On Saturday, I did a supported 20 mile run. In addition to a gear check and aid stations,
it featured pacers, so it was an opportunity to practice not going out too fast
at the start. My lovely boyfriend signed
up to run with me, and we were able to stay with the pace group through the
first five miles before he decided to turn around and go back to the start/finish.
My goal was to stick with the pacer as long as
possible. When we got to mile 9, I
really needed to use the bathroom, and that trip caused me to lose sight of the
pacer. I pushed a bit and caught up with
them around mile 11…and then it happened.
I’ve been having weird ankle discomfort on and mostly off
this summer. Not painful, but more like
I need to crack it—but I can’t. At mile
11, the discomfort turned into pain. I
kept running, kept sticking with the pacer, and by mile 14, was able to surge
past the pace group because I was feeling so much better.
By mile 15, the pace group had caught up, and when I had to
switch my phone armband at mile 16, I started to struggle keeping with the
group. However, I did have the energy to
sneak up behind my boyfriend around mile 17.5 and flip his baseball cap. J
I forced myself to continue jogging to the end, and actually
did have a final burst of speed. In the end,
I was well under my goal pace, but my ankle was not a happy camper. I struggled to put weight on it all afternoon
and into the evening, and spent most of the next day icing and elevating it.
By Tuesday, it was well enough to join my running club for
hill runs, but I fear I need new shoes before Marathon Sunday, which is 2.5
short weeks away.
No comments:
Post a Comment