OBX Marathon Training Week 13: Getting back in the game

Week 13 was a mix of rest and getting back into running. My ankle and lower leg has been starting to feel more back to normal, so I was hoping to get in my long run on Saturday. I still rested a little more than usual, and skipped my Tuesday run. Throughout the week, I also really focused in on ankle strengthening exercises. I think these have been instrumental to my recovery and gaining strength back in my lower leg muscles to support my ankle.

Monday: stretch

Tuesday: 2 mile walk + stretch

Wednesday: P90x legs

Thursday: run 3.1 miles easy

Friday: rest

Saturday: 16 mile long run
On my training plan, I had a 20 mile long run scheduled for Saturday. Honestly, I wasn't really sure how far I would be able to go, or whether my ankle would give me a hard time. After taking two weeks with hardly any running, I was hoping for something good.

Usually for my long runs, I run on a paved bike path. I like to run half the distance in one direction, and then turn around and come back. On Saturday, I decided to aim for a 10 mile out and back first (5 miles in each direction), then see how I felt to do another. After 11 miles when I took a quick bathroom & water break, I noticed that my ankle was feeling tired, but it didn't hurt. At that point I knew I wasn't going to make it 20 miles, but would shoot for 17-18. When I was 3 miles from my start point (13 miles in), I saw Ryan and he encouraged me to just turn around now and cut it to 16. I agreed -- no reason to push it.

Afterward, I actually felt pretty good. My ankle was tired, but still not hurting. It just felt like I had done a hard run. After some legs up the wall and relaxing, I was feeling pretty good. In the evening, Ryan and I went to San Francisco to visit a friend. We probably walked about 2-3 miles over the course of the evening around town. Good to move the legs around for some recovery.

Sunday: 3 mile walk + stretch
Legs felt pretty good, but it was nice to take a walk for extra recovery. It was also beautiful outside, so we had to get out and take advantage of it!

This coming week I am going to try to get back on my official schedule with 3 days of running, some yoga, and strength...and fewer rest days. I will also be running the San Jose Rock n Roll half marathon on Sunday!