Gahhhhhhhhhh

No running since Friday.

The tender ankle was aggravated to the point that I was running with what felt like a pronounced limp. I should mention even still that this is different from the past; it feels more like the arch than the ankle (although there's some of that in there as well). It's difficult to explain but again, entirely walkable. 3 miles on the track Friday, plus one on the treadmill. I'd found in the past that the treadmill was easier on the ankle, if only by comparison: the track I run is 17.5 laps/mile, which means almost constantly turning.

Skipped the Saturday long run, which is actually in some ways a blessing. That trail was becoming a little rote, and it's nice to take the break mentally. It's also something of an object lesson in patience—I'm overly prone to overdoing it, and it's far too easy to feel like I've really dropped the ball when I've only taken a day or two off. It's probably important to look back and realize that I'd only even started doing long runs maybe 2 months ago. It's already progressed to a point that I now feel a bit lazy if I don't do a half-marathon in the woods on Saturdays. Funny, that.

One additional note? I did spend a full day in the woods on Sunday, swinging fake swords at other people. It gave me a good excuse to try out this recipe for Pinole, as inspired by Chris McDougall's Born to Run. Who knows if it's anything near authentic, but it actually tasted alright, was dead simple to make, and I'd take it over a Clif bar any day of the week. Will have to see if I can pack some with me next time.

And now to return to meditating beyond the fact that I need to take another day off.