I didn't necessarily realize it at the time though, as I only had one workout that really stood out to me as being a struggle. At the end of the week though, when I read back through my notes in my training calendar, I realized it was definitely one of those weeks where getting pumped up to get out the door was a struggle. Each and every comment in my training log showed a lack of enthusiasm and was overall kinda “blah”.
Thankfully, it was a bit like a switch flipped the next Monday, and the week following felt pretty great. My motivation was back and I felt like I was running strong.
This past Sunday I ran long with Kirsten, Shane and TRex at the Lakes.
My motivation was still high and I actually felt pretty good through the run (and despite my next sentence, I still think it was a good workout for the most part). Unfortunately around the 15k mark, my ankle/achilles area got quite tender and I felt like I was really heel striking (but couldn’t seem to stop myself). It’s not like I tripped or rolled my ankle or anything like that, and definitely wasn’t to the point of needing to stop, I just could feel the movement in my ankle lessening as the run progressed, and well, it was kind of painful.
Post-run Sunday, everything was pretty tender.
I iced it a little, put my feet up and didn’t really worry about it too much – or I guess, more accurately, I knew it was likely the same issue I dealt with for a bit last year.
As my RMT Lysanne said the other day, I have the strangest “injuries”.
In this instance, my talus bone kinda slips/rotates and lodges itself out of place. Usually when this happens, I can still run and it tends to loosen up a bit as I get warm, but I definitely can’t just leave it, and usually need to get into massage or physio to have it adjusted and put back into place.
The earliest appointment that fit my schedule was Tuesday after work, so I did my runs on Monday and Tuesday with my wonky foot (luckily they were both just base runs). Neither outing was terrible, but I did feel kind of awkward the whole time and never really felt as if I actually did warm up.
Thankfully, miracle worker Lysanne got my foot adjusted, did some major work on my crazy tight calves, flushed my legs and even taped me up to help take a bit of pressure off my ankle and tib post for a bit.
After the appointment, my ankle was pretty tender and a bit swollen (as it always is after an adjustment like that) so I opted not to get up and run on Wednesday morning like I usually do. I wanted to give everything happening in my lower legs a bit more time to chill out. However, that meant I would have to run after work, right before bike trainer class (not super ideal, but whatevs).
I’ll admit I was kinda scared to attempt my run workout on Wednesday night. My runs the previous two days had not felt great and my leg was still definitely a bit tender from the beating Lysanne gave it. I think I was worried about having a bad workout and taking a hit to the motivation.
Thankfully, and somewhat unexpectedly, it actually turned out to be a really great run!
I was pretty conservative at the start, as I could really feel the work that had been done on my calves the day before, but my ankle - while tender - actually felt the best it had all week and was definitely moving better. As I ramped up my pace for my planned efforts, my ankle just continued to feel looser and looser! It was awesome.
So that’s where I’m at right now. The rest of the week gears down a bit so that I can race Bazan Bay 5k on Sunday with somewhat fresh legs.
I had actually forgot that I told Adam I liked running this event, so was a bit surprised to see it on my calendar this week, but I think it will be fun to go out and, you know, just give’r*.
Anyway, this has been a pretty boring ramble (so thanks for hanging in there if you are still reading). I suppose I just like to document times like this for myself, as every year, I end up going through a period of ups and downs.
Like usual, I’d say there were probably more ups than downs, and one major bonus is that I am really finding myself looking forward to long hilly runs on trails – probably a good sign for the months to come.
*Give'r
Function: Verb
Etymology: Canadian, particular to rural areas, especially Lanark County Ontario and most of Alberta; An amalgam of the words give and her; made popular by movie "FUBAR"
Definition: Going all out and/or balls to the wall to take care of business as quickly and as awesomely as possible.
Also, just because…
RIP Stompin’ Tom
good luck at bazan bay this weekend!
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