Miles of Bliss and Sweat

06/13/2014 by She's Going the Distance 18 Comments

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 2.2m easy

I promised you guys a recap of how my running has progressed. What I can say right off the bat, is i’m keeping my runs short, easy and feeling out my ankle. Every run has been a surprise. My first run back…backfired. My ankle seized up and I ended up at the Chiro’s office that same morning.

Of course what I didn’t do, is the exact thing that he’s been telling me—> I need to warm up my right ankle, like my right ankle’s life depends on it. He even suggested a heat pack before my run, just to loosen it up. Crazy i know, but that’s the crazy state of my ankle right now.

leg swings!

Running this week has been a whole different story. Warming up is a must, so I’ve been timing myself, 5-10 minutes of full warm ups. I start with my usual..leg swings, high knees, etc. Then I do 2-3 sets of squats, lunges and ankle circles. Once I feel like the legs have woken up, I do a calf stretch and an achilles stretch. I hold these for about a full minute.

calf stretch, keeping back leg straight

achilles stretch, take a small step in and bend knee

Starting this way has proved to be important because I’ve been running pain free. Running still feels off, and the right ankle still isn’t perfect so i’m concentrating on form. As I run I try to mimic my left, healthy leg. I’ve been paying close attention to it’s footfall, where it lands (ball, mid, heel), how it pushes off, how the it sounds as it lands. I always joke that my left leg is a machine, so why not try and make sure the right side is mirroring the left? Spot checking my form is drastically decreasing any ankle tightness or pain.

I have not been using my iPod for reasons mentioned above. I cannot be distracted by music right now. And I’ve been wearing my watch, but i haven’t been concerned about pace. If you’re curious though, my paces have ranged from 7:50-9:30. All the hell over the place, but that’s not a focus right now.

My focus is enjoying the shorts runs I do have, making sure that i’m progressing forward and not furthering injury. Also, I’m back in sweet home Indiana for the weekend. 🙂 These pics are from the neighborhood where i began my running life.