Believe to Achieve

Okay so I worked all day yesterday and got some advice on my ankle....cause it wasn't really changing...ICE bath, HOT water BATH.  Repeat several times.  I did just that last night and miraculously could walk normally on my heal.  But I awoke to the TIGHTEST HIPS AND THIGHS I have ever had.  SO bad that I thought I should cancel on Rachelle.  But I have been through worse so I thought  I would tough it out and make her run slower.  Her plan was to run the last four fast.  My plan:  survival.  First outdoor run since the New Year's Half with Rachel-- and that cold was IMPRINTED largely in my brain.  It was 5 degrees when we left but sure beat the negative 6 degrees of the New Year's Half.  The sun came up about an hour into our run and it was Heavenly.  I didn't have my watch in VIEW mode so my plan was to see where we were at when we got to the eternal WATER fountain in Alpine.  We got there at 8:12 AP for 9.2 miles.  I honestly thought I was at a 8:30 to 8:45 pace.  So that's good.  My legs were like a dead man's.  NO joke.  I have never even felt that tight in a marathon.  It was a bad dream--- no ankle pain but this intense tightness in my legs!!!!!  I could barely turn my legs over and Rachelle  I am quite certain was tired of hearing my whining about them.  We ran into Mel, Melody, Kim and Julie coming downhill around mile 4 of our run.  We didn't stop.  They were hopping.  We were going up at a leisurely pace.  At the water fountain we ran into several runners from the Blog-- Walter, Scott, and several others.  We left there and headed to mile 10 where Rachelle was to start her four miles fast. I, on the other hand, was not in that mode and decided that I should be wise for once with my body.  When Rachelle took off I got worried that she would get lost as she had expressed this concern...so I hung back and followed at a pace close enough to verbally tell her which direction to go.  I didn't start my watch/lap button and I don't have my garmin tell me my splits anymore (haven't worn my garmin in over three weeks) but after the first mile I was about 20 seconds behind her.  When she got to where I knew mile four of the fast was she kept going....I thought she was going to stop so I slowed there and hung a left and Rachelle was nowhere to be found.  I turned the next right to look down the last hill to my house and there Rachelle was speedily heading towards my house.  I was trying to yell her to slow and wait but she was in a zone.  I decided she must have added on a last tempo mile.  Which ended up exactly what she was doing.  I was back to my nice 8:12 pace.  When I started the tempo my AP was 8:13 for 10 miles. When I finished my tempo my pace was 7:50.   So this puts my four miles at about 6:45 to 6:54 pace. Not bad for running with MUMMY legs and not pushing myself.  Jogged back to my house with Rachelle the last 0.3 miles.  Rachelle had a Raynaud's attack and dizzy spell from her lightning speed  :D.  All is well. Orange juice is a miracle food :D.  Hmmmm....15.2 miles after 3 weeks off of much running at all, except for yesterday's speed work of 10.5 miles.  How quickly I forget :D.  Lips and tongue are going through a weird experience....tingling and burning especially after long workouts. Melanie suggested it might be a iron, vitamin B, zinc or low thyroid issue.  I don't take zinc so I am going to get that and see....and for once and for all stop with  all the chocolate. I only lasted three days!!!  STARTING again, MARK MY WORDS!!