On Friday (4/20), my running buddy Al and I were about a mile and a half into a planned 10 mile loop on the North Shore Trails at Clinton Lake. I was negotiating a portion of the trail that I've probably run a hundred times before. The trail takes an abrupt left turn as it drops about 3 feet with a little water crossing at the bottom. As I was stepping down, I planted my right foot in position to push off and to the left to jump over the water. I either didn't see the root or just planted my foot in the wrong place because as my weight shifted onto my foot, my ankle rolled completely over to the outside with that root under my foot.
I thought that I heard a snap, but it was likely a stick crunching somewhere because there were no bones broken and though the tendons were really stretched, none of them snapped. I was a little freaked out for the first 30 seconds or so as I assessed the damage, but once I determined that the pain wasn't too bad and my ankle seemed to still be attached, I relaxed. After discovering that I could put my weight on it without any adverse affects, I was able to take a few exploratory steps and then walk carefully back to the trailhead. Thankfully a concerned Al was along for company. I briefly decided that it was OK to run on, and tried for about 20 yards before I thought better of it as the ankle just didn't seem very stable.
About 20 minutes after I rolled it (golf ball)
After a 3 mile run 4 days later
I know that common wisdom says to RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevate), but I did none of those things, unless going up and down a ladder for the next few days counts as 'elevate' or an awesome pair of Skyline Shuffle socks counts as compression. I certainly would've gone the RICE route if there was much pain (I need full anesthesia for hangnails/splinters), but since it didn't hurt and I was in the middle of an interior painting project, I kept on painting, although I was very cautious of where I stepped.
As noted above, I ran 3 very cautious miles on it 4 days after the injury, and another 5 miles a few days after that. I've since ran several 10 mile sessions all on roads, the levee, or the river trails. I hope to test it out tomorrow (5/11) on the rooty/rocky Clinton Lake trails, I plan to be slow and verrrrrry careful.
A few random thoughts/observations:
I was immediately relieved that I had someone with me and also that I had my phone. My worst running fear (aside from bears, dogs, mountain lions, and clowns) is to be out on the trails somewhere in freezing temps and snap an ankle. Without anyone around or a cell phone handy, things like lives and limbs could be at stake. I think the temps were in the 40's when I rolled it, so I was in no danger, but I did have to put a few layers back on as I definitely got chilly walking back to the trailhead. Pay heed winter runners!
Inflammation happens for a reason. For the first week or so, the swelling in my foot was not only cool to look at, but it seemed to hold everything in place so that my range of motion was severely limited. It was only after most of the swelling had gone away that I could accidentally or intentionally move my foot in such a way as to cause pain. I didn't take any anti-inflammatories or ice the area as the swelling seemed to be doing a pretty good job of protecting me from myself.
In the first week after the injury, I soaked my foot/ankle in a turkey roasting pan filled with hot water and epsom salt probably four times. I don't think there's any sound medical reason for using epsom salt, but it's what my Mom would've suggested so I did it. It was also a way to force me to sit down for 45 minutes or so. There's no way to tell if it actually sped up the healing, but I do think that the heat helped carry away some of the fluid that had gathered in my foot. My thinking was to keep everything moving and as warm/loose as possible to let the circulation aid in removing all the nasty stuff. I'm also thinking of playing a doctor on television (ba da dum).
I managed to get my hands on some CBD (cannabidiol) oil. It's a marijuana extract (no THC) and it's legal status is Kansas is unclear, but it's available in Ohio (and many other states), plus it ties in neatly with the 4/20 theme of this post. I rubbed it into my foot/ankle for several days and noticed significant improvement in my ankle's range of motion. Whether this was causitive or just happened to coincide with the normal healing process is impossible to know, but many people swear by it's effectiveness. I hopefully won't need it again, but will definitely try it again if needed.
My next race is the Nighthawk 50k on June 30 at Clinton Lake. Between a trip to Cleveland, end of the school year events, and the injury, I haven't been running much lately. That should change soon though and I'm looking forward to getting Nighthawk ready!
