Couch to 5k

I've been out of sorts for the past 5-6 weeks since developing runner's knee in early June (came down wrong on the knee - which has had prior injuries/issues - during an easy pace run). This was a bit of a blow to me as I've been trying to build distance all year in the hopes of running a 10K this fall. I'm not sure I'm on schedule to do it this fall after the injury, but time will tell. Prior to the injury, I was making 4.0 mi/6.4 km runs with about an average pace of 11'32".

During my month off, I've been cycling and doing some yoga, mainly to try to strengthen my quads/hamstrings to help support the knee. I also bought a new pair of running shoes since the old ones were very high-mileage. Today I took my first run post-injury, a meager 0.4 miles (I'm following the conventional wisdom that one should start at a tenth of their previous mileage and then slowly add on a tenth if things are pain-free). I'm also wearing a brace on the knee, which I wore prior to the injury. I found at the very start that I was incredibly unsure of my gait/stride, probably because I was afraid of experiencing pain in the knee and possibly because it's been a while. I had some mild twitchiness across the top of my knee during that, but it seemed to fade once I figured out my stride. It definitely felt too short - it was only two blocks. After the run I took to my bike and rode 4.0 miles at an 8-10 mph pace. Once back at home I pre-emptively iced - the knee is a tiny bit grindy, but otherwise pain-free, so I guess I'll call it a success for now.