Everything has been going incredibly well on the fitness front for me these past few months. Lots of PRs across activities! So much consistency and dedication! Even Italy was a success. I dined! I wined! I ran and used the gym! 2024 NYC Marathon here I come...
Then I got hurt. Welp! I messed that good streak up didn't I?
The next morning after coming back from our Italy trip, I went to an early morning CrossFit class (July 15). Honestly, I did not feel particularly tired or jetlagged. I even had a good night sleep. During class, we did a great warm-up so I felt prepared. The actual WOD involved box jumps, which I don't do anymore because of all my ankle and IT band injuries (you'll see...but LOL). No problem, I've been doing step-ups for years now (same box height, no jumping up, but I do jump down). It's challenging enough for my needs without risking getting hurt.
What happened makes NO sense to me. This is a movement that I have done in some fashion for 10+ years now. I know the mechanics, the risks, how to land - all of it. At the very end of the WOD, after my last rep, I remember looking up at the clock while standing on the box to check my finish time. I remember making eye contact with the coach and doing some kind of head nod or thumbs up that I finished. Then I don't remember exactly what I did next. I fell off the box....and all my weight went onto my right ankle (haha! Not the usual one I sprain, a newbie!)
Was the adrenaline hiding my fatigue and my leg cramped or gave out causing me to fall off the box? Did I misstep? Did I lose my balance? Did I try to jump down and misjudged something? Another peer nearby later told me that it almost looked like I crumbled off the box. Everyone agreed that it was bizarre.
As soon as it happened, I knew it was really bad. This is not my first rodeo. I felt immediate sharp pain. Swelling within minutes. Bruising within hours. Even more swelling that night. Of course I followed protocol right away: Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. I was seen by my trusty doc a few days later as well once the swelling went down a bit to assess the damage and get an actual diagnosis. Grade 2 sprain in 2 places (joy!) - I sprained the calcaneofibular and posterior talofibular ligaments.
So what does this mean for the marathon? Mind you - I was 1/4 through my training when this happened. So about 4 weeks into a 16 week plan.
I haven't run in 3 weeks which really sucks, especially for my mental health. I was a little ahead with my training, but the window of that advantage has now closed. I just started biking this week because I'm now able to lock out my ankle mostly pain-free and push a pedal. The goal is to now replace what was on the schedule for a long run with biking (e.g. 14 miles running becomes 14 miles biking).
I have also been doing mini WODS involving rounds of seated dumbbell press, kneeling push-ups, and sit-ups from home. There are not many things that don't use your ankle or that are not weight bearing on your feet! I've also been paying more attention to nutrition and supplements to help the healing process along.
This sprain feels different than the past. It's hard to put into words, but I feel different. The sprain feels different. At this point, I'm trying not to be too depressingly pessimistic or naively optimistic though. I'm still in the early stage of this injury to really know what my next steps in terms of events will be (no pun intended).
OK - I lied. Let's speculate. I think the absolute best case scenario is that I start running the last week of August. And when I say running, I mean first steps. 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles max. Forget about pace (what is pace...what is life).
Then I start ramping up with 8 weeks to go until the marathon (that's actually disgusting to even write down - 8 weeks!)
- What does the first long run look like?
- How far do I train until? (is the final "long" 16, 18, 20 miles?)
- How much rest do I give myself between long runs now that I'm on an expediated timeline?
- How do I play catch-up while simultaneously not risk re-injury?
- What's my cut off point of deciding if I need to defer? (insert crying emoji here)
Per usual, the Staten Island Half (October 13) will be a good test. Damn that race. Because of it's timing, it has literally been a "test" for me every year for various reasons.
There's a lot to unpack here. Getting hurt sucks. The way I got hurt feels particularly dumb. The timing is awful (couldn't this have happened December through May!) It's difficult to explain to people how the running world revolves around events. It's really no different the seasons of various sports. All the work you put into your craft is for the events and the races. And then there's the whole aspect that much of what I specifically do is not just "sign up, anyone can do it". So there's also all the time, money, resources that have been put into earning those entries and invitations.
All of this to say - I'm sorry that I'm constantly complaining! Just remember:
YOU TOO can get off the couch, strive for a healthy lifestyle, and be hurt all the time just like me (also said in jest, but only sort of).
