Back running again after the 3 week doctor's orders break

Today was the end of the 3 week break that the sports doctor told me I should take from running in order to allow the tendons in my knee time to rest.  As you know I have been cross training with indoor rowing and cycling and cross country skiing to keep up the fitness.  These sports didn't cause my knee any problem at all.  But I was a little nervous to see how it would feel after my first run again.

I went out after work into the nearby forest and ran around the trails there.  I feel so fortunate to be male in terms of having the freedom to run though isolated woods at night without having too much worry in my mind.  It was so strange running the same trails that I run by day at night though, as I could hardly recognise them and thought I was lost a couple of times.

By the time I got out of the forest I had only been running 45 minutes so I decided to do a couple of loops of the block near work and to do 1 hour of running in total.  After finishing I made sure to do plenty of stretching and now I am back at home again.

During the run my left knee felt much stronger than before, most likely thanks to the physio and the cross training.  It still feels fine now afterwards too.  The real test though will be how it feels tomorrow and how it feels after a couple of runs in a row.

27km of cross country skiing last Saturday

The furthest I have cross country skied in one day before was at Gluringen when I covered 20km.  But last Saturday I went to Studen and thought I would attempt the complete circuit which is 27km.  The first 16km was fairly easy and then I stopped for a drink.  The second part was much harder and my strength was really starting to fade.  It's a bit disconcerting to see people whoosh past you like they are just having a Sunday stroll but then again it probably isn't their first season of cross country.  They may even live in the area in which case they can easily train several times per week.

Finally after much effort I completed the full loop - 27km.  I took a well earned drink and rest and then headed back to Zurich to meet with Anny and her mum for a nice meal.