Jogging - changing the rules

Only a week after my first posting on jogging vs. running and I've changed my rule of not jogging on consecutive days. I'd forgotten what it is like - one has to run when one has the opportunity or when one feels the urge/need. While limiting my distance to 2-3 miles each time, I've jogged the past 4 consecutive days because it feels great and because there is a nice trail near my campsite. Accordingly, I've also increased my upper limit from 10 to 15 miles to accommodate more running.

After reading horror stories of recurring stress fractures from runners who came back too fast/hard from an initial stress fracture, I'm admittedly a bit paranoid. Rehabilitation for a leg stress fracture requires one keep weight off the fractured leg for around 8 weeks. In addition to being difficult for an active person, this prescription leads to muscle atrophy. Moreover, not putting weight on one's legs/bones for 8 weeks is the opposite of the prescription for someone with Osteoporosis - do weight bearing exercise. Recurring fractures can therefore lead to a downward spiral in bone and overall health.

There is no specific guidance for how much or how frequently stress fracture and Osteoporosis patients should run, jog, walk, hike, or do other weight bearing exercise so individuals are left to develop their own rehabilitation prescription. My RX now is to limit jogging and hiking each to 15 miles per week (30 total); to run "gently"; to limit my hiking pack to 15 pounds; and to listen to my body and try not to push myself too fast/far.

I fell in love with running while in graduate school at UVM. I specifically recall the moment - running on Shelburne Road in Burlington, VT. I'd been running for about an hour and suddenly realized that I was not tired; instead, I felt great, smiled, and felt I could run forever. Call it a second wind, but from then on, I loved to run. I stopped running in my 30's, due to back problems - I ended up going to the chiropractor for realignment every time I'd run.  As much as I loved running, it wasn't worth the pain and being unable to stand up straight for a week when my back would go out after running. So I quit running for 25 years and took up hiking and mountain climbing instead.

Less than 6 months after returning from a mountain climbing expedition in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru, I developed a stress fractured in my tibia and was diagnosed with severe Osteoporosis. This made me think - what if the fracture had occurred while being roped up with my climbing partners 20,000 feet above sea level. I decided I couldn't expose climbing partners to this risk and gave up expedition climbing. This was a tough decision and it left me without any exciting aerobic exercise outlet. Hiking trails are not always available and it takes a half-whole day to get much exercise. As a means to supplement my hiking activity and as part of my Osteoporosis prescription, I recently decided to start jogging again; it isn't the same as running but I feel so fortunate I'm able to do it.