The Ups and Downs of My Running Experience

Here I am, supposed to be starting week 4 of my 9 week 5K training ... and I missed night 1. I am sitting here with my right ankle wrapped, yet I am determined to run tonight. I was on such a roll until Sunday night. I decided to do one extra run of the week 3 circuit. I felt great doing it - had my best mile/minute time yet! But my knee felt funny when I was cooling off at home. I woke up Monday morning and my knee was fine, but instead it was my ankle that was bothering me.

I remembered yesterday that I actually hurt this same ankle in college during an unfortunate "too high of shoe in a dark uneven ground alley" incident. In my defense, I was the designated driver and my shoes weren't a heel, more of a thick, high sole. I had never worn anything like it before and I ended up rolling my ankle. Looking back at those shoes - they totally weren't high at all and they are something I'd never wear again because they just aren't "Mommie Dearest" enough. (I like my "going out" shoes to be something Joan Crawford would approve of!)

So anyway, a third of the way into training and I am having a minor set-back. That's a downer, but I am determined to not let it stop my momentum!

What's are the ups of my running? Well, first off I am just so darn proud of myself! A couple months ago if someone said I'd be training to do TWO 5K races I'd have just laughed and said "No way!" I'm doing something I never thought I'd be able to do in my entire life. I'm a downhill skier, not a runner! But that is changing! Overall I just feel better about myself. I'm happy, I feel like I'm taking positive steps to get healthier. I find myself trying to eat better just because I know I'm doing all this running, why sabotage it with too many delicious French fries from Granny's Hut?? (Oh I love those fries so much!!) And what I am really happy about is something I just noticed! My face is already a touch thinner! I was looking at my photos from last week's drag shows and I can already notice a difference! Plus ... my tooshie is also feeling pretty firm. Go me!

Hopefully I'll be able to have a week four update soon - that would mean I was able to actually begin and end week 4. I have every single run scheduled on my calendar between now and the December 5k. I left no room for injuries, so I HAVE to recover ASAP!!!