The snow spit a bit for the run, but it wasn’t bad at all. Just enough so you can say I went running in the snow! Amy brought her dog who will be a really good running dog someday, she’s really close. I only had to dodge her a few times.

So those of you doing the math are saying, what are you talking about this being a long run? Its only six miles? That’s less than your base runs! Well, six miles isn’t bad, nothing to sneeze at though. Where it got longer was when I decided not to bus home and instead run home which added another five miles to my day, and five miles uphill as well. I felt fine at first and I really didn’t feel like waiting for that bus (another 45 mins to get the one that goes close to my house and 15 to get the one that gets me about a mile away). The hill running really started to tax my hips, an area I have never had trouble with. I am sure it is the time away from running and the pushing it that are causing me grief. I went slow which was about the only good thing I did for myself on the run. I feel ok now, but I know it is gonna hurt tomorrow. No long run tomorrow, I swear.

One thing I did when I noticed the pain in my hips is I didn’t give in to a slouch (which is where I wanted to be) and instead focused on my posture and keeping my body aligned. This helped quite a bit. I also focused on my gait and foot strike, which also helped. Chi running to the rescue!