The week in review

I took Monday through Wednesday off of running, did self massage and had the left ankle wrapped all week with the hope of recovering quickly.

I tried to run before softball on Thursday, my thinking was that it would provide a way to stretch out before the games and I really did want to run. I only went a mile as I still had some pain. On Friday I figured I better be smart so I didn't run which was hard to miss another day as it was a beautiful day.

Although I did get some good news on Friday, my new pair of shoes arrived. New shoes when injured? Of course, it's what I do as I am usually convinced my shoes are aggravating my injury or the root cause as it can't be my training. Occasionally I have been right, usually I am not as the injuries stick around. I ordered a pair of Salomon XA Comp 3's from Sierra Trading Post.They were priced fairly inexpensively ($49.95) and I got an additional 20% since my order was over $75. So with the additional discount the Salomon's ended up costing just $39.95. I also ordered a pair of Sugio Ready running shorts and a Laken Futura aluminum water bottle. The Ready shorts are my second pair, I love the first pair and have worn them for a few months. They are long (~9 inseam) and softer than normal running shorts, they don't rub or cling which is nice. As to the water bottle, I normally refill "the single use" plastic bottles 10, 20 or 30 times. Probably not wise based on the research.

Saturday, I decided I needed to feel ok as I had new shoes and I had to give them a go. So I grabbed the Garmin and headed to Lebanon Hills. The Garmin synced with the satellites and then I noticed the low battery warning. When was the last time I charged it? I figured it would last as this was going to be a fairly short run somewhere between 4-7 miles depending on how I felt, the Garmin died almost right away. I ran a trail I know well that didn't feature hills and it was fairly smooth so as to not aggravate anything. The shoes felt great, my left ankle seemed to like them, my achilles was tight but the good news was no jolts from either so I ended up running the 6 mile loop. I can already say that based on this first run, the speed laces on these shoes I really like, not sure how they will wear but they sure make it easy to get the shoes on and adjusted.

Today, I ran the river bottoms with Karyn, we did our normal 12.5 mile loop. I again wore the Salomon's. Great news, the ankle was good for 8 or 9 miles and not terrible for the last 3 or so miles. The achilles held together and was manageable for most of the run but was definitely tightening up over the last few miles. So maybe the shoes helped, maybe it was the rest, the shorter distance, the level ground or maybe it's all in my head. I even soaked both feet in cold water when we got home and now I have both feet wrapped up again so I am trying to take care of these injuries.

I am pretty sure that my left foot is improving and my achilles is manageable. Of course, it's what I want to believe but I really do think I am making progress.