Monday: I'd missed my long run the previous day, so I spent the entire day feeling the weight of guilt. I resolved to hit my treadmill after work, & I did! A solid 5 miles in about 52 minutes; the results mirror the best day of road running I've had. I felt good about it. Bouncing back was important to me.
Tuesday: Thanks to the treadmill the day before (& probably crap form whilst running on it), my right ankle was achy all day. If I'd thought about it, I'd have worn sneakers to work. But I didn't, so it annoyed me the whole afternoon. In the evening, I went for my routine training session.
Wednesday: Back on the road at 0530 for my usual "base" run. I put one foot out the door & instictively knew it was going to be a rough one. It was like running in a steam room; the humidity was at about 62%, which doesn't seem like much, but there was no wind at all. So the air was just sitting there. The results were a less-than-stellar run.
Thursday: My trainer thought it would be a good idea to work on sprinting (aka "fartleks," which I can't say with a straight face), so we hit the track. At 1830. For those not familiar with 24-hour time, that's 6:30 PM in 90-95 degree heat. I was not a happy camper. All told, my sprinting distance was about a mile & my legs felt it. My shins were screaming at me. After that was over, we went inside to work some arm weights... but I totally crapped out. I was not well, even after about 4.5L of water. I do not handle heat well at all. I went home & Mr. X took care of me by plying me with Gatorade G2. But I knew it was bad when I woke up at 0200 with cotton mouth & craving more G2. Something went horribly wrong... I just don't know what.
Friday: So after a horrible night of sleep, I decided to err on the side of caution & skip the morning run. When you perform at a certain level, you instinctively know when your body isn't "right." When I woke up, the first thought that came to mind was how badly I needed water. Not a good sign. So I had another G2 with my breakfast. Only then did I start to feel a bit better. I also knew my ankle was in pain. Not achy, but twinges of actual pain. I grabbed the ace bandage for some all-day compression therapy. I knew that was the right call; in about 10 minutes, I had some relief. Got a hair cut, had sushi with Mr. X, & called it a day. There are days when our bodies say "Enough is enough." The wise individual is the one who recognizes & observes that.
Saturday & Sunday: Even after wrapping it up, the ankle pain did not subside. I'm not sure what I did to it, but I suspect a bit of tendinitis... or I landed wrong during the sprinting sessions. Either way, I spent the majority of both days with my ankle elevated. By Sunday evening, I didn't feel any pain at all, which was a good sign.
For the next two weeks, I'll be on vacation. I'll have all the time in the world to run & exercise. I'm not worried about "catching up." The only thing I'm concerned with is keeping my body together so I can make it to the marathon. I do not want to "fake it." It's time for commitment... & time to make sure I don't get so obsessed that I end up hurting myself.
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