First run since the MDS finished

Hi all.  I just came back from a 5km run along the Limmat river with Anny and Negrita.  Anny had to run 5km today as part of her 10km training plan, and she was trying to persuade me to join her all day long.  At first I was a little reluctant as I had planned to just do a very short run by myself tomorrow to see how things went, what with it being my first run since completing the MDS and all.  But she told me she wasn't planning to run fast, so I decided to join her.  It is the first time I have run or done any form of exercise since the MDS finished 2 weeks ago.  I gave my body a complete rest for those 2 weeks in order to allow it to strengthen and repair itself.

Sometimes when I go to get up after sitting or lying down for long periods my left knee makes a loud cracking noise.  There is no associated pain, and after the initial crack it makes no further noises.  I think it is caused by tight quads pulling on my knee cap.  This was something I was monitoring closely tonight, and I did not notice anything unusual whilst running, so hopefully all is good.  In fact the run may have even helped to loosen up my quads a bit.

I was running in my Newton Sir Isaac guidance trainers for the very first time since I got them.  At first they felt a little strange, but by the end of the run I found them perfectly comfortable.  They are meant to help you make the transition from heel striking to a more efficient mid foot strike, and I tried to follow the advice on the box about how to run in them.  I focussed on landing on the balls of my feet (not on the toes themselves) and on lifting my knees up directly rather than trying to push off with my feet.  The shoes feature a bevelled heel (not that I noticed really since I was focussing on not landing on my heel) and patented Action/Reaction Technology that works by having lugs on the midsole that store energy upon impact and release it as your knee lifts your foot off the ground.  At first it did feel like I was running with a pole up my arse, if you will excuse my French.

The Newton Sir Isaac Guidance Trainers

I am happy with how tonight's run went, and can plan to start running a couple of times per week again.  Anything from a couple of kilometres up to 5km is ample distance for now, especially as I will be running either in my Newton guidance trainers or in my Vibram FiveFingers, both of which are completely different to what I am currently used to.  If I find running in them too strange I always have the option of reverting to my tried and tested PT03 winter shoes till I get used to the new shoes.  I am convinced that running in the VFFs will be a lot of fun though, and probably the Newtons too.