June 3-9

June 3

2 walk, 7 jog, 3w, 7j, 3w, 7j, 4w; 2.55 miles total, jogs in 10:21, 10:09, and 11:29 (uphill); felt so awkward on the first one, but then developed a shuffle-stride that was a little smoother. Just not able to push off much off the right ankle, so the whole chain gets thrown off. Hoping that a little over 10-minute pace might be a safe equilibrium for the next few weeks. 

June 4

40 minutes pool running, pushing a bit in the deep end and then jogging for a bit to practice pushing off on the ankle in the shallow end

June 5

1 walk, 8 jog, 2 wk, 8j, 2w, 7:30 j; 2.21 miles; 12:22, 11:55, 11:54 pace for the jog blocks

Good news is that the ankle is feeling stronger. Bad news is that in three days of jogging fewer than six miles at much slower than 10-minute pace, I’ve already managed to develop mild-to-moderate piriformis issues in the right hammy/glute. Optimistic it’ll be manageable at the current joggy-paces but will require additional piriformis PT on top of an already bulky PT routine.

I'm super nervous about the high risk of injuring something other than the ankle in the return to jogging, but this early incident seems to underscore just how constant the injury whack-a-mole is likely to be. Just trying to keep things easy and gradual to limit the damage. 

June 6

Am: 39 minutes of pool running, mostly in the deep end with aqua jogger and with about five minutes of shallow-end jogging to get some more practice pushing off on the injured leg. 

Piriformis still sensitive but feels a bit better.

Pm: 90 minutes, Iyengar yoga. Wife is a fairly serious yogi (she can do an unassisted headstand in the middle of a room), and she’s been trying to get me to go to her favorite yoga instructor for years. This lady is in her 60s (but moves like she’s 20) and trained under the Iyengar guy that the Iyengar yoga style is named after. I figured now is a good time to focus on alignment, seeing as how my two legs are now shaped quite differently. 

As Aish used to say (and probably still does), “aw, it was magic.” After one class, the piriformis was 90% gone. Back feels better and feel more limber overall. Will definitely be back.

June 7

1 minute walk, 10 minute jog, 2w, 10j, 2w, 8 j, 1w; 11:47, 11:06, and 9:58 on the jog blocks. With the wife, 2.83 miles. CR 220.

Way better than Wednesday. Form felt smoother. Slight step forward after a small step back.

June 8

Long hike with a friend on the Arkansas Hills trails. 5.05 miles. Plus two dog walks. 5.55 miles total. That’s nearly twice as far as I’ve gone in a single day since February. Probably a bit too much, and the slightly technical bits were a little scary. It was great to get out. The wildflowers are already blooming in a way I’ve never seen on those trails and pretty early in the season, too. It’s going to be a great year for color in the high country. 

June 9

1-minute walk, 12 jog, 2w, 12j, 2w, 10j, 1w; 3.66 miles, 39 minutes total; slowest jogging mile 10:40, fastest 9:24. At some point soon here I might cross the threshold into running.

Very happy with the progression. All credit to good yoga and good luck. Day by day I try to remain cautious to stave off the muscle-imbalance-injury whack-a-mole. So far so good.