Ankles....

I waited until Wednesday (well...actually 4am Thursday morning) to try running on my ankle.  I had done some walking and my usual Wednesday cross training routine, and had it lasered (I love low powered laser therapy and highly recommend it!)  I worked late Wednesday night (7pm to 3:30am) and rather than try to snooze for an hour or two to be back to work at 6, I went for a run in the streets of Everett; 5.39 miles according to mapmyrun.  Started out slow and picked up as I warmed up. Even did some 1 block hill repeats on some fairly steep sections in the Port Gardner area.  Other than my right lower leg feeling heavy I had no real problems.   My leg has felt like that off and on since I mangled it (just a little...) in a motorcycle accident in 1972 so I don't attribute that to what happened last Saturday.  I plan on going out for 11 tomorrow morning so hopefully all is well.  I REALLY need to get 3 or 4 good long runs in before the Poulsbo marathon October 16!

Well Hell.....

Just when I was thinking I was getting a handle on my recovery - sleeping more, eating better... I sprained my right ankle.  I was riding my motorcycle into my garage and caught the toe of my boot on a concrete lip on the entrance to the garage.  As I rolled forward it pulled my foot down (heel on the footpeg) and hyperextended my ankle.  It didn't hurt much then, but it sure hurts now.  I iced it almost immediately to prevent swelling so hopefully I will be running again later in the week.   I am hoping to get 4 good long runs in over the next 6 weeks to be ready for the Poulsbo marathon October 16 so I was planning to do 11 today.  Oh well - pleny of R.I.C.E  and ibuprofen and I should be running by Wednesday or Thursday and doing my 11+ on Sunday...

I am still having trouble recovering...

I did a relatively light circuit (cut my weights down by 10 pounds or so in each exercise) on Wednesday morning then went for an easy five miles that afternoon.  The workout and the run both felt good and went well, but I didn't get off work til 10:30 that night, and got to bed after midnight.  When I got up at 3:40am my legs cramped so bad I thought I was going to miss my ferry - I had to almost crawl down the stairs and spent 10 minutes massaging my quads to get the cramps to ease up enough that I could get ready for work.   I'm sure the lack of quality sleep is the biggect culprit but I can't help but cut back on my training.  I was planning to do a 50K on Labor day weekend (Roots Rocks 50K in Port Gamble)  but that is iffy at best now.  After Wednesday's run I went for a 2.5 mile run/walk on a trail with my 9 year old son (he is a great training partner!!) on Thursday and a 9 miler with him on Saturday , legs still tired and heavy today.  I'm thinking I will skip the 50K and put my energy into getting ready for the Poulsbo marathon (Oct 16) and Doppler 50K (Nov 20).   Instead of the 50K on Sept 4 I think I will head up to the Buckhorn wilderness and do a 17 mile trail run - I love adventure runs on trails I have never been on before!

Long time away...

So I haven't been training much...not nearly as much as I think I should be able to. Between work (50+ hour work weeks) my commute (3 hours or so a day - 65 miles and and a ferry ride) and having a family and a life, training time can be rather limited. The biggest problem is, IMO, limited sleep time and its impact on my recovery. I get up at 3:35 am and usually don't get to bed before 10. Combine that with my age and recovering from even a moderate workout is slow and difficult. I did a circuit workout on Friday and on Sunday I am still achy and sore. My calves ache and twitch....

I am going to try a few things:
restarting a low-dose asprin regimen
increasing my protein intake
experimenting with vitamins, supplements and such
using a little more will power to get to bed earlier
ice baths after long or hard workouts

I like to drink a whey protein shake before bed - I find I feel a bit more rested in the mornings when I do, compared to when I don't have it. I used to drink "Hot Stuff" in the mornings to sort jump start my metabolism...I think I will go back to that, even though it makes me think about sex more (maybe that isn't a bad thing....)

My overall goal is to get more long runs in..as of now it is difficult for me to get a quality long run in more than once every 2 - 3 weeks, and I have a rather ambitious (for me anyway) goal and training plan:

Roots Rocks 50K Sept 4 2011
Poulsbo Marathon Oct 16 2011
Doppler 50K November 10 2011
Lumberjack Endurance run 100mi april 14 2012
Cascade Crest 100mi August 25 2012
H.U.R.T. January 2013

There are a couple of 50 milers I would like to squeeze in there, plus I would prefer to find a 100 in January 2013 that is a little closer to home so I can save my $$$ for a trip to Death Valley (I am always optomistic...) that July.