Running Again

I finally started running again this week. Well, it was actually last week, maybe Friday. I was hoping the cool weather would stick around, but today was HOT! I went to Bayshore Blvd and enjoyed the smell of fresh cut grass. What I do really isn't considered running any way. It's more of a wog: a walk mixed in with a jog. I'm quite slow, but it feels good to complete a desired distance or duration. The first time I took up wogging was about 5 years ago. It was just before my 30th birthday, and the weather had cooled down. I started with just alternating a block of walking with a block of my wog. Eventually, I could complete 3-5 miles with hardly any breaks. I never thought I would be one of those people who loved to run. But, there I was, most days of the week, hitting the pavement. Then, the following October, my back and right knee simultaneously gave out on me. Old injuries resurfaced. At this point, I could barely crawl out of bed for the pain. I shuffled my feet and spent most of my days shifting positions to try to find relief. I slowly stretched and massaged my way thru the injuries. But, since then, any time I tried to wog again, I would end up in pain in a day or two. I decided that wogging would just have to wait until I felt stronger. Well, this is the first time in 4 years that I really have been feeling stronger. My workouts are well-balanced, as is my diet. I'm still working out some bumps in the road, like this medication I'm taking that makes me sleepy every day starting from about 12pm to 3pm, until about 6pm. It's a sickly kind of sleep; the kind your body forces on you when you're fighting the flu or a stomach bug. I was hoping my body would adjust, but no luck so far. I'm going to have to find out if there's something else I can take, because a three to five hour nap every day is not really conducive to getting things done. Meanwhile, I'll continue to wog every other day, taking it slow, so as not to aggravate old injuries yet again. I'll be smart about putting in my rest days and stretching after each wog. I'll stay hydrated and keep up my protein drinks pre- and post-wog. I'll replace my wogging shoes every three months. And, I'll stay positive. That should do it!