It has been a long week

Well, I got in a couple of runs since my last post.  I ran a four miler on Wednesday that I felt OK during.  The ankle is a little weak and sore yet, but there isn't much to do but keep icing it down, taking some Advil from time to time, and keep doing leg lifts on just that foot.  I know that it is a strength and stretching issue, so that is what I am working on with that foot.  It actually isn't feeling too bad today.

Yesterday, I did a nice slow 5 miler.  Considering that I took two weeks off while I am supposed to be building up to two 10K's 5 miles is pretty major.  I will try much harder to get to the gym starting this week.  I need to get some cross-training in to help rehab the ankle, and working with actual weights will help.  My plan is to be at the Y at least three times a week, and go running three times a week.  I need to get to 6+ miles in about 2 weeks, so I think that will be my goal for this week's long run and next weeks as well.  I may actually map out the two races coming up and just "run the races" before the race.  Since they both go by my house, I don't need to start off by going somewhere to start from.

If I can get my ankle to stop hurting every time I finish a run, I will add in a day of wind sprints at the track.  It is an easy mile jog to the track, do a mile or two of intervals, and then a nice slow jog back home.  That should help the ground speed a bit.  I just need to get this ankle strong enough to take that kind of pressure.  Well, time for me to go do some more leg stretches.

Two weeks off, not how I wanted to train

But hey, that is why I say to be flexible.  My left ankle needed the time off that the oral surgeon forced me to take.  The look he gave me when I asked if I could run the day after he cut my mouth to ribbons was almost classic.  Turns out that when they put large holes in your head they don't want you to ramp up your heart-rate for fear of filling your mouth with copious amount of blood.  I didn't push it since my ankle was still giving me fits just walking around.  So, I took some time off from running and let my ankle get better.  Oh yeah, and my mouth too.  Both felt great this morning, and I busted out a 4 miler with no problem.  Tomorrow, per my "personal trainer" I will be heading to the Y to get in some weight lifting and maybe some elliptical or rowing machine time.  I definitely do not need to put in a lot of cardio time, since that is what the running is for, but I think getting in some different leg work would be good.  I think I will be firing the Nike Coach as well.  It doesn't have a lot of flexibility to the system, and that is by design, they can't have every runner modifying the system every other day, so they make it fairly static.  I will look at some other schedules and go with those.

My Sister-in-law came up for the weekend of my wife's birthday, and we talked ourselves out of running the late July Pikermi in SW Washington.  Her boy friend grew up in the town where the race is, and he said that it is not the nicest lake, and the humidity at that time of year would make for a miserable run.  So I think instead we will look at doing a 10K on the beach the weekend before.  A 9:00 start time in July would be bad anywhere but on the edge of the Pacific.  Nothing like 60 degree days and cool breezes to make a nice run.  I may still find a pikermi before the one on my birthday, but we shall see.  I am registered for the one on my birthday, and I will train hard all summer for that one.  There are two races coming in the near future in the town I live in so those will be fun.  They are also cheap.  Some of these races are pricey to run in, so I have to keep an eye on that as well.