New Goals. Back to the Basics.
At this time last year I wrote my recap of 2024. My goals for that year including running my annual favorite races, winning medals in my age group, qualifying in the Michigan Senior Olympics for the National Senior Game and running 1000 miles for the year. I had met them all but the total miles due to a November injury. So my goal for 2025 was simply to run. Now 12 months later I have one goal for 2026 and it’s the same as last year. Simply to run.
Early in 2025 I got the diagnosis of semimembranosus tendinitis along with Osteoarthritis of right hip joint. A pain in the butt. Literally.
The remedy is rest along with PT to improve hamstring flexibility and strength. It’s been a very slow process with months of PT and some acupuncture treatments. By late summer my sports doctor designed a “back to running” program of walk/run intervals. It was hard to limit the running to 30 seconds per interval to start but I knew I had to be patient. Pushing the mileage too soon would only cause a setback.
As we end the year, I’ve worked up to 2.5 miles of non-stop easy running three days a week. I know that’s not much. Fourteen months ago that would have been a warmup run. But two months ago it hurt to run two minutes, so 2.5 miles is progress. There is still soreness where the top of my hamstring connects with the glute but it’s not the pain of a year ago. If the level of soreness doesn’t get any worse, I’ll be fine. That’s a big “if.”
Which leads me back to my 2026 goal. Simply to run. If I can build back up to 25 miles a week pain free that will be an accomplishment. From there I’ll try to add speedwork, run some races, earn some medals…
But I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Let’s start with the basics. Running.
Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2026!