Bo’s First Run Since Surgery

Today’s run was awesome for one primary reason. It was Bo’s first outside run since his knee surgery in April!

This is the face of a very sweaty but happy runner!

We woke up at 9am ready to tackle our 6 mile run before the summer heat took over the city.

Lucky for us, I forgot to buy regular peanut butter at the grocery store this week. Oh well, PB&Co Chocolate Dreams did the job and was like a pre-run treat.

I chose to forego my CamelBak today since it was a six mile run that would keep us near plenty of water fountains and bodegas if I got thirsty.  We also decided to avoid hills since it was Bo’s first run outside since his surgery. His doctor and PT both recommended doing at least 2 or 3 flat runs outside before conquering Central Park.

The run was amazing until mile 5.5 which is when my shins randomly started killing me. I’m going to wear my recovery socks tomorrow and continue stretching and foam rolling in hopes of staying injury free. But, I was able to maintain negative splits, starting at close to ten minute pace and ending around a 9.

From Bo’s perspective:

“Coming back after almost six months of not running (prior to my torn meniscus I was plagued with calf injuries) definitely felt amazing.  One thing that I would recommend for anyone in a similar situation is to hit the leg lifting prior to your first run.  My trainer has been killing me with lunges, power cleans, squats, and sumo squats for about a month now and my legs certainly felt strong due to all the gym work.  One other thing that you need to remember is that, even if you’ve already been on the treadmill, this is your first time outside and thought you might feel strong for the first three miles or so, your endurance is likely not at the level that you were used to in the past.  For example, we ran the High Line for miles 3.5 – 5 at which point I picked up the pace and left Ash in the dust.  However, I was really dragging during the last mile as my body wasn’t used to the constant pounding that is running outside.  I hope this provides some interesting insight to anyone coming back from an injury.”

We were a sweaty mess at the end but had a blast running together after so long.

We rewarded ourselves post stretch and foam rolling with delicious, cold smoothies!

Bo loves the Mango Mantra smoothie with a shot of whey protein. I, on the other hand, stuck with the berry monster light.

We’re off to enjoy some sunshine with Theodora before parting ways this afternoon. Bo has a boy’s night while I’m going to enjoy some pampering at Bliss this afternoon!