Being careful

I've got a sore ankle. I don't know how or when I hurt it, but it was sore last night when I was running. I tried denial .. if I ignore it, it won't be sore .. but that didn't work, so I'm being careful with it. At least, that's the plan. I'm really aware that one thing that would definitely derail my progress is to get injured, so I'm pretty cautious when something hurts.

This morning I did my weights session as planned. I made sure my form was good, especially on the leg exercises, and I didn't feel my ankle at all. It was a good session. I managed the two sets of chinups more easily today. I'm starting to think I should work on the next weight increase now. The pec fly is also easier. I'm reluctant to increase that one, as I had so much trouble with it at first. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and do it.

My abs are much stronger, which I think is due to the running. I'm going to have to talk to Leanne, my trainer, about how to make one of my exercises harder. I increased the reps, which helped for a while, but it's getting easy again. There was a time when I never let on when things were easy. I thought the trainer would work it out for themselves and didn't realise it was something I should be doing. I also never changed anything on my own. I've become a lot more confident.

This evening, I played squash, but I basically loafed. I wasn't really confident that I wouldn't make my ankle worse, so I didn't run. I was hitting the ball badly - you forget how much good footwork matters until you don't place your feet properly. To be perfectly frank, it wasn't much of a workout. One of the guys wasn't well and stopped playing, and the other one, when I finally admitted that I was worried about my ankle, kindly told me I was an idiot and that I should quit too. He said it more diplomatically than that. It sounded more like "you'll be upset if you're not able to go to the gym". He also convinced me to ice it after I finished exercising, which I've done tonight.

I dropped in at the gym on the way home, to collect my 25 points. I walked on the treadmill for half an hour at 5.6 km/h. It was a nice easy workout. I concentrated on keeping good form, which meant that my ankle didn't complain at all. I also checked where I was on the leaderboard for the fitness challenge. I'm safely in the top 5, which is where I wanted to be.

I received a lovely compliment from one of the girls behind the desk. She's one of my favourite people at the gym. I was asking her how all her various jobs were going and, out of the blue, she mentioned how much she liked the way I was approaching the fitness challenge. She thought I was working hard and that my positive attitude was a pleasure to see. She then told me that she enjoyed seeing me at the gym because I had such a positive presence around the place, even when I didn't stop and chat. I thought that was a great compliment. I thanked her for being so kind, and bubbled my way out of the gym.

I had to go to the supermarket after the gym, because it's my turn to bring morning tea to work tomorrow. I don't eat any of the morning tea, but I make sure I have a healthy snack while everyone else is having something to eat. They are all used to me at work, so they don't try and talk me into eating anything.

Tomorrow morning, I'm planning to do a light cardio session, to give my ankle a bit longer to realise that it's really not hurt, and in the evening I have personal training and a Hip Hop / Funk class. Apparently that's what they are replacing Body Jam with. I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be hilarious, me doing Hip Hop.