Ncuneo - I know it's not what you want to hear, but honestly - with a sprain or strain on a weight-bearing joint, I would go for total rest for at least a few days, if not a week. Even though it doesn't hurt when you're running, I would imagine it's being aggravated - the one time I sprained my ankle while horse riding, the doctor said 7-10 days of RICE and absolutely no running or riding or anything more than a gentle walk. It was torture but I think it allowed me to heal. But of course you know your body better than any of us so you have to do what you "hear" your body saying!
Slowrunner - I have a Garmin so I don't use Nike+ but it sounds interesting to challenge yourself against others. I just have myself to challenge against!
Aimee - I wear bike shorts (without the padding - just the style) and I personally LOVE compression shorts. I have several pairs of the bike style shorts and they work well to avoid chub rub, suck the wobbly bits in, and keep me cool enough in the summer. I only buy shorts in DriFit or CoolMax, those sort of silky feeling fabrics, as they dry fast and don't cling. I do have a couple of pairs of CW-X compression shorts, which are damn expensive, but I absolutely love them. I also have CW-X tights which I wear in the winter and they are fabulous - serious compression but it feels so supportive and keeps the jiggles down!
April already? Yikes. I started the month well with a 5k on Saturday where I beat my previous 5k time (which was my only goal) - 35:19, which beat 36:06. This run was gentle hills but it was also 75 degrees and windy as heck - running up a gentle hill with a 25mph headwind just sucks the life out of you! But I felt good for the most part. We're doing another 5k on the 23rd and my mother will be joining in - we just went to the local running store and got her some running shoes instead of the el cheapo cross trainers she's been jogging in. Hopefully that'll help with her form - at 69, I don't want her damaging anything! And I got another pair of the Brooks shoes I so love - in orange, so now I just need a purple pair to go with my first green ones and the new orange ones and I'll have a whole set!
I did a "speed" workout yesterday. I say speed but it was speedy for me. I did intervals around the park/elementary school a couple of blocks from me - one lap is 0.75 miles so it's easy to keep track of distance, but I ran for time instead. I got about five or six speed intervals in - I ran way faster than my comfort zone and really pushed myself to keep the pace up for longer than I wanted to. I have to work through that mental wall where it feels hard and I want to quit. My DH does quit - he fully admits it - so we're both working on that aspect.
I'm contemplating a 10k on June 18 - but it'll be hot here, and to make it even hotter, it's at the Speedway - but how cool to run on the NASCAR track???