For the first time since my injury 11 weeks ago, I donned my hiking boots and headed out for some trail miles. I was looking for something with gentle terrain and shaded from the summer sun and decided on a visit to nearby Portola Redwood State Park. The hike itself was much as expected- the redwood canopy and the state park maintenance crews kept the trail well graded and well maintained. However, the brutal heat wave that has been embroiling Silicon Valley wasn't diminished by the shade. It was uncharactically hot and humid in the park and easily topped 100 degrees on the ridgetops. Over the course of the day, the heat was much more bothersome than my ankle.
To support my ankle, I wore an ASO Ankle Stabilizing Brace. This worked out quite well and fit comfortably inside my shoe without any discomfort. My ankle held up well for much of the day, though I was limping noticeably by the end of the 8 miles. I seemed to be over-pronating (rolling my ankle inward) more than I would normally, but this wasn't causing a substantial amount of pain. Downhill sections of the trail were much more difficult than the uphills and trails that tilted to the left (in the direction of my overpronation) were more difficult than those that were graded to the right.
I had a substantial amount of muscle aching the next morning. Trail hiking definitely hits all sort of stabilization muscle groups that you don't exercise while walking on smooth surfaces.
Pictures and commentary from the day are: here
I'm off to an out of town wedding next weekend, so it will probably be two weeks before I'm out on the trails again.