Week 4 over!! At the cost of a dodgy ankle...

[ChinaGirl]

Hmm, not sure how to feel in writing this post.

I was thrilled this week to complete all three runs without stopping once. Did you hear that? ALL THREE RUNS WITHOUT STOPPING ONCE!!!! I'm so proud of myself! What's more, I'm really starting to feel the benefits of these runs. For instance, I'm no longer getting toooo sweaty on the 6 flights of stairs that I have to climb at the start of the working day (some sweat is allowed, it is 35+ degrees here in southern China...), my legs are starting to look brilliant (I'm sporting shorts very often these days), and I'm seriously confident in myself at the moment. I'm planning my first Parkrun for when I return to the UK in July and am really getting into my new persona of runner! I'm believe that I can really do this and am (weirdly) looking forward to my Wk5 Rn3 next Monday...

At least I was...

I came away from my run today with a big fat swollen ankle, limpy limpy. I've been doing strengthening exercises as it had been a wee bit sore previously and I have been taking extra special care of it (honest!) but today the little limpy b*gger has drawn the line. Enough is enough, it says.

I think I'm going to have to take some time to rest it which is SUCH a downer because I was enjoying myself so much and I don't want to feel that I've given up (although I understand that that is not what this is). I'm worried I'll never get back to running, that I'll look like a failure...

The thing is, where I live there isn't an English speaking doctor, so prevention really is much easier than cure! I don't want to end up with an actual full blown problem injury out here. Also, I have no idea how long to rest it for.

Any advice/stories that you can give/tell me to cheer me up? Will I get to do my Parkrun? Will I ever be fit? Aah the questions, the questions...

[greenlegs Graduate]

Yes, you will get back again - there have been quite a few blogs on here from people coming back after injuries. I expect others will come up with suggestions, I just wanted to cheer you up!

Maybe try searching the tags for other stories about recovery after ankle injuries? The main thing I've picked up is don't rush it - which is very hard, I know. Slow and steady applies to recovery as well as getting started - hard, but worth it in the long run.