Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Back in the Saddle

After another sleepless night, and this time I really don't know the cause since there was no wine or any alcohol with dinner, I missed the planned morning return to running. Instead I squeezed in a tester of sorts after work. The ankle is up and down, sometimes I feel a twinge when I walk and it makes me worry a bit, and then for a couple of hours here and there it seems perfectly fine. Well, as fine as my ankle is ever likely to get... The increased swelling as the day progresses has gotten better, but it's not yet back to normal.

I had to get out quick after picking Owen up from school since Malcolm's school was hosting Curriculum Night, and we had to make an appearance. Once M&M showed up at about 6pm I said "see ya" and headed out. This left me about an hour to run, then shower, and still make it to the school on time. Dinner and icing would have to wait until later...

I walked for five minutes to warm up, a little concerned that the full 10 minutes I've been used to was really the way to go. But since I biked quite fast to get Owen and then biked back home with him I figured my warm up could be shortened a bit.

The run itself started off a little bit on the hesitant side, the first couple of kilometres I was "working out the kinks". I wonder if the other 30 and over runners out there also find that it takes a little bit to get going, joints creaking and grinding a bit. For me this is the least enjoyable part of the run. After about 2k I started to loosen up, though I was pretty cautious with the ankle, constantly testing out my stride and how my foot was landing on the pavement. By the time I dropped down into Taylor Creek Park I was starting to really enjoy running for the first time in a week and saw that my pace was quite a bit faster than I had anticipated it would be. Also, the hill leading out of the Park was less of a challenge than in the past, which means my cardio maintenance in the pool and on rollerblades has been paying off.

When I reached the planned 5k mark I pressed the lap button and saw I had completed the distance in 26:49, a 5:21/km pace. I also decided to run another kilometre just because I knew I did not have time to walk the entire 2k back home and still have time to shower. This sixth kilometre was completed in 5:13 for a total of 32:02 for 6k (a 5:20/km, or 8:35/m pace overall). Not bad for a return to running, and it remains to be seen how the ankle responds.

Garmin don't lie.

The google image of my run.

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a nice run to ease you way back in. I would definitely say your cross training has really helped out. It is such a great feeling when the hills don't get to you.

September 25, 2008 at 8:03 AM  
Blogger Marcy said...

Alright! Sounds good! Let's hope it keeps it that way :-)

September 25, 2008 at 8:36 AM  
Blogger BeachRunner said...

Nice job. Here's hoping you continue to see progress.

September 25, 2008 at 9:21 AM  
Blogger Lily on the Road said...

Got my fingers crossed for you!!

September 25, 2008 at 12:31 PM  

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