Easy Run

After being sick, having ankle problems, etc. I got out for a short run today (2 miles) and it felt great. Well, the running itself felt good, and it felt great to actually be running again. Knee feels fine, ankle feels fine, now I just need to stay healthy and get some miles in. No shortcut to fitness, just getting the running done consistently. We've had some really decent weather here in Portland lately so there's no excuse for not getting out there now. Today was mid-50s, a little windy but it was nice to have a tailwind on the return back to the house. We ordered a treadmill last week that should be here on Friday--it will help on those rainy days here, especially in the winter, but also will allow me to get a run if I'm home with the kids and couldn't run otherwise. Two of my other new year's resolutions was to learn how to swim better, and get to the gym regularly. Those will both help my running, so I'll try to get going on those soon.

I had a golf lesson on Friday (first one ever, another one of my resolutions) and then played 9 holes--I can't believe how sore I got just from that. I refuse to think it's a sign of getting older, I'm sure it's just using muscles that don't get used much at this time of year.

Drat

The ankle felt okay this morning, but about half a mile into today's run it was too painful to continue running on. I'm going to follow the adage that you shouldn't run with any pain that causes you to change your gait--it's rare to run without at least some little thing bothering you, but this was making me limp. I have to believe that when the doc popped my ankle back into place that it bruised or something, because it's painful to the touch. I fully expect that it won't be a long term problem, but I'm just going to have to give it some time. My knee continues to feel good, so hopefully that issue is being worked out. I should take a cue from AZ and get some swimming time in--not that I'm much of a swimmer. The pool at the club is only 3-4 feet so it's not like I'll sink or anything.

Ankle?

After being sick for a few weeks, I did finally get a 3 mile run in yesterday and it felt pretty good. More than anything, it was nice to be out running again! Had my third session with the doctor this morning--more torture. Since I've been back running, my left ankle has been bothering me, so I asked him about that this morning--when he checked it, he discovered that it was compressed, so he cranked away until it finally popped out. He said usually that kind of thing is secondary to an ankle sprain, but I haven't sprained my ankle in years so who knows how it got like that. Hopefully that does it, although it's definitely still sore. I refuse to think that I'm falling apart physically, now that I'm 40. More like a car that's missed the proper maintenance so it takes a few tune-ups to get things running properly. I'm probably closer to a horse-and-buggy than an actual car. The great news in all this is that the knee is feeling pretty darn good at the moment.