I thought I was, but I wasn't

Yesterday, after a week off, I went out for a run. Yes, it was freezing cold, but that seemed easier than going to a new gym for a trial period. So I put on my compression tech shirt that I had bought for the winter. As I stepped out the door I still felt too cold, so I put on an old jacket on top of it. (Probably a good thing, as I felt a little self conscious wearing such tight clothing.) I was still cold out there, but I managed to gt a mile in without any problems. I walked home without any limping, and felt pretty good about myself.

The original plan had been to try again tomorrow. But this morning, I was asked if I could take call tomorrow. So I figured I'd try another short run today, and rest tomorrow.

Once again, I got all geared up. It's 31 degrees here, which doesn't sound so low, but it's pretty freaking cold out there. I noticed that one direction was worse than the other, so I think the wind plays a big part as well. Either way, it's hard to believe it was in the single digits last year, and will probably still get closer to that this year.

At the same time, I've been meaning to take my car in for months to get this brake light looked at. I just never had time to leave my car at the shop. So today, I planned to drive to the shop, and run back home. Turns out, the whole problem was that I was low on brake fluid, and the problem was fixed in 2 minutes. (Kind of surprising, since I got suckered into a $200 bill at Jiffy Lube just a few months ago. "Top off all your fluids" my butt!!) Anyway, my mechanic didn't charge me, but now I had to drive home. I knew if I went inside there was a good chance the heat inside would exert it's gravitational pull on me and I wouldn't make it back outside to run. (What? You never heard of the Law of Exercise in the Winter: Heat = Gravity!!) So I pocketed my car keys, and headed straight out to my usual running path.

For the first mile and a half I was so excited, thinking how the time off had cured everything, and I was all better. Then at mile 1.7 my knee sent me a little reminder that it was still there. I probably should have just stopped, but it was so cold, and I wanted to get back already. I finished up the remaining few minutes and walked home. It hurt a little, but not as bad as it has in the past. And now that I'm home, after icing and stretching, I still feel it when I walk, but not that much.

So I think I'm getting better, but I'm not there yet.

I think I'll rest the next few days again, and maybe try again Sunday. I think Audrey had a good idea, with sticking to short runs. I considered 2 miles short in the past, but if 1 is the most I can run comfortably, than maybe I should stop there. For now.

I still have to work on the crosstraining thing. I'm doing the weightlifting, and the stretching when I remember. But some more cardio stuff would probably help for later.