Change of plans

Not my ankle
Picture from FXRX

It finally happened. I injured my ankle and I don't think I should be running for a few weeks. What happened in the past was that I just randomly did things like normal runs, long runs, speed work, strength training without any real plan. In between I participated in races. I am not sure if I can just blame my non-existing training plan on my injury (I know I got injured when I did a few too many sprints around the soccer field) but I thought I should give it a try and make the whole thing a bit more predictable and with real goals in mind. The Bronx 10 Mile on Sunday is out, unfortunately. I will get my shirt and my bib, so at least I have the souvenirs without actually running. I may just go up there and show my support to the other runners at least.

What's next then? I kind of felt horrible about the whole thing (running seems to be an addiction for me) but on the way to work I figured out a plan that I can live with. I am planning on taking the entire October off from running and focus on strength training only while my ankle heals. I will follow some of the work-out plans on the Internet to strengthen my core and whatever else while I will religiously use the bicycle to stay active as well. Most injured runners swear on swimming but I am not real a fan of the pool and I'd rather go to the gym (now this is something I never imagined me saying). By the end of October (depending on my ankle, of course) or start of November, I will start a training program towards a 10k race in December, which will be my first one then. After that I will pick up a half-marathon training program in order to really prepare me for a long-distance race in the spring (around March, I would guess). In between I will keep racing anything between 5k and 5 miles or so as part of the training.

This whole thing, of course, puts a stop on a guaranteed entry into the 2014 NYC Marathon but I will still aim towards running a marathon in the fall of next year. If I don't get in through the lottery there will be others that are easier to get in (and they cheaper in the first place), like the Yonkers Marathon or the Philadelphia Marathon.