Coming back

Because of my hurt knee, I think it's pretty much safe to say that I will NOT be reaching my goal of 1000 miles for 2013.
Boo. Hiss.

Should I lay down and cry because of my injured knee? Heck NO!

That's a bummer. But it's okay. I am not going to let myself get too down and out about it.
After all, I was a bit sidelined and didn't even run for 3 weeks.

My January mileage was 20 miles.
My mileage went up a tiny bit in February with 28 miles.
And I started off the month of March with 5.2 miles.  So I am hoping for a much higher mileage month.
After all - there will be nicer weather and I am hoping that my hips and knees are getting stronger.
Things are looking up. I hope.

On Thursday, I went back to the sports medicine doctor - (a.k.a. Dr. Cutie) and he told me to keep doing what I am doing. He said that the hip exercises seem to be working and he was happy to see that I was improving and I was able to run with minimal knee pain. We chatted a bit about doing the steroid shot. I ultimately decided to wait and start trying to increase my mileage beyond 3 miles and see what happened. He said that if I still had pain, to come back in and he would give me the shot. But I really want that to be my last resort.

After my appointment on Thursday, I knew it was time to start increasing my mileage. So it was off to the gym today where I spent 60 minutes on the treadmill and I completed 5.2 miles. I was happy because my knee felt fine. Phew. I was still babying it a bit as I was running/walking. But that's okay. Lately my runs have been all about just increasing my mileage and keeping my knee in check.

I don't want to be feeling this pain - ever again.

Considering I have my half marathon in 6 weeks in NYC - I really need to start clocking some higher mileage. Today gave me that extra boost of confidence I needed. I haven't reached the 5 mile mark  - in - well  - I can't remember when. It has been a while.

Meanwhile, I registered for the Freihofer's 5K in June and I registered for the Hudson Mohawk Half Marathon in October. In two weeks, I have a 4 mile race in Green Island called "Runnin" of the Green." That will be a true test because I doubt I will want to run/walk during a race. But - you never know. Right now my ultimate goal is to get through the half in April with no knee pain. And I will not be ashamed to walk. Nope. I can assure you that I will be walking the hills in Central Park.

As a running friend of mine said, "Run less, but run forever." I like that quote.I might be running slower. And I might have started the year with less mileage. But that's okay. As long as I can keep running, it's all good.

Right?