...how far to push things. I think I have a problem. I am addicted to running, and not only that I am addicted to running more and more miles. I have had ankle problems for a bit and just got new shoes (thinking the problems may have arisen from the pair I was wearing). Well, I have run every day this week (obviously) with no real ankle problems, a little stiffness sometimes but no pain (knock on wood). It was beautiful outside today so I headed out at lunch for an easy run. That easy run (5 miles) ended up much faster than I thought it would - just under 8mpm pace instead of the 8:20ish I thought I was running. It felt good though. So now I want to run again. My club does 4.5 on Friday mornings and I am thinking about going out with them,then doing a mile to a mile and a half on Saturday and 5 more on Sunday. Or do you think I might be better doing a mile tomorrow to rest the ankles again and then maybe back to back runs on sat and sunday? Both of these would get me to about 25 miles for the week. Or should I just rest it up tomorrow with a mile, another mile on saturday and 5 on sunday which would bring me just over 20 miles for the week. My mind tells me that I shouldnt push it quite yet and another week of rest wont kill me, but I just feel like I am losing all kinds of fitness and speed the more I dont run my typical 30-40 miles per week. I think I need some therapy.

Listen to your body. If it feels good and wants to run.....let the horses go! Note: I learn a lot from reading these posts. My right ankle has been sore and tender for over 2 weeks. I couldn't figure out what it could be, and changed nothing, until I read your post about changing shoes! Tonight I ran in a new pair of shoes and it (my ankle) felt much better than the last dozen or so runs. Since my motivation has been down, I haven't been tracking mileage on my shoes and as I check, the pair I was using was way over my typical change time. This is like the 3rd time in 5 years that something starts hurting for no apparent reason, I tell myself that I'm just getting older and to expect things to start hurting, THEN realize it's THE SHOES. I don't know why I have to relearn this so many times, but my advice to everyone is what Runner's World stated in an article years ago, "the most common reason for unexplained knee pain is issues with the shoes." I say strike the word knee and always think it's the shoes, not your age, first! Streak on! D

Based on the fact that your ankle pain has came down, I think you are good to start easing back into your normal easy running. I don't think you need to do anything as extreme as taking an entire week of 1 milers. Based on my experience, I have gotten through overuse injuries by staying consistent. During these time periods, I would back off my mileage only slightly and keep effort level easy. From my experience, going to the extreme of running too little may not be as beneficial as you might think. During years prior, I would try to take time off anytime I felt an overuse injury creeping in. This strategy allowed the pain to go away, but I noticed that soon after I brought my mileage back to the original level, the pain came back. Now, instead of dropping mileage significantly when I have overuse related pain (think knee, foot, shin pain), I try to stay more or less consistent in mileage and listen to my body. I follow a couple of key rules during these periods: 1) No mileage increases, instead stay more or less consistent 2) All easy running until 100% 3) Listen to my body and take it day by day You may want to ditch the mileage goals entirely while you are in the healing process. Focusing on a mile target may cause you to push to hard, and it is really more important to be listening to your body. I think it is most important to get out there and feel good each day. After you have run a week pain free, you are good to start increasing mileage and intensity again.