Back at it!

Monday's test run went pretty well. I gingerly tip-toed 4.7 miles on a bike path. If it was summer I'd be doing everything on dirt trails and such, but at least the bike trail doesn't have a camber. The ankle had a couple of small twinges of pain, even as I was gingerly tip-toeing along, but they were nothing like the pain I had been feeling. The pain was mild and sporadic and didn't really bother me. I might not have even noticed it if I wasn't really looking for it. In fact, I actually wasn't even tip-toeing. I mean, really, wouldn't that just put undo stress on the calf muscles?

I felt so good after the run I threw in 8 X 10 second hill sprints just for the heck of it. Today I ran 6.6 miles and there was a little ankle pain towards the end of the run, but again, nothing too concerning. Since this morning's run I haven't felt any pain at all, so after I take tomorrow off I might run even farther on Thursday.

It was actually nice taking a few days off for an injury. I'm glad I'm doing something smart for once instead of trying to push through the pain and ending up worse off.

On a different note: The scene that met me on my run this morning as the sun was coming up looked like some kind of expressionist painting. Or, at the vary least, some sort of artsy poster you can buy at Ikea. I was running along the Mississippi River just before sunrise and the sky and the river looked amazing. It was a little bit foggy and there was a mist hanging above the water. There were pink streaks across the sky and various waterfowl dotting the water. Then, a large osprey flew out across the river and I was thinking, I wish I had a camera. Then the osprey pooped. Not even kidding. It pooped and it's poo splashed right into the river. I'm guessing that part wouldn't have made it into the artsy poster at Ikea.