Half Marathons and Sprained Ankles - Please Advise

JTick

Oh ye gods of the long distance races, please reach down and help a mere mortal.

I ran the Columbus half 3 weeks ago. In the first half mile, I had to dodge around a wall of walkers, and felt something give in my ankle. It didn't hurt right away, but by mile 6 I was in serious trouble. I finished the race, limping across the line half an hour after my expected finish time.

At first I thought I had done something to my Achilles, but after getting the swelling down and pinpointing where it was really hurting, I think it's a high ankle sprain on the inside of my ankle. The stupid thing just won't heal.

I've taken it easy. I took a full week off, and then just did a few miles. Today, I tried for a long run. Made it 4 miles, was feeling great, then out of nowhere a sharp pain in my ankle. I quit running as soon as it started hurting.

I had my heart set on the Indianapolis Women's Half on June 7. This is where I need advice.

Do I:

A. Go for Indianapolis
-If this, how do you recommend training until? HIIT on a bike? Long miles on a bike? Running as much as tolerated?
Or do I just plan to walk most of Indianapolis?
B. Wait for my next planned half - Cincinnati half on June 28.
-Same questions as above. How do I let my ankle heal and keep my fitness up?
C. Forget about it! In fact, just stop running you're slow anyways!
D. Insert other option here

Thanks for the help. Super bummed that here I am trying to get fit and my dumb body just won't do what it's supposed to!

sjohnny

My second half marathon was on February 17, 2013. On the evening of February 14, 2013, I was shooting baskets (in flip flops) on a free court while my son was at basketball practice and I jumped up to take a shot and came down on the side of my foot. My first thought was "OH *kitten*! MY RACE IS IN THREE DAYS!" I could barely walk on it. I iced the hell out of it for those days and then headed to the race. And I ran the whole thing and my ankle barely bothered me and I PRd by a significant amount of time.

The day after I tried to go for a short run and couldn't go more than a mile or so. The day after that I could barely walk. I started physical therapy in April or early May (I think) and was off running from the beginning of March until I started a physical therapist prescribed return to running program toward the end of June. After 12 weeks of that I was turned loose and able to get back to regular running. It still took a little while before my ankle was 100%.

The good part is that this year I have PRd at 5K, 10K and half marathon races. I can't help but wonder how much further I would be if I had taken the time to let my ankle heal before running a race on it and been able to resume training sooner.


So, my advice (that I probably wouldn't take) would be to skip it and take it easy and work on getting your ankle back to 100%.


ETA: My PT recommended that I keep walking while my ankle was healing. He actually recommended a bike but I don't have one and don't belong to a gym. He also told me to hold off on heavy squats or deadlifts (so I'm still working on getting those back to where they were).

Carrieendar

Are you able to see a sports med doctor? M husband had a problem like this and they gave him some great exercises to do and helped keep an eye on things, work through the "at home" therapy exercises in the office first then sent him home with a plan.

CarsonRuns

If this is a high ankle sprain, it will take a lot longer to heal than you think. I couple to even 3 weeks of rest will probably be required.

JTick

If this is a high ankle sprain, it will take a lot longer to heal than you think. I couple to even 3 weeks of rest will probably be required.

I was afraid of that. What would you recommend in the meantime? Biking doesn't hurt, but will that keep my fitness level up for running?

A doc isn't much of an option right now, but if it absolutely refuses to heal I'll go. We just got a $500 bill for my IT band injections.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Oh ye gods of the long distance races, please reach down and help a mere mortal.

I ran the Columbus half 3 weeks ago. In the first half mile, I had to dodge around a wall of walkers, and felt something give in my ankle. It didn't hurt right away, but by mile 6 I was in serious trouble. I finished the race, limping across the line half an hour after my expected finish time.

At first I thought I had done something to my Achilles, but after getting the swelling down and pinpointing where it was really hurting, I think it's a high ankle sprain on the inside of my ankle. The stupid thing just won't heal.

I've taken it easy. I took a full week off, and then just did a few miles. Today, I tried for a long run. Made it 4 miles, was feeling great, then out of nowhere a sharp pain in my ankle. I quit running as soon as it started hurting.

I had my heart set on the Indianapolis Women's Half on June 7. This is where I need advice.

Do I:

A. Go for Indianapolis
-If this, how do you recommend training until? HIIT on a bike? Long miles on a bike? Running as much as tolerated?
Or do I just plan to walk most of Indianapolis?
B. Wait for my next planned half - Cincinnati half on June 28.
-Same questions as above. How do I let my ankle heal and keep my fitness up?
C. Forget about it! In fact, just stop running you're slow anyways!
D. Insert other option here

Thanks for the help. Super bummed that here I am trying to get fit and my dumb body just won't do what it's supposed to!

I have no advice for the ankle... but what is the Cincinnati half you speak of? Is it girls only?

Otterluv

My second half marathon was on February 17, 2013. On the evening of February 14, 2013, I was shooting baskets (in flip flops) on a free court while my son was at basketball practice and I jumped up to take a shot and came down on the side of my foot. My first thought was "OH *kitten*! MY RACE IS IN THREE DAYS!" I could barely walk on it. I iced the hell out of it for those days and then headed to the race. And I ran the whole thing and my ankle barely bothered me and I PRd by a significant amount of time.

The day after I tried to go for a short run and couldn't go more than a mile or so. The day after that I could barely walk. I started physical therapy in April or early May (I think) and was off running from the beginning of March until I started a physical therapist prescribed return to running program toward the end of June. After 12 weeks of that I was turned loose and able to get back to regular running. It still took a little while before my ankle was 100%.

The good part is that this year I have PRd at 5K, 10K and half marathon races. I can't help but wonder how much further I would be if I had taken the time to let my ankle heal before running a race on it and been able to resume training sooner.


So, my advice (that I probably wouldn't take) would be to skip it and take it easy and work on getting your ankle back to 100%.


ETA: My PT recommended that I keep walking while my ankle was healing. He actually recommended a bike but I don't have one and don't belong to a gym. He also told me to hold off on heavy squats or deadlifts (so I'm still working on getting those back to where they were).

YEP, Johnny is both wise, and umm, not (you ran on an injury?! How many times have you told me not to do that?!!!). We all do dumbass stuff like this, push it when we shouldn't and end up with a bigger injury. I think that one of the biggest challenges in running, well any kind of training really, is to force yourself to take time off when you need to. I had just really started running when I had a major plantar fasciitis injury, and I HATED taking time out, afraid that I wouldn't get back to it. But, 4 months later and I could ease back in, and now those 4 months are a distant memory.

To answer your question: don't run with sharp, injury type pain. It'll just get worse. Sometimes we can get away with it, but often it just explodes into a MUCH bigger problem.

To keep your fitness up you can try swimming, etc. until it feels better. It may take a week, or it may take much longer.

lporter229

Holding back due to injury is probably one of the worst forms of torture for a runner. I get it, we all get it, but sometimes it's what you need to do. I am just now easing back into running after what inconclusively was determined to be a stress fracture suffered at the beginning of April. Since the MRI results were inconclusive I was very tempted to run, but I listened to my doctors advice and stayed off of it for 6 weeks. It was the longest most excruciating 6 weeks ever and included missing the Flying Pig. But I rode my bike in my orthopedic boot and did my ice therapy and now that I am able to start running a bit I realize that I did the smart thing. My foot feels much better and I did not lose nearly as much ability as I thought. If you take the time to let it heal now, the running will still be there when you are ready. If you do not take the time to let it heal properly, you may risk further injury that can take you out of running for good. Now that would be the worst form of torture...

JTick

I have no advice for the ankle... but what is the Cincinnati half you speak of? Is it girls only?

Nope, not girls only! I have not run their half yet, but I did a 5k put on by this organization last year. It was well run, and I love the low cost of no frills racing. They didn't do medals for the 5k so I can't speak of their quality, but the rest was very good. Here's the link:

http://www.cincyhalfmarathon.com/

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will skip the Indianapolis, and bike and walk in the meantime. I'll aim for the Cincinnati half next. I'd like to complete that one even by walking it, as I've run 3 different cities but not my home town yet. And it's a very flat course, so should be a good one to ease back in.

If my ankle isn't healed by the end of June, then I'll go see my orthopedic. I don't think anything is torn or that it's damaged too badly, just needs rest.

vmclach

My opinion?

Really, really, really bad idea. You were limping all the way to the finish in your last 1/2 a few weeks ago. Please be careful and be wise

3dogsrunning

If this is a high ankle sprain, it will take a lot longer to heal than you think. I couple to even 3 weeks of rest will probably be required.

I was afraid of that. What would you recommend in the meantime? Biking doesn't hurt, but will that keep my fitness level up for running?

A doc isn't much of an option right now, but if it absolutely refuses to heal I'll go. We just got a $500 bill for my IT band injections.

Do you have access to a pool? An old running coach of mine was not able to run during her pregnancy but "ran" in the pool (with a floater belt). Or you could do regular swimming as well.

Stoshew71

Everyone gets injuries. It happends. so take C out. No reason to forget about running all together because you got an injury. I don't know how fast or slow you run, but let's just assume that I agree that you are a slow runner. Who cares? Do you enjoy running? (assume when you are healthy) Are you meeting any of your fitness goals because of the running? So what if you are slow? And you can get faster in time anyway if you stay consistent. So take C out of the equation altogether.

So you have an injury and not sure if you want to run the race you planned to run on June 7 or June 28?

Did you already sign up and pay for any of these races? If not. Can you make a last minute decision? Many races allow you to register the very morning of the race. Many close early. If you did not sign up for either, I would suggest to wait and actually sign up as late as you can until your feel better. Make it a last minute decision. Only reason you would sign up now for either at this point is because you are afraid it will close. At that point, I would say, don't risk a much worse injury and let the race close on you. Wait for the next one. Otherwise, wait as long as you can to sign up for either.

If you signed up for either already, then you have to make decision on trying to get a refund (if you can) or transfer your spot to someone else (if you can), run the race anyway (should be a last minute decision), or bite the bullet and lose your entry fee and not run.

Did you get it checked out by a doctor? Sounds like you didn't. Sounds like a self diagnosed injury. I can feel for ya on this cause I hate going to a doctor too.

So if you are stubborn like me and not go to a doctor but still try and figure out a way to make this race or the next race work, well you are going to have to go into either race with the realization that you won't be as prepared as much as you like compared to if you were healthy all this time. You will have to take it easy until you no longer feel the pain. You may have to wear some extra support (either an ankle brace or a stretchy support thing). You may not be able to run long distances or very fast at all for a while. If you went to see a doctor, they would probably tell you not to run at all.

The point is, you did something and you need to rest it and be patient while it heals. Think RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

So, you got it in your head that you are going to run one of these upcoming races even tho you need to rest. How do you keep fitness up. Well, cross training is the first thing that comes to mind. Elliptical, biking, swimming... any sustained cardio that will take less pressure on the ankle will help a lot. Is it the same thing as running? No. Will I loose fitness? Probably some, but not as much as you think. Should I expect to PR on any of these two upcoming races? Most likely not.

So why bother? Well that is a decision you have to make. Are you going to let an injury hold you down forever and force you to change your overall goals? It is a mishap. Something beyond your control. June may come as you may or may not be healthy enough to run either of these 2 races. But there will be other races that you can train for. If you decide to run or decide not to run either of these 2 races, the most important thing to decide is will you run once you do get better.

JTick

Everyone gets injuries. It happends. so take C out. No reason to forget about running all together because you got an injury. I don't know how fast or slow you run, but let's just assume that I agree that you are a slow runner. Who cares? Do you enjoy running? (assume when you are healthy) Are you meeting any of your fitness goals because of the running? So what if you are slow? And you can get faster in time anyway if you stay consistent. So take C out of the equation altogether.

So you have an injury and not sure if you want to run the race you planned to run on June 7 or June 28?

Did you already sign up and pay for any of these races? If not. Can you make a last minute decision? Many races allow you to register the very morning of the race. Many close early. If you did not sign up for either, I would suggest to wait and actually sign up as late as you can until your feel better. Make it a last minute decision. Only reason you would sign up now for either at this point is because you are afraid it will close. At that point, I would say, don't risk a much worse injury and let the race close on you. Wait for the next one. Otherwise, wait as long as you can to sign up for either.

If you signed up for either already, then you have to make decision on trying to get a refund (if you can) or transfer your spot to someone else (if you can), run the race anyway (should be a last minute decision), or bite the bullet and lose your entry fee and not run.

Did you get it checked out by a doctor? Sounds like you didn't. Sounds like a self diagnosed injury. I can feel for ya on this cause I hate going to a doctor too.

So if you are stubborn like me and not go to a doctor but still try and figure out a way to make this race or the next race work, well you are going to have to go into either race with the realization that you won't be as prepared as much as you like compared to if you were healthy all this time. You will have to take it easy until you no longer feel the pain. You may have to wear some extra support (either an ankle brace or a stretchy support thing). You may not be able to run long distances or very fast at all for a while. If you went to see a doctor, they would probably tell you not to run at all.

The point is, you did something and you need to rest it and be patient while it heals. Think RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

So, you got it in your head that you are going to run one of these upcoming races even tho you need to rest. How do you keep fitness up. Well, cross training is the first thing that comes to mind. Elliptical, biking, swimming... any sustained cardio that will take less pressure on the ankle will help a lot. Is it the same thing as running? No. Will I loose fitness? Probably some, but not as much as you think. Should I expect to PR on any of these two upcoming races? Most likely not.

So why bother? Well that is a decision you have to make. Are you going to let an injury hold you down forever and force you to change your overall goals? It is a mishap. Something beyond your control. June may come as you may or may not be healthy enough to run either of these 2 races. But there will be other races that you can train for. If you decide to run or decide not to run either of these 2 races, the most important thing to decide is will you run once you do get better.

I appreciate your response.

I haven't signed up for either. My run today was going to be the deciding factor for Indy...4 miles isn't enough to say I'm healthy enough for it. I haven't registered for Cinci yet either, but can register the week of.

Like I mentioned earlier, I'd rather not go to the orthopedic quite yet. He's a great sports doctor, but I was literally JUST there due to chronic IT band problems and ran up a bill of $500 when I had to get a cortisone injection. So I'd rather try to rest on my own before needing to get xrays or an MRI. I am familiar enough with my body/injuries that I don't *think* I tore something, I think it's just strained really bad.

Thank you guys for the help. In the back of my mind I know that this is what I need to do - just rest. But is solidifies my decision that I'm not being a wimp and shouldn't push for it. Indianapolis will be there next year.

I don't have access to a pool, but have a couple different kinds of stationary bikes and ellipticals at my disposal. So I will use those as my ankle tolerates (which so far they've been just fine) and will walk as well. Again, thank you guys for the help!

JTick

My opinion?

Really, really, really bad idea. You were limping all the way to the finish in your last 1/2 a few weeks ago. Please be careful and be wise

And that is in the back of my mind as well. I keep thinking back to how MISERABLE that race was. I cried....like BAWLED...at mile 8 because I was still so far from the finish line and it just hurt so bad. I can't do another race like that. I had to force myself to finish that race, and it was the most defeating, heart breaking, painful run I've ever had to do. I don't need to put myself into that situation again. I'm still a pretty new runner...I don't need to break my spirit.