Smiles. It has a mile between the S's.
An old injury reared its head recently--my left ankle swelled up and started hurting, the one I sprained last summer when I stepped in a hole while training for the Chicago Fun Run. I think its recurrence is from overuse, as I put in a 40 mile week followed by (for the first time ever for me) a 50 mile week.
Over the course of several consecutive weekends, I had put together long runs of 13.1, 20, 15 and 16.2 miles. Suddenly I woke up and couldn't walk without pain, much less run a marathon on the suddenly bum-again ankle. So I have been laying off of it.
I started wearing a heavy ankle brace and running miles. As in solitary miles. As in speed work.
I have also been attending yoga classes, at the community center, Which is exactly a mile from my house. How handy.
Tuesday I ran to yoga class at a comfortable lope, in what I hoped was an eight-minutes-per-mile pace. In fact it was 7:45. I ran home afterwards, all relaxed from the savasana, in 7:24.
Wednesday my ankle was a little swollen but it also felt a little bit better. So I attended my club's weekly track workout. The schedule called for four one-mile repeats, with a brief recovery run between each mile, on the nearby hilly Custis Trail (there was a lacrosse game in progress at the high school so the track was closed). I cut down the warmup, recovery and cooldown runs to save mileage. My splits were 7:26, 7:40, 7:49 and 7:51. No negative splits there!
Today I ran the mile to yoga in 7:17. Returning home all warmed up from an hour of stretching, I pushed it and turned the mile in 6:54.
I don't feel bad about causing my malady's onset, because how do you prepare for a marathon without running long, often? Lots of people run 50 miles per week while getting ready for marathons.
My injury is getting better. I couldn't run a marathon right now but I hope to be able to soon. I'm taking it one day at a time, one mile at a time.
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11 comments:
Hey, thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment. We're coming to town for the MCM in October - I can't wait!
Sorry to hear about your injury. I hope it continues to heal. Hang in there!
Well shoot!
My anle is painful today, for the first time in AGES. Yay us...
My middle-school (a long while ago) X-Country team had shirts with the Smiles saying on it. It was on the back...and I never quite felt the same feeling during a long run stuck behind someone with the whole "Smiles" saying on it. :)
So sorry to hear of your injury.
Just when you are really going great on the training... a pesky old injury makes itself heard.
Good luck with that.
I think about 2/3 - 3/4 of cyclists on our Gateway, warn of their approach. (Signs say: warn the horses, but don't say warn the runners!) We always always shout a cheerful "Thank you" as they go by.
What a bummer about your injury. But it sounds like you're taking it easier to let it heal. Hope you're back in marathon shape soon!
take care of that ankle! 50 mile week. whoa!
yoga makes you faster! namaste.
That obnoxious old 10%/week rule just has a way of winning, doesn't it!
Injury or not, you are one fast dude! Hope your ankle will be feeling better soon!
Oh no! Sorry to hear about your ankle. Hope it gets better soon.
Which marathon are you targeting?
So are you going to be seeing pigs fly on Sunday, too?
Should be a lot cooler than Chicago!
Are you training for a marathon or a 4x100 relay (with you doing all 4 legs!)?
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