10k: Week Five

Welcome to this weeks instalment of my marathon journey! Last week I left you with a cliff hanger, waiting to see how my sprained ankle affects my training...But wait! There's a plot twist... the sprained ankle, is the least of my worries!

Mon 3mi run+core- I just did 20 min easy on the upright stationary bike plus two sets of weights in order to test out my sprained ankle today after a day of rest. My ankle did get more swollen after doing leg presses- perhaps do to the increase in resistance, pressure, and ankle motion- but other than that it felt great! We'll see how I feel in the morning. I do feel a small amount of achillies tendonitis as compensation for my front ankle muscles not engaging while biking.

Tue 40min cross+strength- I'm feeling weird and achy today I think it's from some old leftover corn I put on my tacos last night that may have spoiled. My ankle feels great today and some more of the swelling has gone down. This is definitely the least severe ankle sprain I've ever had.
SO... I thought I was all set to go to the gym and do some ellypticaling and biking and weights today, right after I took the dog for a walk, BUT...We walked to the corner of the block and had to turn around abruptly because I suddenly had to puke. I didn't want to barf on the side of the street with cars driving by so I hurriedly drug Honey back to the house. Blue cloudy tunnel vision, cold sweat, tingaling numb hands and feet, and light headedness, and of course a rotten feeling tummy. I didn't puke but I wish I had because now it'll probably take several days for this food poisoning to work all the way through my system.

Wed 2mi run- Still achy- every part of my body hurts. The morning was awful. I spent the night on the couch because I felt like I might vomit, but again didn't. After a long slow cold rainy day at work- which did serve as a welcome distraction from my tummy-I managed to feel well enough to put together 40min of cross training at the gym- 20min elliptical+20min on the upright stationary bike. The ellipticaling was the hardest part because it involves up and down body motion which shook up (or down) my stomach a little. After dinner I realized the sickness had been shaken down into my intestines and I again will spend the whole night on the couch, this time running back and forth to the bathroom and getting hardly any sleep.

Fri 60min cross- I almost feel normal today! I took my day off from work easy by watching vegan cooking videos, hydrating, and eating a little more food than I've been able to over the past few days. I did 50min of cross training today split evenly between the elliptical and the upright stationary bike. I was able to return to a more normal pace but can tell I have a lot of dehydration to make up for.

Sat 4.5mi run- Running on my feet today may speak volumes for how my training is progressing through this sickness. I added a half mile to the 4.1mile East Main trail that I sprained my ankle on last week. I did it in the daylight this time so it would be less dangerous but I did roll my ankle in soft grass a minute into the run just before getting to the trail. It's a little sore. I'll ice tonight. My pace is slower than I'd hoped. running this trail though I realized I'm being, perhaps, a little over cautious. My legs feel like they're just going through the motion with out real muscle effort. I did have to stop for a potty break part way through. My pace did feel like it got stronger through the run. I think I will need to stick to flatter courses and do more real running in order to gain back some of my strength and form that I might have lost.

I don't wanna push to hard and reinjure or slow my ankle recovery but I also can't allow my muscles to atrophy and loose good training ground. As scary as injury and sickness have been this week in reguard to interrupting my training plan, I think all has gone as well as possible. The sickness may have been a blessing in disguise because  I forced me to rest my ankle a bit. My ankle does feel almost healed in a weak vs the months it has taken in the past when I've run on/through the injury. I'll try to still be good and keep an eye on it.