No, not tequila... though that does come in a very close 2nd place...
BIKRAM!
I have been going twice a week as part of my cross-training SLASH mental therapy SLASH physical therapy. It really is a wonderful way to address everything I need. I can tell it has been 5 months, plus about 300 miles on my feet since my last class. I am hurting in postures I never have before, and not just in my ankles. Of course, awkward poster #2, balancing stick, and eagle are tough on the ankles:
Awkward
Balancing Stick
Eagle
But they don't HURT in the awful, debilitating way they hurt when I would run. I can tell the postures are really helping (re)strengthen the parts of my body that have beaten neglected given the cold shoulder since I have turned into a running machine. I am really happy to have time in that sweaty, smelly, steamy room for 90 minutes twice a week. I have missed it.
Still going to spin twice a week also. And lifting + some other cross training once a week. Proud of myself for hangin' in there through all of this.
I am pulling out all the stops with my treatment/prevention of this stupid ankle crap. I did some research on my own (now that I am confidently out of the "cry my eyes out, so upset, the world is ending, poor me" phase) about what exactly is wrong and how to fix it.
Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunctio
(said in an evil, scary, ominous, echo-y voice)
This is the tendon I hurt. Isn't it pretty?
Yep. Anything with DYSFUNCTION in it is right up my alley, so this is a perfect diagnosis for me.
I spend an hour googling this crap today, and found that there's a ton of runners out there equally as pissed off and angry as I am about this teeeeeeny little tendon. I got some good tips on dealing with it. I am currently functioning in the mindset of "I don't have time to try one thing at a time before the race, so I will spend the next 4 weeks doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING simultaneously in hopes that SOMETHING will help." Yea, may not be the smartest, but TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE HERE, PEOPLE! Cut me some slack!
So, summary of what I will be obsessed with for the next 4 weeks:
-Ice, ice, baby.
-PT stretches that made me mad previously, stopped for about a week, but need to continue doing.
-Cross training: Spin, weights, and especially the magical healing powers of Bikram.
-KT tape. PINK AND ORANGE KT tape. Colors help.
-SuperFeet inserts. Neon green. Again, colors are on the road to recovery...
-Wearing shoes with good arch support... as often as I can. (C'mon. I am a girl. I gotta wear uncomfortable heels every once in a while...)
-I got some new horse pills, I mean, NSAID's from my doctor since NOTHING has been working. Hope these bad boys help the inflammation.
-Not running. (grrr...)
-Regular stretching, not just the PT mumbo-jumbo.
-Willing myself to feel better.
-Praying to God, Buddha, Mother Nature, Allah, you name it.
-Massages from my sweet boyfriend. (right? please?)
OK maybe those last 3 are me going out on a desperate limb, but whatever makes me sleep well at night and not spaz out about the race, I am gonna go with.
Oh, and tequila. That helps too, right?
Again, as I have said before, and I say at least 20 times a day to myself:
I WILL RUN THIS MARATHON.
