Minor Setback This Week

I sprained my ankle yesterday out on a run. My heart sank, immediately.

Last night's surprise--hairy softball ankle. I had surgery on this ankle 10 years ago to repair soccer injuries' ligament damage.

Luckily, a cyclist stopped and let me use his phone to call in my rescue ride home.  I waited for my ride at the Lunken Airport terminal, where I got to see Cycling Santa at the public forum for discussing the plans for the new scenic bike route--that's a cool consolation.

Cycling Santa is a regular at Coffee Emporium in Oakley.

When I got home to sick-bay, my brother Mike, and fellow weak-ankler, reminded me that the first 48 hours are critical for R.I.C.E.-- rest, ice, compression, elevation..and ibuprofen. I didn't want to take any drugs, but I've had some hard lessons in what happens when I resist the anti-inflammatory strategy. Thus, I caved. Blood flow is essential to healing.

I'm trying to stay positive about this setback to my training. It is a major bump in the momentum I had been building. I had been staying on top of my "build" period like never before. Last week I was able to put in about 16 hours of quality training amidst a 65 hr work week. So, in a way, the break will be good for all-around recovery.

I'm going to lay off the running for a while and use this as an opportunity to focus on my swimming endurance/speed-building and also to launch the spring new cycling season. Next Saturday is my buddy Russ's birthday and it's his annual wish to do the local 40km time trial. He was the one who originally got me into cycling with the Major Taylors and the hot news of the winter is that HE'S GONE RAW! I can't wait to catch up with him about his dietary transition and start riding again. Plus, it will be a good opportunity to test my new fitness and the superiority of my new bike fit.