Ankle injury -> Switched to a triathlon training plan

By SC -
Since I came back from the vacation, I started to get back on my training routine and was thinking about doing a 50 mile race at Mohican 100. When I designed the training schedule, I forgot that I hadn't run for 2 full weeks and should have taken it slow at first. I began with running back-to-back long runs on one weekend followed by a 13ish miles on the next weekend. My ankle started to scream due to the fast increase in mileages.

I took a break from running for a week hoping that I would feel better and the rest would be enough to run the marathon loop at Mohican. I was wrong. Around Mile 13, my ankle started to say "That's enough!" but I still pushed it til we ended the run around Mile 23 (we had to do a couple of short cuts).

After the Mohican run plus other family issues, I decided to pause Saturday long runs for now and switch to the triathlon training plan instead. The good thing about triathlon training plan is that you do more biking and swimming and less running compared to the "running training plan".

I found a Masters swim club near my house and gave it a try last week. It was really helpful. I've been wanting to improve my swim skills for a long time and this is a perfect opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, due to the competitive swim season, there is no practice time available for me. They only offer sessions during lunch time, which is hard for those who have a full time job. The coach told me that she will have morning sessions after the competitive season ends. I will keep my fingers crossed for that.

This Saturday I did not go for a long run as usual. Instead, I went to a 75 minute cycling class on Saturday morning from 6.30 to 7.45am. Good thing? I was done by 8 and ready to spend time with hubby. Bad thing? I still felt that something was missing because I did not do my usual Saturday long run routine.  Oh well.

Yes, after 75 minutes of intense cycling, my legs were toast.



Friday I went to swim on campus before going to work. The pool was quiet and empty (yay). Swam approx. a mile practicing different drills and bilateral breathing.



Two weeks ago during the one-week break I signed up for the gym on campus and managed to get a speedwork done on the indoor track.


I hope to be able to keep this training pattern for now (swim/bike/run) until my ankle is completely back to normal. I guess, with limited long runs, I may have to switch from the 50K to the 25K at the Buzzard Day race in March. *sigh*

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