Saturday, April 25, 2015

2 weeks

iceage is 2 weeks away and my ankle is still being a brat.  i had some great running weeks and then my ankle was sore and oddly swollen on the outside just below my ankle bone.  i saw my PT and he was not concerned about the swelling as long as there was no pain.  lots of icing, some aleve everyday and taking a few days off with the hope that all would be well by my wednesday run.

on wednesday dave and i ran the majority of the beartrax 20K course since we both are supposed to race it tomorrow.  we cut it short because i was just having a really challenging time.  i haven't run since...

my ankle still does not feel right and since my A race this spring is iceage i'm making the decision to drop down from the 20K to the 4.3K tomorrow.  i'm disappointed but i know this is probably the right choice if i want to be my best for the 50K in 2 weeks.  i feel prepared for the race.  i ran the first part of the iceage course the past 2 saturdays to the tune of 21mi and 19mi respectively.  i felt like dying the first saturday and then absolutely fantastic the second saturday.  i am banking on my current fitness to get me through the race.

it turns out (after being examined and reviewed by one of the podiatrists i work for and my PT) that i am a light heel striker but a heel striker none the less.  what this means for me is that a zero drop shoe is not the best choice for me and they believe it is what has caused my ankle injury.  heel striking in a zero drop shoe is no bueno.  so i'm back in my new balance 1400's and that's just fine with me.  it's really too bad tho' because those altras were tax and now i've got two pairs of shoes i can't wear.

i just hope that the ankle thing isn't going to plague me through my whole racing season.  the podiatrist told me that 12 weeks of no running is what i would need to heal my ankle completely and what that would mean is another 12 weeks (give or take) to get back to my current level of fitness.  i took 2 weeks off last month and it was so incredibly challenging cardio-vascularly to do what i want to do... i am absolutely not interested in taking 12 weeks off.  that will have to wait until october after lakefront.

while this is disappointing it is also becoming my "norm" to run through some sort of stupid left leg, ankle, foot injury.  that left side is just a bummer.

i'll post my race report once everything is said and done.  i love running at lapham and i hope the weather is agreeable.  it's a beautiful course and i'm bummed i'm dropping down again this year due to injury.  i did the same thing last year.  gotta roll with the punches and keep my eye on the prize... under 6 hr 50K finish in 2 weeks.

No comments: