Runstreak: Hitting a Wall
As of Sunday (12 August 2012), I am 160 days into my runstreak goal of running every day for a year and it’s been a little threatened for the last few weeks.
On 3 July, I stumbled over a high point in the sidewalk and fell hard…really hard. When everything checked out on my knees, elbows, and hands — other than a really deep scrape on my knee — I kept running. I was feeling a little “tender” so as I got closer to home where a trail on the side of the road gets a little rough, I decided to slow down to be sure I did not get hurt worse. I guess that was a bad idea because I turned my ankle so badly that the outside of my left ankle hit the ground. I have turned my ankles multiple times before but I knew this was different.
I am pretty stubborn so I just kept on running in the following days after that. My ankle was not feeling right so I tried a brace. Since that was working for about a week, I decided I was good to go and went for a run without it. I turned it again. Worse than the first time. I tried wrapping the ankle with compression wraps during the run. This seemed to help but it just never felt right.
Nicole convinced me to see a doctor. This is something I knew I needed to do but did not want to because I had a strong feeling that he would tell me to stop running. Before he even examined my ankle I told him about my runstreak. I am pretty sure that did the trick because he did the examination, got a few x-rays, and gave me the verdict — severely strained but no damage. He “suggested” that I stop running to let it heal for 4-6 weeks but also gave the advice to at least slow down and take it easy. I think this advice may be the best I can get yet.
Another reason it’s been tough to keep the runstreak going is that I have been feeling a little worn down. So much so that I’m starting to feel that the 6 to 7 mile runs I used to really enjoy are more of a chore than a nice hour on the road. I felt like I had hit a “wall” and needed a change. The doctor was right. I slowed down and shortened my distances. I even peppered a few 1.5 mile runs in here and there. I let myself walk for a short bit on my long distance runs. My ankle is much better even if I know it is not 100% yet. I am also still stuck behind the wall. Hopefully, a few more weeks of a restrained pace will be exactly what my ankle and runstreak needs to get back to where I am feeling it again.
