Ankle Twister

My friend Jim doesn’t like running on my favorite trail - the road alongside the railroad tracks. I think this is because of the hazard presented by the one- and two-inch rocks that have fallen down from the raised track bed to litter the trail. And he’s right, of course. Yesterday I had a close call, stepping on one of those rocks, twisting the right ankle outward. My unthinking reaction was to drop down, to take most of the weight off that foot for the remainder of the step. Then I walked for a while, and was able to finish the run normally. Happily, there is no lasting damage.

Nice six-mile run otherwise though. No train came by, but the trail was bordered throughout with lovely late-summer flowers, and two deer watched intently as I trotted by 50 feet from them. I ran without walking for the first three miles, then changed to run two minutes, walk one minute for the remaining three.

Splits: 9:04, 9:08, 8:57, 10:00, 10:38, 10:14, total 58:01, pace overall 9:40. I’ll take it. Tapering now, fall marathons coming up ...


It's so hard to beat a ripe, juicy nectarine.