Injury Update + Last Training Log of the Year
Hello all! As some of you may know, I had a not-so-fun ankle sprain a few weeks back, as bruised and swollen as they come. I had been out of running commission for the first two weeks after that, and then slowly started to get back into regular exercise and running. It’s looking like I might be entering the new year healthy and ready to run--but more on that below!
Meal prep, what meal prep?
It’s Christmas and the New Year, and I’m visiting home. Forget the meal prep and live a little.
Sunday, December 22: First run after the injury (13 km) + short hike back to the parking lot with my mom (3.62 km)
It was only my second full day visiting home, but I thought it would be worth it to visit one of the parks near us and go for a slow trail run (the route had 300 m elevation gain and I averaged 6:35/km). All in all, it went well! I ran 13 km with minimal pain, though I found that some of the rockier parts of the trail dug into my plantar in a way that sent some pain shooting up my ankle. The verdict seemed to be that I was ready to run, but not on technical terrain.
Monday, December 23: Rest day for my birthday!
More time eating Greek food, less time worrying. A fun 22nd birthday!
Tuesday, December 24: Fast and flat run (6.65 km)
With a rest day in between now and my first run back, I decided to try out some road running and see how that felt. Really good, it turns out! My speed was a little on the slower side, but that’s expected after a bit of a break.
Wednesday, December 25: Return to hill training (10.83 km)
The thing about being home in BC is that there are hills everywhere and they are not iced over, like they are in Edmonton. So I made my way to one of my high school nightmares, as far as hill training went... and stole the KOM on Strava for that segment!
This run felt even better than the last. My cardio is building up again, though I did feel some stiffness in my ankle (probably due to lack of use for so long). I did 5 repeats of the hill circuit, held a steady pace through Agony Hill (a 2 km long street with rolling hills throughout), and jogged back for a cool down.
Thursday, December 26: Morning walk up the Coquitlam Crunch (7.09 km)
The Coquitlam Crunch is something of a staple back home. A 2 km trail with an average elevation grade of 11%, it’s a tough climb for a pretty morning view. I felt that I needed something light and easy, but still exercise, so a walk felt just right.
Friday, December 27: Ski Day (18.21 km of downhill skiing)!
Yay for downhill skiing, what I miss most when I’m at school! The snow and weather were perfect; unfortunately, something about my ski boots stayed in such a way that it irritated my injured ankle. I wasn’t worried about a further injury, ski boots are sort of like casts, but I didn’t risk it on any black diamonds. Not worth turning a sprain/possible fracture into a full break. Maybe next week!
Saturday, December 28: Rest day for errand-running
Took it easy after putting a lot of effort on my ankle with skiing. Had some errands to run... perchance got a haircut.
Sunday, December 29: First long run after the injury (24.18 km)
With my ankle improving and a day of rest, I decided to try my hand at a 20+ long run... and I haven’t done one of these in about a month. I got to about 16 km in and felt real good, so I decided to keep going the long way through some really hilly roads. This was an awesome run! 24 km, 325 m elevation gain, and an average pace of 5:26/km. I’ll be trying out technical trails next week to see just how far my recovery has gone!
