Over the course of my life, I have managed to destroy my left ankle. I've sprained it more times than I can count and in some truly ridiculous situations. The damage I've done appears to be long-lasting, if not permanent. It's incredibly easy to re-twist or re-sprain my ankle these days. And even though I haven't hurt it in several years, the old injury is rearing it's head and affecting my ability to run.
The interesting thing is that it only seems to be affecting the number of steps I can take. The faster I run, the farther I run too. So I've been improving steadily according to both of these measures. Eventually I'm sure I'll hit that scary point where I'm having trouble drawing breath again. But for now it looks to be all smooth sailing.
Today I was able to run a mile and a quarter. Then, after a brief break to walk, I ran another half mile. I ran the first mile at a pace of 5.2 mph (11:30 minute mile). For the second half mile I increased my pace to 5.3 mph. All told I was able to travel 2.25 miles in the thirty minutes I had my treadmill set to run. And my ankle only started bugging me near the end of both miles.
I think I can keep increasing in this way. The break to walk in the middle of my running segments is crucial to keeping my ankle healthy. Unfortunately, it also means that I'm not keeping my heart rate up for quite as long. So I'm not sure how much good this sort of workout is actually doing. But it's better than nothing. And I do think that as I improve my ankle will get stronger and I'll figure out how to step so that it doesn't hurt as much. I have started to notice a correlation between the stabbing pain and my gait getting slightly off balance towards the end of my run. All of this should get better with more practice.
I have a 5K in my sights that I think I'll actually be able to participate in. And, as the weather gets nicer, I'm considering going for a run outdoors. The prospect of getting stuck somewhere and not being able to get home is still scary, but it's getting less scary all the time.
Yay! Good luck with the ankle! Are you stretching and icing it? That could help it get less angry at you for running on it. Also, taking an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen can help sometimes too.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's definitely better, even with the break, than nothing, and you're right that it should get better with practice :)