Running That First Mile

It's been exactly 3 months to the date since I had my knee surgery to reconstruct the ACL I tore in January.

And while I was really, really, really slow (probably 15 minutes), I ran my first mile this morning.


Four weeks ago, I couldn't get out of the cul-de-sac without experiencing a sharp pain down the side of my knee. Since then I focused on increasing my knee's range of motion, strengthening the quad muscles that shrank as a result of the injury and improving my sense of balance on that leg. That's not to say I am 100% pain free - there's a little bit of discomfort, but not like before.

I also switched to a barefoot style running shoe:

photo from Merrell Shoes

This is a bit of a departure for me - I've always been a proponent of well cushioned running shoes. I'm always aware of "how many miles" I've logged in my shoes, making sure I change them every 500 miles. When my hubby bought a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes, I thought that he was crazy. But last year I started to experience a bit of plantar fasciitis (pain in the bottom of my foot and heel) and read a little bit about "barefoot running". I adjusted my stride ever so slightly, from a direct heel strike to more of a "flat footed" strike. No more foot pain.

And as I was recovering from my ACL surgery, I read this book:


I decided to buy a pair of the Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove shoes above and so far, so good. The last time I attempted to run with my normal running shoes was less than two weeks ago and I experienced the same knee pain down the side of my leg. So for now, I'll claim a small victory and hopefully, continue to build up some more mileage and speed.