Well, it’s a week since my first half marathon and I did my first significant run all week.
When I got home from the half last week, I was a bit sore – especially the knees. I took Monday off for some recovery time, like I do after any long run. On Tuesday I decided to run. But almost from the first step I noticed my left ankle was sore. Sore enough to make me turn around after only a mile.
The rest of the week, it was very tender. Even just walking on it, going up and down the stairs, etc.
So I took the rest of the week off from running. I supplemented with some stationary bike riding to keep the blood flowing.
As the week wore on it DID start to feel better, but today was the first day it felt good enough to try running.
I noticed that it is still a bit tender yet, but I completed 4 miles at roughly a 9:15 pace. Felt good to be on the path again.
What I learned this week, to add to the lessons of preparation I wrote about last week, is the recovery time. You need to give your body a chance to heal. Especially when you are a bit older, like me. The upper 40’s is NOT your 20’s 🙂
I recommend after a long run a couple of days without running even if you feel fine. I felt fine until I went running 2 days later. As much as I wanted to get back out there, I didn’t. And I think it was the right thing to do.
If you do sustain an injury, it may help to see your doctor too. Don’t second guess your injury – you could make it worse.
Remember – we’re not getting any younger 😉
