1st dark run & Doc visit

I did my first run in complete darkness this morning. Because of my re-scheduled doc appointment,I had to wake up at 0'dark thirty this morning & do a 5 mile tempo run in the dark. But I did have a little help w/ this. Also the subdivisions that I ran thru,most of the houses had their porch lights on so they also helped. I figured I would be running in total darkness. But between my cap light & porch lights it wasn't too bad. I did this tempo run a little slower(finish time 44:30/8:52 pace) because of the sleet yesterday & the freezing temps this morning. But other than the ground being wet there was no slippage!

Speaking of my doc appointment,Robin asked what was going on w/ my ankles. Well at the beginning of December of last year I started having a burning sensation in my left ankle on the inside. It would hurt some when I would run on the mill none when I was out on the road. But as time went on it started hurting no matter what surface I was running on. Also my right ankle started bothering(compensating for the left) as well. My R.B. convinced me to see her sport doc.

Fast-forward to today,I found out from the doc that I do have tendinitis. I brought both pair(read further down that post) of running shoes for her to look at. She asked me did I know that the shoes were completely different. I said other than the fact that one is Nike & the other is Saucony & the Nikes have cushion,how are they different? She mentioned that the Saucony was more rigid than the Nikes & given the fact that I want to turn my ankles in when I run,they get locked in that position. She wants me to stick w/ the Nikes,get some corrective heel wedges,do some stretching exercises specifically designed for my injury. Also I have to give up running on the mill(just do my cardio on the elliptical or something low to non-impact) on my x-training days until my ankle heals & I am done w/ my 10k training. I am NOT happy about that. Because I do about 30 mins of cardio(like burning a high number of calories),I would hate to have do all of that on one machine. But she told me that she just wanted for me to do it for 16 mins(which is what I do now before switching to the mill). I believe what I am going to do is 20mins total on the ellip(meet her halfway..sorta). I know that on x-training days it's supposed to be about x-training but it's hard not go all out for cardio too because it's what I'm used to.

Finally if the wedges & the home stretching exercises don't work then I will need physical therapy 2x/week for 6 visits. I am praying that the home stuff works,cause I am definitely not looking forward to spending more $$ for this thing.

Getting my hair done tomorrow(thank God!-I look like Buckwheat..) & doing general errand running. I hope everyone has a great long holiday weekend(I am off today & Monday-Lee/Jackson & Martin Luther King..gotta love those 4-day weekends) & catch ya on the flip side!