Still no running, but soon...

So, my ankle is doing much better.  It was not broken - good news!  My doctor determined it to be a grade 2 sprain involving the Calcaneofibular ligament.  I've been following the her orders to a tee, with the icing, elevating, compression and such.  She told me to give it 10 days (which will be Wednesday) and see how I do with a list of test movements and if that goes well (which she - and I - expect that it will) that I can get back to my regular activities.

I did, however, go on a nice bike ride this morning - the first active thing I've done since I fell off my bike over a week ago.  Rode a little less than 12 miles at a nice leisurely pace  in Ann Arbor and didn't have any ankle pain at all.  It is really hot today and I do have a bit of swelling but not much and I iced and elevated it when I got home.  In fact, the only thing about it that hurts at this point is where I scraped the skin off the inside of my ankle right over that lump that is the bottom of my tibia.

We saw all kinds of wildlife on our ride this morning.  I didn't stop to take any pictures, although I wish I did of this big, scary looking bug (or something) that was on the path.  It looked kind of prehistoric and I have no idea what it was!  Some of the other things that I was able to identify were:

• Swans flying - I don't think I've ever seen swans in flight.  Very graceful... and big!
• Chipmunks - 3 of them.... Maybe Alvin, Simon and Theodore?
• Rabbits
• Red-winged blackbirds
• Goldfinches  and
• A snapping turtle!

There were lots of friendly people out, and that was nice to see.  I think they were mostly in good moods because it is a holiday so they had the day off from work and were able to spend it doing something fun, rather than whatever they have to go back to tomorrow.

Plagued by the plague - or a really, REALLY bad cold.

Yes, I've been sick for the last 7 days now.  Late in the afternoon, after my 5K last Sunday I detected a sore throat.  The next morning I felt pretty lousy, and had a doctor's appointment, where they said my temperature was close to 100.  By Monday evening, it was closer to 103, where it stayed for a couple of days.  I missed a lot of work - and I missed a lot of workouts!  Today I finally felt enough energy to, at least, take a walk.  It was nice to get out in the cool sunshine of fall in Michigan.  I used a new app to record my (very leisurely) walk called iRunner and it was pretty cool.  I think you can glean a lot of information from it, especially if you upgrade to the paid app, and it seems quite easy to use.  It also partners with the program that ACS uses for their training, which will come in handy later.

Since my walk way a leisurely one (3.4 miles in 1:04) I had time to enjoy the scenery a bit more than usual.  Peak color is nearly gone now, but the MetroPark was still really pretty.  Lots of leaves crunching underfoot - at least I'm assuming so... My head and ears are still so blocked that my hearing is really bad right now (for example I can't hear the microwave or the car beeper telling me when I un/lock it).  I saw lots of people out walking, riding and running.  It really was a beautiful day and I was glad to see so many people out taking advantage of it.  I've included a couple of pictures from my walk here.


In addition to the nice scenery, I saw some very interesting bugs along the way.  One may have been a Katydid of some kind.  It didn't look quite right.  I saw a couple of magnificent beetles.  I don't have a clue what they were.  Several abandoned wasp nest were along the path, on the ground.  A few wooly looking worms were crossing the path rather pokily.  Also, I saw what looked like a smooth, curvy stick, but upon closer inspection, it was a little striped snake - only about a foot long.   He seemed to be enjoying the sunshine next to the path, but my leering must have made him uncomfortable because he suddenly slipped through the grass and into the brush.  Here I was, looking at this snake, thinking to myself "Oh, look, a little snake sunning himself" and I have no idea why it startled me so much when he moved.  I literally jumped back from him, like I thought he wasn't real or something.  Funny how our brains work.


So that was today's walk.  No running for a week now, and I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing this week.  I slept in today, and right now it's not even 7:00 pm yet and I'm already looking forward to bed time, so my energy level is really low.