Winning Back What I Lost

I got sick of lying around like a slob and decided to test my ankle.  Wrapped the ankle real good and hopped on the T/M.  Started real slow and gradually increased the speed to around 9 mm.  Didn't want to overdo it after 4+ weeks of nothing.  There was significant pain on the inside of my foot, heel and ankle until it loosened up.  I walk around without a limp now but I had a slight limp in my running stride so as not to put too much pressure on my left foot landing and push off.  I was also surprised at how quickly my cardiovascular conditioning deteriorated.  I had to really grit it out just to last the 3+ miles w/ a 5 min walk for cooldown.  Iced my foot when I got home to reduce some of the swelling and I'll probably to do some low impact tomorrow (bike or eliptical).

After my early abortive effort to start running a couple of weeks ago, I finally got back up on the horse to de-stress following a week long administrative hearing.  Ankle still feels weak and somewhat unstable but tolerable.  The problem now is working off this 10 lbs that I've put on during the layoff and getting my cardio conditioning back where it was.  I was barely able to make it the 3 and a half miles w/o falling off the T/M.  My pulse hit 182 at its max which is basically threshold for me.  Considering that I've deteriorated so quickly, I'm hoping that I get it back with a couple of weeks of running six days/week. 

Ankle was a bit more stable this time out; my legs felt stronger than they did on Friday; slowly working back into the groove.

Watched the Broncos blow a close one v. TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl; I had to decompress so I immediately went over and shoveled my neighbor's driveway; that wasn't quite enough of a stress reliever so I head to the club for some T/M work; my back was a bit sore from the shoveling but I managed to get some good miles in; my first back to back runs in 2+ months;  good thing b/c I know that Christmas Eve and Christmas are probably shot and I'm hoping to hit Bogus for some boarding on the 26th.

First outdoor run in over 2 months; temp in mid 40's w/ sunshine; lots of snow melt on the greenbelt from Municipal Park past Warm Springs GC and back; faced a stiff headwind on the way out; my pace was pathetically slow but for the first and fourth mile; hope to get in at least 5 days of running this week and start building my base back up; ankle still stiff but not as painful.

Another GB run from FF Memorial past Veteran's Parkway and back; a bit more consistent today as my pace didn't vary more than a couple of seconds throughout; temp was a bit cooler, mid 30's, but no headwind to fight this time; shaved almost 2 mins off yesterday's time and didn't get as winded; it's coming back. 

Got up early for a T/M run knowing that I wouldn't be able to run on my lunch or after work; only had 30 mins or so; didn't get to sleep until late so I lacked energy; ankle doesn't hurt so much during the run but there is a sore spot on the inside of my heel when I stop; there is still quite a bit swelling left inside my left ankle and it is visually evident when I look at it next to my right ankle; I'm wondering when/if that will go away and/or dissipate; it makes it more difficult to stretch my left calf b/c my left ankle is still so stiff and inflexible.