Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Out of the blue, my ankle started to hurt last week on Monday afternoon. It didn't get any better throughout the week, but it felt much better after taking yesterday off, so I knew that the smart thing for me to do would be to take a litte more time off until it was completely better.

But against my better judgment, I decided to take advantage of the holiday to hit the trails. At the very least I was wise enough to consider the limitations of both my ankle and my current fitness, and I limited myself to a short run up to Rock Canyon Campground instead of up Squaw Peak or over the Slate Canyon - Y Mountain loop.

As expected, my ankle now hurts more than it did yesterday. But it was a beautifiul morning for a run, so I'm not sorry. At least not yet.

My legs feel pretty beat up after today's little climb and descent, even though my pace was so slow that the entire run took a little over an hour. It's kind of embarassing, really. There was a time (only a few years ago) when I could tag the Squaw Peak summit and be back to the car in under 90 minutes. 

Talking like that makes me feel and sound like a has-been :-).

As expected, my little trail run yesterday afternoon set my ankle back a bit. Even so, I was going to run this morning. I even got dressed and headed out the door, but when I started to feel trouble within a couple hundred feet, I turned around, the turned around again, and finally turned around one last time and went home. 

As impatient as I'm feeling, it's better to take time off now while my training is just getting started and there's more time to make up for lost time. 

I planned to run again this morning, but Nora had different plans and kept me up till about 1:00 in the morning. After that, there was no way I was going to wake up to run at 4:30.

Maybe Nora did me a favor--at the very least. I doubt the extra day of rest will hurt me.

Anyway, I'll be running again tomorrow, no matter how my leg feels when I wake up.

I ran a few easy miles this morning after taking a few days off to let my ankle heal and sure enough, nothing changed. Of course, although my ankle hurts after running, it doesn't seem to be hurting progressively more each time. So I've decided that I'm going to just try to run through it, whatever it is, until I get better or my body forces me to stop.

Bring it on, stupid ankle.

Four easy miles, out and back (heading east first) on the Provo River Trail. When I wake up in the morning, my ankle is stiff and sore, and it's pretty sore after I run, too. But while I'm running it's only a minor nuisance at worst, and usually it feels fine. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Today, unlike Monday, I did not oversleep, and that meant I got to do the longer trail run I've been wanting to. Specifically, Squaw Peak from Rock Canyon. Which isn't really a long run, but I guess it's all relative.

I hit the turnoff to the Squaw Peak trail, at just under two miles, in about 20 minutes, and I hit the summit, a touch over two miles later, in another 38 minutes. Which means I topped out in under an hour, something I didn't expect.

Of course, that means I was giving the trail too much credit or my fitness too little. Maybe both.

Anyways, I spent about five minutes at the summit and then ran back to the car in a bit under 40 minutes. As I was finishing, other people were just starting to get onto the trail, and the sun still hadn't come over the mountains. In a lot of ways, it was a perfect run.

After the run I picked up some donuts, which seems to have become a recent Saturday tradition, and after Catherine, Elliott and I ate them I went out for a short jog around the neighborhood with Elliott and Nora, because I enjoy it and Elliott enjoys it and I think Nora does too.