10 minutes. 1.19 miles. 8:21 average pace. Those are the unsexy stats from my first run back following a debilitating injury six years ago. And let me tell you, that run kicked my butt.

I was mere months into my collegiate running career when I got the diagnosis that would force me to the sidelines for quite some time: Compartment syndrome . My symptoms—constant calf pain, leg swelling, and numb feet—were serious enough that I needed to have surgery if I ever wanted to run consistently without agony again. A painful procedure, plenty of rest, and weeks of physical therapy later, I finally got the all-clear from my doctor to give some light jogging a shot.

That first run , and the ones that followed, were about as tough and painful aerobically as I had expected. But beyond those first few 10-minute runs, I didn’t really have any plan of attack.…