During my recovery, I did a lot of bike riding, and even went on my first DC community bike ride - the Cider Ride, hosted by Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA). To build endurance, I would often ride the long way home from work - giving me up to 20 miles per day in the saddle. It was a sanity saver.
By the end of September 2019, nearly ten months after my ankle break, and two months into serious physical therapy, I began to test out running. It took another five months for my PT to fully clear me, and tell me I didn’t need to come back in again unless pain crept back in. Having experienced several multi-month injury recoveries, I wanted to share my journey here with others, and emphasize the importance of easing back in, and not expecting anything out of yourself as you get back into the game. That includes the emotional challenges just as much as the physical.
Physical Therapy
In early August 2019, I stepped into Washington Wellness Physical Therapy and Sports Care, and had my first consult with my new PT, Sam. I had a lot to catch him up on, and the weaving journey my body had been on for the first part of the year. He took some measurements of my dexterity, had me test some stability, and sent me on my way for the day. The goal was, two sessions per week for a few weeks, and then we would re-evaluate.
In the beginning, my ankle was so weak. Weaker than I thought it was. I could stand on my right (bad) leg, but I would wobble. We started small. Very small. Focusing on my foot strength and flexibility. We honed in on my flat foot, and the inability of both my big toes to bend. I had so many exercises that were just focused on toe dexterity. I didn’t understand why we were so focused on toes when it was my ankle that was the problem, but I’m so glad we did now.
Once we got my toes and arch sorted out, we started focusing on bigger parts of my body – namely my ankle, calves and glutes. So many exercises focused around the use of resistance bands. We did a million clam shells, bridges, and the like. Lunges started to work their way into the mix, as did tons of stability exercises using both weights and body weight. I even had a go on the Pilates machine every so often, focusing on core strength.
By September, Sam felt confident that my ankle was strong enough to test out a small amount of running. He told me not to focus on distance, but to focus on a slow, comfortable pace for a short amount of time. I was to keep up with daily home exercises and band work.
Easing back in to running
My first run he let me try was a short 10 minute jog. I got in 0.9 miles. Over the next month, I would slowly and steadily add in mileage – minute by minute at first. By mid-November, I had worked up to five miles, and felt confident enough to try my hometown Turkey Trot.
Around Thanksgiving, my PT was feeling pretty confident in my recovery, and said I should be coming once every other week or so – and to keep testing out slowly increasing run distances/times. I felt confident in the lack of pain I was feeling as well. Maybe overconfident.
On Thanksgiving, Chris and I laced up our shoes, and ran hard. Our first mile, weaving through crowds, was slow – 8:39 pace. We kicked the second mile once the crowds thinned out – 8:04 pace. Our final mile I pushed us hard – 7:49 pace. Given I hadn’t done any speed work in nearly a year, I was stoked at this race outcome.
A New Wave of Pain
Unfortunately, within two weeks of the Turkey Trot, a new, concerning pain crept in. My lower pack/glute on my right side had searing pain that radiated down my leg a bit. I started panicking. Was it sciatica?
I went to my general doctor to get it looked at – she said it was likely residual issues from my ankle break, and sent me back to PT.
Turns out – while I had done a great job strengthening my ankle and gaining stability, my glutes were still extremely weak from a year of not doing anything. That meant that as I began running – and especially as I began pushing the pace – too much of the effort was being put on my quads and transferred to my lower back, instead of my previously powerful glutes.
From early January through late February – I went to PT nearly every week again. Now we were focused solely on glute and ab strength. I did so many squats and lunges, and learned tons of ab exercises that focus of building core strength and stability to make sure I’m not unconsciously transferring work to the wrong parts of my body.
My late February, I was back to running again, and the searing pain I had felt within a half mile of initial running a few months earlier was gone.
I was cleared to run again – and this time, I was dead set of easing in, and being careful about my efforts.
As I write this, it’s mid-April, and I’ve slowly worked myself up to 11 miles on the weekend. I am feeling stronger and more confident with every run. I’m being careful to keep my pace relaxed on these long runs – a 9:30 or 10 minute pace is OK with me. Previously, I’d want these runs to be under a 9 minute pace, and I could hold that pace for miles and miles. Now, I just want to build the endurance – and am fine with whatever pace my body accepts on a given day.
During the week, on my shorter runs – I’ve been focusing on fartleks and tempo runs. Spurts of speed with active recovery, trying to build my muscles and turnover energy in a thoughtful manner. I’ve been doing 3 or 4 strength workouts a week as well – focused on continuing my PT exercises, and working in leg, glute, ab and arm strength. The more well rounded my strength can be, I’m hoping the less likely I’ll be to relapse on my injuries.
I’ll continue to build from here on – and hope that these injuries are behind me.
I’ve got my sights set on some big races this fall. Fingers crossed.