1/29

Well, the good news is that PT is going really well! I have been having hour long sessions 3X a week. My ankle is feeling really good and I am going to reintroduce the elliptical to my workouts, putting more pressure on my ankle than just the rower and weights do. I do exercises/stretches and ice at least twice a day at home but we've moved to ice and heat at PT. I have decided to really commit to completely healing so that I can start fresh and have no concerns with training and pushing myself once I start. I was sick with strep and then one week later with some nasty virus so the last 2 weeks have actually forced me to not overdo it in my workouts anyway. I think I have pretty much decided to go for the June 1st 1/2 instead of 4/27. More time to train, less pressure and nicer weather to do my long runs when the time comes. I just need to look into it and make sure I can register. It is in Simsbury, CT. I am reading a really funny, really informative book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580052053/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2XP78BACBCW74&colid=6WD0DS4NLWGT

It is helping to keep my running mindset while I am not actually running!

Update 1/19

Last Sunday I decided to give the running a go. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill and then my ankle started to feel sore so I walked for another 3. By the end it was really sore. And it was really sore for 2 days after. I returned my sneakers after reading that shoes can play a huge factor in injury- having the right shoes for your feet. So, I went to Sound Runner in Madison where I met Meghan, who was terrific. After evaluating my feet and my run (and about 50 other things I didn't even know you could evaluate), we went through about 50 pairs of sneakers until we found the right ones. They felt great- I couldn't believe sneakers could feel that good! She also invited me to join her running group for some runs (they are training for a 1/2 as well), gave me their schedule and also printed out their training schedule for me. It was well worth the trip into the store. By Tuesday I decided to call the doctor b/c of the pain and she thought I should see a physical therapist. I made my appt. and had my first visit this morning (I didn't run all week because I came down with strep throat and was really sick- probably a good thing for my ankle!). The PT confirmed that there was inflammation/tendonitis and did all kinds of evaluations, icing, massaging, ultrasound, etc. She does, however, think that if I go 3 times a week for a few weeks I will be back to running. The injury I have is a pretty common running injury and she thinks shoes had a huge part in it- she also agreed that the shoes I ended up buying at Sound Runner were the right ones for my feet/running style. She doesn't want me to not run for at least this week while we do all the "work" on my ankle but I can walk. I am feeling better overall and anxious to get moving. Tomorrow I think I will try a walk in my new sneakers. Nothing strenuous. I am also doing exercises at home, icing, etc.
I can't remember if I already wrote about this but I did look into other 1/2 marathons and I found one for June 1st. I'd like to do the April 27th one but if it takes much longer for this whole ankle thing to resolve itself, I may go for that one. And it might be nice to train during some of the warmer months! We'll see....one day at a time right now. Whatever I do, I will not give up on this. That's a definite.

1/10

Well, I've been icing and stretching for 4 days and tonight I decided to test out the tendon a bit. I did something simple- walked on the treadmill at an incline and at 4.0 mph for 2 miles. And the great news is that my ankle felt really good after! So, I am going to continue the ice and stretching and then TRY one mile on the treadmill on Sunday...hopefully in another week I'll be back to my training schedule.

1/8 Continued...

Wahhhhhh!!!! Tendonitis?!?! How the heck did I manage to do that??

So....at first she told me no running for 3-4 weeks. Then I think she saw me turn white. So, we talked about some possible steps/ways to help the healing/ways that maybe I can get back on it. She really knew nothing about training, I could tell that (and not like I did 2 months ago either!). She asked if walking or riding a bike could be my training for awhile-!!!!!!!!! Anyway, she did say that I should go to a specialty running store to see the best type of shoes for my feet/running style. I just bought new ones but may go in to see if they can give me any information. We'll see. So, for now I decided I will ice it like crazy, stretch it and take 5 days off. Then I will try a 1 mile run on the treadmill (she said uneven roads- especially this time of year- will make it worse).

Breathing deeply and reminding myself that there are 15.5 weeks until the race.....

1/8

Well, this has been a slow week. I've still been doing about 12 miles a week but was hoping to bump up to 15. On the day of the 5K I wore my old sneakers because I had only worn the new ones for 1 run at that point and wasn't sure if I should wear them for the race. I felt something happen to my ankle towards the last part of the race. I have kind of been ignoring it b/c it wasn't hurting too badly- only when I ran and a little while after but not during the times I wasn't running. Until this weekend- I ran only 2.5 and it started really feeling sore- so much that I had to stop running. I took Sunday off and then went yesterday- I did 3.3 but halfway through the pain started and it really hurt by the end. And all night. And now today, even when I am just sitting. Matt convinced me to go get it checked out- better than making it worse. I was dying to run today b/c it is a weird 65 or so degrees out and the perfect day for running. But it hurts to even walk right now. It isn't swollen or bruised so I am hoping it isn't a big deal. I go this afternoon so we'll see. Hopefully it will be better by Thursday or Friday so I don't lose too much time.

1/1

First goal accomplished- 5K in 27:20. Yippee!

Although as I was running, all I could think was "How the heck am I suppose to do this times 4?"