Back on track

All in all, today was a good day. Down 4 pounds, keeping eating in check, started PT for the ankle. Not too shabby. I was a little discouraged after therapy (AKA Torture) today, as the ankle instability is extraordinarily limiting my ability to do most of the exercises, and the pain I experienced during and after therapy was pretty bad. I wanted to try some biking today (of the stationary variety) but it was not in the cards. I need to try to build some strength in my ankle before I stress it too much more.

In the meantime, I've been torturing myself thinking about the "what-ifs". What if therapy doesn't work? What if it gets better and I re-injure it? What if, what if, what if. Sometimes the internet is a curse with all the info available out there. Oh well, time to forget about the what ifs and just focus on the here and now.

I did my PT exercises like a good patient, did some crunches and ab work. It's better than attacking that bag of cheetos in the cabinet... LOL

Yay, no tendon tear!

The MRI came back okay, so I am thankful for that! Unfortunately, I still have a lot of instability in the ankle and have to wear a lace up brace whenever I am walking. I started physical therapy today and will have to go 3x per week for the next 4 weeks at least. Already got some home exercises to work on too! I'm really hoping PT helps, otherwise the next step is surgery to tighten my tendons, which will be a downtime of 6-8 weeks plus several months of PT.

I've been better with my eating lately too. I slipped a little today, but I feel if you really want something, you should eat it. I know if I deprive myself of everything I want at some point I will just binge on junk. I'm still within my points range, so I am not going to beat myself up about it.

I still can't run, but cleared to bike and swim... will be trying some swimming this weekend!

22 days...

It's been 22 days since my last run. 22 days since my injury. 22 days since I was able to ride a bike, walk, or drive a car without pain. 22 days of sitting around, feeling sorry for myself. 22 days of careless eating, resulting in a gain of 2.2 pounds. I got my MRI last week. I get the results and see my doc tomorrow. I am changing my attitude today.

I may not be able to run, but I can still do my strength and core exercises, so I am going to get back to that. I may not be able to run, but I can exercise my leg muscles using resistance bands and the machines in the gym. I may not be able to run, but that is not a reason why I should be gaining weight. I can still make healthy choices, I can still track my caloric intake.

Tomorrow, I will find out about my ankle and what steps need to be taken to get me back in my running shoes and back on the road. However, today, I get back on track.

Well, it's not a stress fracture

Normally, I'd be more excited about this news. Unfortunately it just leaves me in a state of uncertainty. Now it could be just peroneal tendonitis, or it could be a tear. The plan? Wait and see if it gets any better. Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I have little patience and the last thing I want to do is wait. However, I also don't want a lot of unnecessary treatment and testing either, so here I sit. Literally, it's about all I am allowed to do.

So, no running, no biking, minimal walking for another week. I may go insane...

A long week with no running...

I am starting to go a little crazy from no running, no biking, and not much walking. I would walk more if I could, but even a little walking causes the pain to get worse. I go back to the foot doctor tomorrow, I guess we will see what the next step is. I've had a couple of treatments on it from my chiropractor (ultrasound, electrical stimulation and ice) but it doesn't seem to have helped too much yet.

I've not been dealing too well with my emotions since my injury. I've been eating a little too much, neglecting my core and strength work and just been in a funk. Not to mention I have been seized with crazy jealousy every time I see someone running. Surprisingly, I managed to lose 0.2 pounds despite sabotaging myself off and on over the week, so I will take that happily. Started back to watching what I eat again yesterday, back on the core work today. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be cleared to get back on the bike if nothing else, but I guess we will just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Don't Run, Jenn, Don't Run.

Boo. Chiro said same as podiatrist, most likely tendonitis, cannot rule out stress fracture, only time will tell. Oh well, at least I got the okay to go ahead with core and strength training since the back is doing better. And chiro is going to give me ultrasound and electrical stim on my ankle and shin to hopefully speed up the healing process.

Today I did core stuff: 150 crunches, 40 squirms, 40 unsupported dead bugs, and 50 oblique twists. Followed it up with 40 girly pushups. Not the same as running, but at least it is something. I always have to remind myself how important stretching and strength training are. Unfortunately, I don't enjoy those as much as I do running and biking. Oh well, might as well work on it now since it is all I can do.

Both docs think the cause of my problems is the indoor track. The frequent turns and banking around the corners is apparently not good, especially since you have to keep running in the same direction. Once I am cleared to run again, I cannot run the turns on the track. I can run the straight aways, but must walk all the turns. Looks like I might need to learn how to tolerate the dreadmill eventually. Bleah.

No running for a week...

Someone please shoot me. No running for one week. No biking for one week. Minimal walking for one week. I think I may go crazy. It is most likely some tendonitis I have going on in my right leg. We are giving it a week to see if it improves, if not, it may be a stress fracture. Ugh. I am not a patient person. Waiting a week may drive me insane. Oh well, nothing but RICE and NSAIDS for the next week. Chiro tomorrow to check out the back, but it is feeling a lot better today, so I think they will cut me loose to at least do some core work.

The challenge for me in the meantime will be how to deal with my stress. Running is how I deal with it. Running has replaced food for dealing with my stress. Now I need to make sure I don't slip back into letting food be my comfort, since I cannot run, bike or do much exercise in general. Looks like I better break out some crochet or something...

Don't Run Jenn Don't Run... I do not like the sound of that...