Thursday Things

1) ankle update
After my long run last week my ankle/foot got to the point where I could no longer ignore it, so I made an appointment to see my sports chiro on Monday. After taking a look at things he diagnosed the problem as loose ligaments in my foot caused from instability in the forefoot. Basically the front of my foot seems to be twisting in the opposite direction of my hind foot and this torsion has caused the ligaments to loosen. I've been feeling it in my ankle because the tendons connect at the sight of the torsion. As he was testing my feet you could actually see how much "floppier" my left foot was than my right. After talking more about my training, shoes, etc. we determined that it may be a result of my cycling shoes not supporting my feet properly. His suggestion was to try an insert in them and see how it goes. Well, I put a pair of Superfeet inserts in my cycling shoes before my ride on Tuesday and lo and behold, the pain is gone! Fingers crossed it's for good : )

2) grad school interviews!
So far I've been invited to interview at 2 of the 3 graduate programs I've applied to! Obviously I'm equal parts excited and nervous. Both programs are very competitive so I don't want to get my hopes up, but I also know it's a good sign to have made it to this step. Let's hope I make a good first impression! My first one is actually tomorrow (!!!), so I've been trying to brainstorm responses to potential questions and review as much about the program as possible. Oh, and I still need to figure out what to wear : /

3) long ride FTW
I took the day off work after waking up with severe jaw pain (something I deal with occasionally from stress) so I figured I'd move things around a bit with my workout schedule and take the opportunity to get my long ride out of the way. I headed out in the late afternoon with 2 hours 30 minutes on the plan. I haven't rode that long since Vineman so I planned to take it easy and just see how things went. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. 65 degrees in February with bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds made for perfect ride conditions. It felt so great to just be in shorts and short sleeves!

I did two out and backs on the bike trail, heading to Discovery Park first. My last couple rides have been pretty frustrating as I've struggled to hold certain speeds and my legs have felt heavy and slow. Things couldn't have been more different today! I was by no means riding fast but I maintained a decent speed for the entire ride and it felt easy. My legs felt fresh and strong which was such a great boost of confidence! Being my longest ride yet of this training cycle (by a full hour) I was worried it would drag on or I'd get tired but I felt great. I just cruised and enjoyed the beautiful day

The last leg of my ride coincided perfectly with an absolutely breathtaking sunset. I couldn't take my eyes off of the colorful sky and had to stop multiple times to get a few photos. It made the ride totally worth it : ) I finished with 40 miles under my belt, averaging 16 mph. I felt great when I finished, not depleted at all. It's these workouts that happen every so often that keep me coming back for more.

 ♥

forty