Saturday, June 21, 2014

When the Cankle Howled


I feel like American "culture" is lacking in many ways. One of the things that rubs me the wrong way is our "fast food culture" of thought. It permeates nearly every aspect of our lives- we can get meals fast (duh), there are gizmos to help us do X faster, and pills & "miracles" to lose weight fast among 1000's of other "do this quicker" schemes. We are always looking for the quick (lazy half-assed) way because that's what is being shoved down our throats every place we turn.
CB doesn't want to hear me talk about this anymore.

This week post Monday's PT session- and once my ankle cooled down from the Graston, I was feeling good. For the first time in 6 weeks, my Cankle wasn't full of hate in the morning.

I was looking forward to my 3rd PT session Friday afternoon. I was prepared to ask the PT if I could start running again. I was dreaming about participating in some of my favorite fall races. After some "side steps" and "monsters" I climbed up onto the table. 10 seconds into the Graston, I winced in pain as the tool touched something very tender on my Cankle. And that was the end of Graston for the day. The PT massaged my Cankle and I finished the rest of my exercises.
My face when the cankle howled.

I did end up getting the "return to running" program from the PT but am hesitant to even start that. I want to do the right thing with my ankle which involves letting it heal, and doing all my PT prescribed exercises religiously at home. Talking about long term here.

I was so bummed sitting on the table after the graston incident. I went from incredibly encouraged that this Cankle shit was almost behind me to stewing in anger that I had to reconsider everything and abandon the pipe dreams I had created again. I knew this process would take a while- last time I got the tendonitis it took 6+ months for me not to feel it anymore. I didn't seek treatment for it back then. But this time I got sucked into the "fast food culture" that after 3 PT sessions, my Cankle was nearly healed and I could start easing back into my pre Cankle activities because it was feeling happy again.

My takeaway from this Friday's meltdown is that I need to be patient and not rush this and not get sucked into our lazy ass American mentality of "we can totes rush this process MOAR SHORTCUT FASTER QUICK."


-Xaar

5 comments:

  1. I totally get what you are saying. I kept trying to rush back into running and it only delayed it as far as I can tell. Hope your cankle quits howling and you are back to running again, until then keep enjoying life :)

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  2. Yes, completely agree that some people only look for "quick fixes" to their problems. It has taken me about 10 PT sessions (plus many additional trips to the gym) to actually start feeling just a little bit stronger and confident with my ankle. Getting fit and staying fit takes a lot of work, day in and day out. It takes months of base building to work through all of the aches and pains associated with starting from scratch. I think a lot of people drop out of running and say "I quit! Running is bad for your _____ (fill in leg part)" because they don't have the desire to get past the initial struggles that we all go through as runners. You are correct that you just need to be patient. :)

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    1. Its encouraging to hear about your progress. It is a long process and correcting/strengthening our muscle/ankle issues cannot be fixed quickly as I realize. (im not super human womp). After 1.5 weeks and 3 sessions I already notice difference with my hip exercises and more stability. Its nice to see progress... definitely keeps me extra motivated to stay diligent...

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  3. Do you think it's an "american" thing or a athlete thing to want to run (har de har har) back to the sport we love? I think it's natural to want to get back to it as quickly as possible and to be hopeful! You aren't looking for a quick fix. You have been very patient and resting a lot, so when the PT made you feel better, you were optimistic. Nothing wrong with that! The good part is that you are smart enough not to rush it. The bad part is that you have to think about this at all :( Stupid cankle get better! (I will rush it for you)

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