Monday, December 6, 2010

The Injury


It’s not even a “real” injury. A “real” injury is when I can’t walk, period. Or when it hurts to walk. No, this one just kicks in after I’ve run about a half a mile.

Stupid ankle injury.

I have no idea how I hurt my ankle or what is actually hurt. It’s my right, inner ankle bone, and it’s right on the bone. It hurts when I press it. Found that one out in church yesterday. Yeah, smart, I know. Let’s press what hurts.

When Kelsey and I ran our 10k back in October, I hurt it then. The sidewalk was a bit sideways, and I don’t know if I pulled/strained/stretched or what, but it started hurting. But it was fine in my next run. But this Friday it kicked back up again. I ran five miles Friday, which was a mistake for multiple reasons. Reason 1: I didn’t have my route memorized, so I had to double back once to get it right. Reason 2: I didn’t wear my blister-preventing socks because “five miles isn’t a lot!” so now I have blisters. Reason 3: My ankle started killing me.

I supposedly stayed off it Saturday. Translation: I just walked for two hours up hills – no running needed. However, it did not hurt once.

I iced it multiple times Saturday night and Sunday morning in preparation for a eight or nine mile run. I could feel that it was still tender, but, since I’m not sure what caused it, I thought that it just needed to be stretched out or strengthened through running (As I’ve asked pretty much everyone’s opinion on the subject of hurt ankles, one of the schools of thought is that I have weak ankles.).

We had to walk a lot because of me. By Mile 3, when we were walking uphill, Kelsey asked, “Is your ankle hurting?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“I can tell. You’re limping.”

Well, poo.

I hadn’t realized I was limping. When she said that, it finally clicked: I need rest.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

One of the worst things you can tell a runner is not to run. Indefinitely (though I’ll probably try again Wednesday – and if it starts hurting, I promise to stop). Especially one training for a dadgum half-marathon.

So guess what’s about to become my best friend? A stationary bike. And ice.

I do see benefits to a hopefully short hiatus, though. First, our revival started yesterday and goes through Wednesday. So I can go to the revival and not worry, “Okay, am I running before or after revival? Should I wear my running clothes there? Where should we run, since it’ll be dark?” That’s not an option right now.

Also, Hubby and I saw Rindy and her husband last night, and I gave her the bad news about my ankle. As soon as I got finished, my husband started in.

“Okay, we’ve GOT to run this week, even if it’s at 5:30 a.m.,” he said seriously. “And we’re going out of town this weekend, so we need to be accountable and run on our own, too. We don’t have much time before this half-marathon, and we need to get into shape.”

I think I might have swooned.

10 comments:

Terri said...

Aww - what a great hubby! Hope your ankle is feeling better - maybe it just needs a day or two of rest.

misti said...

Noooo! I hate ankle injuries!! I was told I had "weak ankles" when I played soccer...I felt like such a wimp when we would run, but pushing through it usually made it worse! Hope it heals nicely for you this week!

Unknown said...

I had an ankle injury from jr high basketball & used that as my excuse to not be active in hi school. I have a new chiro that identified & broke up all the scar tissue in my ankles & they seriously feel like new! My knee pain also went away after a few back & hip adjustments.. so maybe its not an ankle issue after all...

sara said...

of course the mother in me is saying....go to a doctor and have it checked out!!! better safe than sorry!!!

but the friend in me says...I hope it gets better quickly so you can continue to train for your half marathon!

Mari said...

Aaagh! I hate those kinds of injuires. As a nurse, I say you need to get it checked out. On the other hand - if it was me I would rest it and see if it improved. Don't overdo it though!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear about your injury! I had a similar thing this weekend and just laid off it and now it feels better. Hope it's the same for you so you can get your run on!!

Unknown said...

Aw, boo. That stinks!

How do you run in the cold, by the way? I find it so difficult.

Brooke said...

take care of yourself. mentally to - its hard to be on the DL.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you're hurt. Feel better soon. And, take it easy, huh!

-FringeGirl

The Hat Chick said...

Staying off of it for a few days is best. My little peeps soccer injury taught me that a little patience in the short term pays off big later. Don't push yourself.