Going Into The Taper

After weeks of inconsistency – both in life and training – I feel like I had a very solid week last week. It felt great to get out there and do what I love doing. Add some sunshine and 50 degree weather and I was in business! I was back on my routine and logging (almost) all of my miles. I actually would have hit my weekly mark had I not decided to do something stupid on Friday night, which in turn affected my Saturday run…

While doing some reading, I came across some interesting information that I thought may help strengthen my ankle that’s been constantly nagging me. I can still run on it as much as I want. It doesn’t bother me much during the run, but it’s always sore at the end. And it never seems to go away, regardless of how much time I take off. So I take the advice and add some extra exercises to my routine. Naturally, my headstrong emotions overrun my logical mind and I end up overdoing it. The aftermath didn’t rear it’s ugly head ‘til I hit a downhill about 40 minutes into my long run on Saturday. Suddenly, I’m forced to an awkward trot/walk back to my car. Not exactly what I was hoping for! So my ankle’s a bit stronger but at the cost of a new pain in my knee. Sweet :(

The moral of the story… Don’t overdue it! And especially don’t try anything new when you’re only 3 weeks out from your first ultra. Idiot! So I get to spend this week going super easy and trying to get in one last (easy) long run on Saturday before I start my taper. At this point I’m just going with it. I know that I’ve done what I can to prepare, and now all I can really do is prepare myself mentally and let my knee rest. It’s not gonna be a cakewalk, that’s for sure! Not that I expected it to be, but I have a knack of making my life much more difficult than it needs to be at times.