It's the Ligament, Stupid

Red = damage. Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gray355.png

My podiatrist, Dr. Pribut, is a trip. He's also extremely knowledgeable, understands runners and he's Metro accessible. It didn't take long for him to diagnose my problem as a ligament that had gotten overstretched (so much for my tendon theory).

Apparently, I turned my right ankle at some point during Bull Run Run 50 Miler (maybe it happened when I face-planted, twice). The strange thing is that it didn't hurt at the time or even during any of my recovery runs until nearly a week later. It doesn't hurt to walk, and I don't have any noticeable swelling. I always get odd injuries that seem to come out of nowhere. 

He did say the forces that caused my injury could have resulted in a fracture, so I consider myself lucky. I'm also frankly ecstatic that I am not in a boot or on crutches.

He prescribed rest, for 7 days. No running, biking, hiking, swimming or pool running (what!? I thought you could pool run with any injury!) or anything that stresses the ankle for a week. That means about half of the 26 Bikram yoga postures are out since they require serious plantarflexion or dorsiflexion of the ankle. 

Image from http://twofeetstuckoutside.blogspot.com/2010/07/to-plantarflex-to-dorsiflex.html

He also ordered me to begin rehabilitation exercises, twice a day on the Wobble Board. 

My new best friend

This week, I am only allowed to do Front to Back.

Front to Back on the Wobble Board

Next week, if things go well I can add Side to Side.

Side to Side on the Wobble Board

And finally, in Week 3 I will graduate to Round and Round!

The Pinnacle of Ankle Rehab, rotational Wobbling!

Starting Friday, I can run again: 2 miles every other day, as long as that is well below my pain threshold.

This means my beloved Capon Valley 50K is off the race schedule. Bummer. All my friends will be running it, and I'll be the only one not getting my feet wet.

I haven't made a final decision on Laurel Highlands 70 Miler, but I'm leaning strongly toward dropping down to the 50K race. I'd rather not run 70 miles under-trained and with the increased risk of tweaking my ligament again, or worse. It seems like the smart decision.

After all, my ultimate goal is to keep on running for a long time.