July Went OK
You know when you have all those super high hopes for just throwing down on a mega training block? You write it down, you visualize it, you prioritize it and you get after it! Then... something happens and you are thrown off your game and it never fully materializes. That is what my July was.
I cant really complain as I did hit some milestones last month.
- Most vertical gain in a single week (maybe ever not including races)
- Longest time on feet in a week
- Tied for the most cumulative training hours in a month
I was just hoping for more. Unfortunately I hit a snag. More specifically my right ankle hit a snag back in early June and I reinjured it again in late June. The first time was a rough one. I was running down a fairly technical downhill on Kings Mountain and landed on a rock and the full weight of my body came down on it. I think it popped but there was enough other noise going on with footsteps and my yelling that I cannot be 100% sure. I nursed it back and was regaining confidence when I did it again on a social run. I was taking it super easy on the very smooth Wildwood trail when I took a step down and it just felt like it was not there to support me and boom I rolled it again.
The second time seemed to be a little worse as I could feel it pull across the top of my foot and down into my heel area. I even ended up with a little bruising running horizontally on the outside of my foot just below the front of my ankle to near my Achilles tendon. I took some time off to let things heal up again. I even stayed off the trail for a few weeks and stuck to the roads where I could keep thing level to avoid too much wiggling around for this unstable situation. The positive of all of this was I was spending a little more time on the roads and was able to concentrate in on some speed work which was probably needed anyway.
July came and I knew that I was going to be walking the line with this thing. I wanted to just go out and test it to see what it would do to see if it would hold up. However I was performing my boy Tommy's wedding on top on Half Dome on July 22nd and could not risk being in a situation when I could not make that hike. The good news is that the wedding in Yosemite was amazing. We ran several times in the days before the wedding and hiked the entire Half Dome hike. I came home and hit some more trail and climbing and ended up with a 7 day total of 77 miles and 16,000 feet of vert. A positive week for sure.
My confidence is a little low in that ankle stability still. I hate that. I usually attack downhills and for now I can't quite get my head around just letting go. I'll get there. It is just going to take some time. My base is good. Speed is coming around. Climbing is at an all time high at this point in the year. I just have not put it all together in a training block that sends my confidence though the roof. Good thing I have a race coming up to help me figure it out.
Below are some pictures from my travels and training in July.
