The value of prior knowledge

Today I walked and jogged a whopping 2 miles, at the lightning pace of 17:22 minutes per mile. When I’m in any kind of shape, I can walk faster than that, let alone walk/run.

It has been exactly a month since the last time I ran. On July 7, I did a leisurely 13-mile long run (average pace 14:44 minutes per mile). Then the wildfire smoke came in. And then, a week later, the pneumonia.

I’d been training for the Usibelli Running Series, for the 16.8 mile Gold Discovery Run, and ultimately for the 2019 Equinox Marathon. Two of those three goals went up in smoke (cough, cough). But the marathon still beckons. And here’s where prior knowledge becomes an invaluable thing.

I’ve been here before. In 2015, I was sick with an odd, low-grade illness for a full month shortly before the Equinox. I took it really slow and made it just fine. In 2010, as a brand-new runner, I ripped a calf muscle in August and never got to put in the last long runs before my very first Equinox. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to complete the marathon. My coaches were not. They were right—I’d put in enough miles before the injury, and I made it all 26.2 miles. I didn’t run, though. I walked those miles with my dear friend Betsy, and I think we laughed the whole way. My first marathon is still one of my favorite memories.

Reclaiming an entire month of lost training isn’t possible. But I can start from here. One run at a time.

Yesterday one of our Team in Training coaches, Nettie, posted a Coach’s Note titled “Reclaiming the Bad Ass You.” In it, she wrote,

Create for yourself a clean scorecard. A clean slate is a gift to yourself that creates space for you to start over. Every long run is a new record. You are following the weekday plan this week? Excellent! That’s a new record. You completed the long run this week? Great job going on the longest run ever. Completed a race with the Team? New record, good job!

You are building your new runner self both physically and mentally with every run. Holding on to the past will hold you back. Let it go and start rebuilding from the beginning.

Today I walked and ran 2 miles. That’s more miles than I could have done yesterday. Hopefully, as I continue to recover, I can bank more miles. Every run can be a new landmark, a victory over the critters that invaded my lungs. I can’t predict yet what the outcome may be—whether my body will keep improving, whether I’ll get in enough miles to walk/run a full marathon. But the beauty of prior knowledge is that I know not to give up, not to be discouraged. I know that I’m a 63-year-old badass, although to say that makes me laugh. Maybe better to say I’m just happy about putting one foot in front of the other and seeing where it takes me.