Can't Catch a Break (or maybe I did)

In mid-February I got a chest cold which stopped me from running for a week. The week after that I got bucked off a horse and lost another week of running. The last few weeks I've been trying to get some endurance back. It hasn't been easy but I was out there getting it done. I still have some residual aches from the fall so I went to see my chiro yesterday. He gave me some stretches for my back/ribs and also did a couple of adjustments. Even today I could tell things had improved and had high hope that in another week I may be practically back to normal.

I left the house for a 6 mile run today very excited. I had a new pair of running shoes to try out as well as a jazzy new running song. I was going to attempt some mileage at a slightly faster pace than "easy" which is all I've been doing the last month since the fall. It was going to be a fun run. Lots of interesting elements and a distance short enough that I'd end feeling strong.

I did a warm-up segment and then started ratcheting up the pace. I hit the cruising speed I was going to try to hold for a little over two miles and was trotting along nicely at an 8:45 pace. It felt easy. Maybe I hadn't lost as much as I had thought. Then all of a sudden, I hit the ground.

I must have taken a misstep because I twisted my left ankle and subsequently fell. My knees and hands hurt from the fall a little but I knew the big problem was my ankle. I hobbled over to the side of the walkway and tested it out. Oww. I waited a few minutes to see if it would pass but I decided I had better walk back home. I was 2.55 miles into my run and probably a smidgen under 2 miles walking distance to home.

I made it home, and as I stopped moving so much my ankle started to stiffen and swell. I somehow got into the shower as I wanted to get cleaned up and on the couch icing, compressing, and elevating as soon as possible. By the time I got out of the shower, it was clear that this was by far the worse ankle twist I've ever had. I could barely ambulate around the house and was hopping from furniture piece to furniture piece for support.

I got an ice pack out of the freezer and put it on my ankle which made it really hurt. I called Boyfriend and was a sobbing mess. At first I thought I was crying because my ankle hurt, but I think I was really crying because I am so incredibly frustrated. Just when things felt like they were getting back on track this happens. And unlike everything else, I can't run through this.

I'm obviously pulling the plug on Oakland this weekend. I'm praying this is just a bad sprain and not a break. I've been using a wheeled computer chair as a makeshift walker/wheelchair to get around and cannot wait for Boyfriend to bring home a pair of crutches for me to use. I'll see how things shape up the next few days as far as going in to get it x-rayed or not. I have a history of rolling my left ankle which means I already have two ankle compression thingies to wear as well as a left ankle brace. With my new pair of crutches I will be 100% prepared for any running injury in the future (sad laughter).

These things never look as dramatic in photos as they do in person, but...

My good ankle

My poor swollen ankle

My falling spot was marked by a splat of water since my handheld broke a lot of my fall (this is the third time, at least, that a handheld helped to break my fall). While I was limping about deciding if I could finish my run, I went back over to the spot I fell. Flat. F-L-A-T. No stray little nugget I may have stepped on. I always knew I was enough of a klutz to fall on nothing and had a weak enough left ankle to roll it on flat ground. Now I know for sure. And people say I should take up trail running!