Almost 5 weeks ago I sprained my ankle pretty badly while doing a trail run at Tianmashan. I originally thought that I would not be able to run for 1-2 weeks, but it turned out the injury was a bit worse than I had  expected. It took 3 weeks just to get rid of most of the pain, so then I tried running again for the first time. But that was a bad idea: after running for just 10-15 minutes the foot and ankle were suddenly a lot more painful. I managed to wait another 2 weeks before this weekend I finally allowed myself back on the treadmill. I say ‘managed to wait’ because it was very difficult not to run for me. When you are training for a half marathon and suddenly cut out all training you literally feel a bit depressed. I need to run in order to relax after work and of course to stay in shape (I gained several kilo’s over the past 5 weeks, just because of burning a lot less calories).

Last night I ran a very slow 15 minutes on the treadmill (about 2 km) and everything felt fine afterward. I was very relieved, but did not want to cheer to quickly. I know from experience that only the next day you really know if you are going to be fine, so I was a bit nervous when I got up this morning. But everything felt fine, even during (and after) the yoga class that my wife and I take every Sunday morning. I was so happy that I went for another 3 km run right after yoga, and my foot still feels fine! There is still a bit of minor pain when I try to run outside, so that I won’t do yet, but on the treadmill I am doing fine.

So now the question is how I am going to prepare myself for the Shanghai half marathon that I plan to run in less than 3 weeks. First of all I am glad I opted for the half marathon instead of the full one, going for a full one without real training would be virtual suicide. I should be able to finish the half marathon without much training, but I won’t be able to get in shape on time. I think I am going to try to run 4-5 times a week from now on, beginning with short runs (5 km or so) and going up to 10-15 km by next week. I won’t go for speed during training, because I cannot run a personal best time anyway, but at least I want to be able to finish the race without too much pain.

I am also thinking about doing a mini detox during the next 2 weeks. I did one last year in preparation for the Hong Kong Trailwalker and felt a lot healthier while doing it. I won’t overdo it, however, especially not because I also need to practice a lot, so my body needs the calories. I probably should just avoid alcohol & coffee for a while, but still eat relatively normal (more veggies, less meat). And for sure the fast food chains in Shanghai won’t see me until after the half marathon!