Another new beginning

So again, I have been sidelined by an injury. This time I strained my right Achilles while running in the Ragnar Relay in May. I thought at the time that things were going well with rehabbing my left hamstring and that running Ragnar would be okay. Unfortunately the Achilles did not like the first leg that I had to run and running the second and third legs that I had to do did not make it any better. Actually, doing the two other legs made it worse, as anyone would expect and when I was finished, I was finished. Now it is almost two months later and I am very tentatively running again. The doctor gave me the green light four weeks ago. I ran a mile and a half, felt a twinge and shut it down. I walked back to where I started and did not try again for two weeks. So last Tuesday, June 28th, I ran four easy miles and everything felt pretty good. The heel was a little tight after the run so I did not run again until this past Monday. I ran for about 45-50 minutes while in Freeport, Maine and really enjoyed the run. Again, it was real easy and I did not push it at all. The real test was last night when I ran again. This time it was easy due to the excessive heat and humidity. I went six plus miles but I walked up the big hill just before the three-mile mark. Being as I have not been running in the heat, I think that I depleted everything in my body, but the Achilles felt good. I have been stretching it today and it still feels good. A good sign, but I will take off until Sunday when I will go for a run at the Bluff to see how it feels running on trails. I am heartened by how everything is going right now, but I am continually reminding myself that I need to pull back on my impulse to go crazy. For right now, I will keep on biking as much as possible and look for positive things each time I go for a run.