Pain-Enforced Rest

It’s been a month to the date since I last ran. November 21 was the date of the Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon, the latter of which I ran. It was great fun. The weather was almost perfect: sunny, with temperatures in the upper 30s or low 40s. Although I had some trepidation going into it, the energy of the mass off other runners made the experience exhilarating. As I had done during the Broad Street Run, I ran without music, and I didn’t miss it at all.

Unfortunately, the week before the race, I ended my last training run with pain and weakness in my left ankle. I spent the week wearing an ankle brace (which I also wore during the race), but I knew that I was going to have to take a few weeks off to let my ankle heal. I also made a trip to the orthopedist, who prescribed physical therapy.

I’m happy about the physical therapy, though. I’ve learned that, in many cases, running injuries can be prevented with the right combinations of exercise, stretching, rest, and so on. I’m hoping that what I learn in PT will forestall at least some future injuries.

The orthopedist also recommended that I wait until I’ve gone two weeks pain-free before running again. At that time, I’ll need to spend a little while running on soft surfaces, like a local track or a treadmill. For me, two weeks will end Sunday, and you can bet I’ll be running again next week!