The first twenty years of my life I was a pretty active runner. I did yearly 5K races as a teenager, and in college I was running about thirty miles a week at roughly seven-minute miles before I graduated. That was the top of the bell curve, and I slowly ran less and less as I got older, had kids, and eventually stopped completely.

I got back into fitness in my thirties, but I never could get back into running. I could not find the love I used to have for it. I would run occasionally, but it hurt and it was not fun.

Then, last May, thanks to a bit of walking pneumonia, I found myself back in love with running again.

I met my wife, Ali, in college and she was my OG running buddy. She never stopped running and usually does at least one half marathon a year. Unfortunately, she got sick after her last half marathon and then came down with walking pneumonia in April of last year. For the first time in years she was not able to run. Even short walks were rough while medication did its thing.

It took a while before she was finally cleared to ease back into running. It was tough. When it came time to put feet on pavement she felt nervous about that first run alone. Despite my hard stance on never running again, I offered to come along for moral support and we set off on a very slow run-walk. The run-walks turned into slow jogs, and she was getting back into it pretty quickly.

We did a few more of those easy jogs together and, somehow, through the weeks of recovery, I found myself enjoying running again. I was not running fast like I used to, but I was running at a pace I could handle and enjoy.

As Ali recovered she quickly returned to her normal speed and routine, but we kept going on slow runs together once or twice a week. I was able to run more than a mile at a time and all my joints were doing fine. She helped push me a little bit each time, and I was able to increase the mileage, much to my delight.

With two active kids in elementary and middle school, time is scarce. With both of us running, we ended up making Saturday our shared long-run day and treating the time as our “date night.” We got up early, went to different parks, and spent the morning getting in some miles. By fall we were usually doing six or seven miles every Saturday, exploring parks and downtown routes around our area. It became one of our favorite parts of the week.

With each of our runs we got into the habit of taking a selfie along the way. That Christmas I put together a photo book of all the runs we did together each Saturday morning, with our selfies and the run entries from each day pulled from our watches.

Ali was already starting to train for another half marathon, which meant she would need a different program with more mileage. So in the back of the photo book I added another surprise and included my race signup for the very same half marathon she had just registered for, so we could keep running together.

Race day, injury, and a reset

On February 1 I ran the half marathon with Ali. In training I hit my first eight-mile run, ten-mile run, and twelve-mile run. Training had gone well, but during the race something flared up and I had to run-walk the last mile or two. I finished in 2:21:17. I was hoping for a little faster, but I was proud to finish. It was a lot of fun and also pretty painful. Eight out of ten, I would still recommend.

I took a few weeks off to let my ankle and knee heal. However, I made the mistake of keeping weight off my left leg too much and lost muscle. I didn’t realize it until I started running again and discovered a new repeating issue. Every time I ran, the muscle behind my knee felt swollen and sore. I eventually figured out the muscle-loss problem, but it took over a month of slow, steady work to fix it.

The bright spot was my mindset. I had already been through a cycle of slow, purposeful running. I knew that in time I would be running again, so I was not worried about starting back easy and rebuilding. No dramatic goals. I just wanted to run again.

Summer on feel, fall with a plan

Florida summer is hot. I had no races to prepare for and, as my injury was just about fully healed, I had two specific goals:

• Enjoy running, even in the awful weather.
• Do workouts that prevent future injuries.

So I took a break from planning and just ran by feel. If I felt good, I ran longer. If I did not, I stopped early or took the day off. I read a great book on the science of running and re-learned the basics from the ground up.

A surprising benefit of all this running was being able to hike comfortably again. On our summer family trip to the mountains I noticed how much stronger I felt on long hikes. For the first time in many years I did not need a knee brace, and I was not sore the whole week.

Now that fall is approaching I am slowly picking up the pace again. I started one of the Garmin Coach plans for a 10K, and I am enjoying the extra time freelancing gives me to rest and recover a bit more than normal.

What worked for me

• Run slow. If I can talk in full sentences, I am in the right zone. There is plenty of information on low heart-rate running if you want to train by heart rate.
• Keep the habit simple. Two days a week was sustainable at the start, eventually adding the Saturday long run.
• Data over time. Garmin and other running watches make this easy. Looking back at a month of “slow” runs and seeing real mileage kept me positive.
• Do not forget strength. When I finally looked into simple running strength workouts, I found they are easy and extremely beneficial.
• Enjoy the new gear. You do not need fancy gear to succeed, but there is plenty to explore if you want to invest in the hobby: shoes, a watch, gels, snacks, hats, socks, and sunglasses.

The next big race

I do not have a timeline for another half marathon, and I am okay with that. It would be great to do a marathon or make a goal like that at some point, but mostly I am just happy to be running again, to feel better on hikes, and to have a weekly routine with Ali that we both look forward to. The comeback was not a grand plan. It was a happy accident thanks to a bit of walking pneumonia.

If you are coming back after a long break, here is my best advice. Start slower than you think, track just enough to build trust in the process, and give yourself six calm weeks before you judge progress. The goal is not a perfect pace chart. The goal is to still be running next month.

This is my personal experience, not medical advice. If you are returning from illness or injury, check in with a professional and listen to your body.

Running Gear

I’ve picked up a fair bit of gear that I can recommend. This is just what worked for me and isn’t from all that much experience. No referral links and my overly long commentary on each.

Shoes: I started with Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23. Great for a while but after watching Kofuzi for a while I upgraded to a pair of Asics Novablast 4. LOVED those shoes. I ordered a pair for Ali as well. I’ve since also picked up a pair of New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4 and a few others to switch out some days. I just recently updated to the Novablast 5 which are pretty good but not as in love with them as I was the Novablast 4.

Shorts: After trying a few different kinds my favorite are the Chickenlegs 4″ split running shorts. I don’t do the crazy patterns, just black and blue. They are…short but definitely the most comfortable for the price.

Shirts/Tops: I don’t know why tops are so expensive. Ali got me onto Old Navy Performance Vent shirts and tank tops. They are 8-15 dollars each, very comfortable and very lite.

Watch: I love my Garmin Forerunner 255. I don’t know much about the watch competitors for running but Ali and I have both found these to be everything we need.

Belt: The SPIbelt Running Belt has been perfect. Super minimal and my only complaint is in the summer I am always worried about my phone getting too sweaty. If I could find a belt like it that was waterproof I would love it.