I may have jumped the gun...

I feel a little silly starting a running blog when I haven't been doing much running as of late. I realized this week that a month off might not have been enough. The tendonitis/ankle pain was back in full force after an easy 4 miler on Saturday, so my break from running may be longer than anticipated. 

Gorgeous & sunny Sunday run with Ellie 

(Unfortunately my ankle wasn't a fan) 

I'm not sure what to do now. I don't want to keep running on it and make it worse, but I'm signed up for the Rock n Roll Mexico City Half Marathon on March 15th and paid $75.00 for it, which is über expensive by Mexico standards. (The most I've ever paid for a race here is a little over 400 pesos, which is like 30 bucks.) I also don't want to drop out of yet another scheduled race. I realized last month I couldn't  do the Lala Marathon, so I was looking forward to running this one instead.

I think I'm just going to have to take it a day at time, and replace runs with cross training as much as possible. It's just really hard to give it up completely. Running has become such a huge part of my life now. 

My new friend the stationary bike. 

P.S. How fun is the Fitsnap app?

I did get a quick 3 miler in last night. I wore my new PRO Compression sleeves for the first time, which I initially thought  were super tight and I wondered if I needed to size up. But they were perfect for my ankle; I didn't have any pain during the run. This gives me some hope that I can keep running. Vamos a ver. (We will see) 

New Year, New Shoes

This feels like a betrayal to the Brooks Pure Flows that have served me well for 2+ years and 2 marathons, but after dealing with recurring injuries this fall, I'm switching from a minimalist shoe to a stability shoe.

I read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run in 2012 which convinced me to A. Sign up for a marathon, and B. Try a minimalist shoe. (By the way if you haven't read it yet, it's my favorite running book of all time.) I love the Brooks Pure Flow and I credit the shoe with turning me into a midfoot/forefoot striker.

But starting this October, I've had this annoying knee/ankle pain and inflammation that doesn't seem to be going away. I took the month of December off of running and I plan to slowly ease back into it. Even though I know that a running shoe alone won't solve all my problems, I think it might help. Recent race photos seem to indicate that I'm landing on the outside of my foot when I run, like in this photo from a 10k in November.

Gran Maratón Pacífico 10k in Mazatlán 

I also plan to incorporate some hip/glute strengthening exercises into my routine, because I suspect my IT band and hips have something to do with it.

The guy at the running store gave me stability models to try from Brooks and Saucony, but the Mizuno Wave Rider 18 felt like it was made for my foot. I have a good feeling about these shoes and am really excited to try them out. So far I've only taken them grocery shopping.

Aren't they pretty? I'm in love :)

I'll let you know how it goes.
P.S. My fiancé would like everyone to know that he is the one who originally suggested Mizunos.