Chad's Runs

I haven't been out for a 5am run for a couple of months.  I have been working some on the weekends because my afternoon runs cut into my work hours so I'm going to try and get in some early runs.  It takes a while to get warmed up on these early runs and my ankles were sore from the 10 miles I ran on Saturday night.  Not a big deal, I expected it.  I think they will start feeling better by the end of the week again.

I think one of the big reasons I am having these ankle issues is because of bad form when I first tried the Altras.  I was focusing on a strong push off on the middle of the ball of my foot.  I am mostly a neutral runner but sometimes I over pronate a little.  So I was doing a little research on the POSE method and learned that it is more than posture/mid-foot strike.  Momentum comes for leaning forward, not from pushing off.  From what I gathered, the leg should be "pulled" forward with no push off.  I was just putting a lot of stress on the bottom of my tibia and those tendons that run right behind the ankle keeping my foot tight and pushing off.  This pull instead of push will keep my foot relaxed instead of tight.  I hope I understand all this form stuff a little better and it helps me heal and reduce future injuries.  I don't have any experience with this stuff so maybe I'm up in the night but I'm going to try run this way for a while and see if it helps endurance/speed/injuries/etc.

6 at 5am.  I forgot my headlamp.  I run on the JRP with out it all the time because there are no cars to shine at.  Running in the dark doesn't bother me.  But today I ran into Saratoga Springs again.  I only saw one car out and about so no big deal.

Ankle felt great today, almost no discomfort at all.  Will it feel this good during tomorrows run?  Probably not, but baby steps right? 

Early 5am run this morning.  The air was as calm as could be, low 20s, it was beautiful. That's 3 5am runs this week, weird.  I plan on a 6am run tomorrow so all will be early.  Its easier to get them in that way.

My ankles talked to me throughout this run.  They weren't painful, just making their presence known.  There are benefits there, it helps remind me to pay attention to my form and relax. 

12 miles this morning.  Good weather, I was never cold.  It's sometimes fun to run during the sunrise but it sucks getting up.  I took it nice and slow because my ankles were sore.  That's 19 miles in two days and they were feeling it.  I'm hoping a Sunday rest will get them back to full strength by Monday.