An Update on the Ankle

     This post is written about three and a half weeks after my previous post on my ankle sprain. What a difference three weeks can make!

     By taking it easy and icing more than you could ever believe, my ankle's healing has progressed very smoothly. Sadly, I must admit that this progression has not been a steady incline, but rather a rigid hill with many bumps and ridges.

     Kicking off the track season, I was very very nervous about running on my ankle. There wasn't a whole lot of things I could do to make my ankle recover any quicker than it already was, so I simply found an ankle brace that would give my ankle so assistance and lessen the blow, and decided to trek on off to practice expecting nothing less than pain. 

     I was happily surprised with how well my ankle held up during practice, and despite the high mileage, my ankle didn't even need to be iced once I finished practice. I cannot put into words the glee I felt when finishing my first week of practice with no extra pain in my ankle. 

     As track practice continued on into this season and we near closer to our first meet, I began to notice that we (distance girls, who generally run the minimum of an 800 in a meet) had not done very little, probably two at the most, anaerobic workouts. This is something that would soon change.

     Living in the midwest, the snow had not yet melted off of the track. You would not think that this is a problem. Running in the school parking lot is similar to the distance of a 400, except our school parking lot is on an incline, so the first 200 is downhill and the last 200 is uphill!!! 

    The first anaerobic workout I noticed that my ankle suddenly made a turn for the worst, which made me greatly concerned. The minute I took my ankle brace off I noticed my ankle was once again swollen and it hurt a lot more than it had in a while. I asked my physical trainer what she thought was up, and she said that it was because we had run on the uneven parking lot surface very quickly, which really irritated my ankle.

      This is an excellent thing to know, seeing as running fast time intervals are much better on a softer and even surface. Take this into consideration next time you decided to get a faster workout in! As for my ankle now, it has been over a month since my injury, and it is not swollen, but still bruised! (439)