Burning Lungs and Sweaty T-Shirts

Today is the first time since the fall that I ran a mile. Getting up early lately has provided me time to think about exercising. Being wrapped snuggly in my bed sheets has provided me with the excuse not to.

Tired of being fatty, I decided one hot summer day six years ago to start jogging. Having no running shoes, not even something that resembled gym shoes, I purchased a pair on the way home from work. It was hot. Hot even for July. That didn't stop me from running a mile that night.

I had no stride, no breathing technique, didn't know how to plant my feet or launch, and I didn't know how to pace myself. Stopping three times during that mile showed me just how out of shape I was. I ran the next day and the next.

December was cold for running outdoors. Running almost every day since I started had provided me with a weight loss induced svelte look, increased daily energy, and the ability to run five miles daily with only the clock preventing a further journey. Hurting my hamstring wasn't on the menu.

The hamstring isn't a single muscle or tendon. It's a mass of intertwining muscles and tendons that make up most of the upper leg, from the knee to your hip. Addressing torn, distressed, or other wise under the weather hamstring muscles is a difficult task, even for professionals. As is evidenced by the noticeably taught feeling I've sustained in my right leg for the last 6 years.

Physical therapy barely helped, but moving two friends did more harm than anything else. I can finally sleep comfortably, without waking from a hamstring induced pain referrals to other muscles. But the tension is still higher than my left leg. Still requires attention. Still worries me.

Stretching this morning while tired was the worst. Nothing feels right in the AM, muscles don't stretch as far as you'd like, and I was looking for things to do that weren't exercising. Getting past that hump this morning was tough.

I'm planning on jogging tomorrow as well. Wish fatty luck.