I put on my new ankle brace and tried running again this morning to test the ankle. I planned on going only a mile or so. When I returned home the only real discomfort I had felt was from the brace being too tight around my foot so I decided to go another half mile or so without the brace. It felt pretty good. When I hit the 2 mile total I thought, "Only about 13 times this distance to finish a marathon." I ended up going another mile for a total of 3 miles @ 10:42/mi. I told Karen I went from 13 times today's run to finish a marathon to 9 times today's run to finish a marathon. That's quite an improvement in a single morning. My ankle still feels a little weak, and a little sore at times, but I didn't feel any significant pain. I plan to start up my Tues/Thurs/Sat running pattern again...and try to keep out a better eye for walnuts. It feels good to have hope again. I was getting pretty discouraged. Watching the LDS General Conference this morning has also helped a lot. There was talk about trials, and faith, and enduring...and there were two talks that mentioned holding newborn babies. I could relate. Life is good...very good...and getting better. | 