"Rice Krispie" Ankle

Snap: Thankfully NOT

Crackle: OMG!

POP: OUCH!!

My first running injury....spraining my ankle on the trails today.

I cry.....because I'm a geeky runner and  I'm wounded

A Lateral Ligament sprain.

The top ligament being the most damaged.

I still wanna cry. I really don't have much to cry about when people in Japan still haven't found the bodies of their loved ones, when people are being diagnosed with cancer or watching their children go through treatment, sick babies, depression, dealing with marital problems, trying to feed kids and pay bills, battling  eating disorders, losing their precious babies to death and many other serious issues.

And I'm upset about a sore ankle?? It'll heal and I'll run again.

Sometimes I feel selfish when I think of that. How can I be so upset that I have an injury that will heal??

I'm one of the ones that struggles to pay bills as a single parent but here I am: crying over the pain in my ankle?

Today, I'm selfish. I Have a 50 km race in 2 months and I may have to do the 25 km or a marathon instead.

POOR ME! (see....how it sounds so stupid when it's put that way) I'll just have to do a 50 km later on. There are tons of races all over the place and I haven't even registered for the 50 km so I can't feel bad about losing entry $ (Ultra's are super cheap anyway, unless you do the 100 milers.)

I won't complain out loud to my friends, my co workers or others to be sure I recognize that I have nothing really to complain about this is my running blog and I can call myself selfish as I see it. This also gives lots of ammunition to those people around me who have piss-poor attitudes about my running and think my distance trail running is not safe...Oh well! Majority rules and most people are on board with me reaching my goals and dreams of being an ultra trial runner.

I turned over on my ankle at some point on the route. I was running with 4 people. Two of the ladies chose to vacate the trails due to the snow and ice and go on the road. My other running buddy and I stayed on the trails. The irony of this is, I didn't even hurt myself on the ice and snow. I was running on plain old dirt, a not-so-steep downhill and I just placed my foot the wrong way. I have never done this before and the POPPING feeling SCARED THE CRAP out of me. Instant pain, not able to walk on it. I can't explain the popping. I'd be horrified to feel what it's like to break a bone!

After a few minutes to catch my breath and get some instructions from Tim to chill for a minute and to go home, I sent him on his way to finish the 20 km. He redirected me to the path back to the car....a 30 min hike up slippery hills and through the beautiful woods.

I don't understand why he wouldn't go run to get the car and pick me up??





Oh, ya...we're in the middle of the woods.

So after the initial painful moment, It didn't seem to hurt much at all. As a matter of fact, I felt a very cold sensation run through my ankle. I thought I might be able to keep running, maybe not the 20 km but something close to that, I was feeling great other than the ankle. I figured I'd go home just as a precaution and to try to figure out that the POP was.

Since it didn't hurt so much, I partly ran the hike back to the car. Not such a good idea afterall.

When I got home, I showered and then thought I'd put my ankle elevated for a bit. That's when I noticed how freakin' swollen it was. I hadn't even thought to look before the shower as it didn't hurt too much.

It was so swollen that I immediately iced it and then headed to the walk in clinic. I didn't know what the heck they could do but I'd at least I might get an idea of what I had done.

The doctor turns out to be good friends with my doctor which is irrelevant but I thought it might have meant he'd know something about athletic injuries or at least have the gonads to be able to say he doesn't know and send me to a specialist. (my doctor rocks!)

So...here it is....a lateral ligament sprain. 3 ligaments but the top one is the worse at this point.

Stay off my feet for 7-10 days AT LEAST and then run flat trails for a while to see if it'll be ok.

I WAS SO RELIEVED!!!!! I almost hugged him!

I still feel sorry for myself that I won't be able to go with my trail running buddies for a few weeks but that's just because I'm being selfish, remember????

Now, writing this blog has made me feel like I've confessed how I feel whiny, selfish and ungrateful for my overall good health, my healthy son and my good life.

 I'm not teary-eyed any more. I'll baby my crackling, popping ankle and do what needs to be done to fix it.

I'm gonna go plan my pilates, weight, swimming plan for the next couple of weeks rather than my runs!