Currently I am on my third injury in two months. There are only six weeks to recover and train for H.U.R.T. 100. Time is probably up for me to train, so right now the key is to recover. I would rather go into this race healthy and under trained than injured.
My first injury was at the Chicago marathon in early October when I fell less than a half a mile into the race and banged up my knee. This lingered for about a month.
Then, at the Carkeek 12 hour race, my IT band began to go out. This was not my first rodeo with a painful left IT band, so I knew I needed to act immediately. I asked around for new advice on recovery. Thank you to all of my friends who gave me ideas. These things in mind, I got right to strengthening my hip, lower back, and glutes. After 3-4 weeks of strengthening and stretching, the IT band stopped giving me problems. The last day that I noticed any discomfort from the IT band was at the Seattle marathon at the end of November.
Finally pain free I had two great days of running, and then BAM!! On November 28th, I rolled my ankle not once, but twice, in a 10 mile run. I was so upset and disappointed. I had no idea what to do with myself. I just could not stay healthy to save my soul. Upon injuring myself again, for the third time in two months, I decided my only goal now before H.U.R.T. was to get healthy enough to finish the race.
I talked to Heather that night and we came up with a plan to start the healing until I could see a doctor and potentially get advice from other runners who'd also dealt with ankle injuries. That plan consisted of R.I.C.E:
R – Rest
I – Ice
C – Compress
E – Elevate
I immediately began R.I.C.E. when I got home. I slapped an ice pack onto my ankle and raised it way above my head. The ice helps with inflammation and swelling. Elevation helps drain fluids from the injured area. I elevated and iced my ankle for 15 minutes. After lowering my ankle from above my head and taking the ice pack off, I applied some UltraStrength Tiger Balm and wrapped it with an Ace bandage. The Tiger Balm and Ace bandage would continue reducing swelling and inflammation while I slept. The last thing that I did before I went to bed was pop two Ibuprofen (and if you know me, I never take painkillers) as an extra measure to reduce inflammation and ease pain so I could rest comfortably. I only took the Ibuprofen the first night to help with the immediate swelling of the ankle.
I was so exhausted, but I ran into a slight problem: it hurt to sleep. The ankle was tender, so I had to keep it in a certain position so I would not extend. Despite the ibuprofen, I ended up having a rough night.
The next morning I applied some more Tiger Balm and rewrapped it. I repeated this 2-3 times a day for the next two days. When I was at work I would try to elevate my ankle at least once during the day. By Saturday morning the ankle was feeling much better and the swelling had subsided.
Thursday morning I had made the decision, with Heather's input, that I was going to take one full week off from running. During that week I concentrated on other forms of cardio and strength training. I biked easy every day at the gym and did a complementary workout. It felt great to change it up, but it was difficult for me not to run knowing that H.U.R.T. was looming in a month.
On Saturday, I asked two of my good friends, Delores and Terry Sentinella, what they thought of my ankle and what they thought I should do. They said I should be good to run on it because it was most likely a sprain. Terry told me to use Pennsaid, which is a topical DMSO cream. DMSO helps with swelling and inflammation like Ibuprofen does. After he told me this, I began to alternate between the Pennsaid and Tiger Balm.
On Monday I contacted my friend John, a chiropractor at Town and Country Chiropractor, to get a medical opinion. I was lucky enough to get a appointment with him on Tuesday. After seeing my ankle, he agreed with what Terry and Delores had told me. It was a typical sprain of the ankle. He said it would take about one month for it to recover to about 80% healthy and at least that much time or longer to recover to 100%. This was a huge bummer and very disheartening. I wanted to be out there training for H.U.R.T. Instead, I knew I was just going to have to maintain fitness and aim to get healthy just to finish.
Judgement day came on Wednesday at 6:15 pm. I was heading out for a run to test the ankle.Let me say this: the run went magnificently. The ankle was stiff for the first mile or so but loosened up as the run progressed. I ran nearly 6 miles at a decent clip. I was elated. I could not have asked for anything more. Upon finishing the run, I went immediately into recovery. I wrapped and elevated the ankle for a few minutes.
When returning to running after an injury you need to be cautious, yet still test your limits to determine progress. Feeling good during the run isn't the most important thing. The real question is: how will it feel the next day? But in that moment–returning to exercise–just enjoy running.
