A tender ache

It has been a few days since I've posted, I realize. I've been held in the grip of a small dolor due to this nagging peroneal tendon and inability to run at any pace other than frustrating. I'm also now in the waiting game stage with my law school applications and a creeping incertitude about gaining admission slinks about the periphery, gloomy and negative, and I can't seem to dispose of it, even knowing there is little more I can do to affect the outcome. In a word, blegh.

After an intense session of cross-friction and point release massage on my right ankle and calf on Friday, I was hopeful that the micro-adhesions still causing inflammation and discomfort would be soothed and the tendons and muscles slide smoothly across each other as intended, allowing me to return to a normal gait and my training regimen.

Saturday, under a shifting grey sky, I endeavored my first long run since my last race - a 12-14 mile run. The route was an out-and-back asphalt trail, with rolling hills and just enough unpaved shoulder to run on. This micro-trail provided softness underfoot as well as subtle unevenness of terrain which gave both a reprieve to the normal pounding while engaging the secondary support muscles and tendons in my ankle and foot. I completed 12.85 miles, which, added to 3 miles completed earlier with my No Boundaries training group, gave me 15.85 for the day.

During the run, I had plenty of time to reflect, to think about what was next for me, while appreciating my environs and each step I was able to complete. More on those thoughts another day.

After the run and a round of ibuprofen, I waited to see how the tendons responded to the work. Today, there was almost no pain, just a slight soreness around the base of my ankle, not even the actual area where I had originally tweaked the peroneal. I'll take it. Onward.