I’m benched. From running, it’s miserable. Last summer I thought I had an ankle injury. My Doctor told me it was probably a sprain and to stop running. I ignored him. I was in the middle of training for my first half-marathon. Also, I didn’t think it was a sprain, so I ignored him.

I kept running, but it hurt. A lot. I told myself I would rest after the half-marathon. I did. I rested a full month. Guess what? My ankle still hurt. My Doctor sent me to physical therapy, which actually helped, until I started running again. My ankle was a little better, but my right glute hurt like mad and my right foot went numb two miles in. Miserable.

My Physical Therapist was sure the problem was in my back. It took a while, but eventually my Doctor ordered an MRI. It showed a protrusion, tear, herniation – whatever, they all call it something different – in my lower back.

He told me to stop running.

I didn’t.

Next stop was a spinal surgeon who ordered more x-rays and tests. He told me to stop running.

I didn’t, at first. But I gave in, thinking if the rogue disk could heal I could get back to running after a month off. That was 50 days ago. My newest Doctor (who, as a Purdue graduate I only half trust because he went to IU) is injecting some poison into my back next week to help them see which disk is causing my problem.

He also suggested I stop running. Forever.

I asked my Facebook friends how many Doctors have to give them the same advice before they follow it. The answers ranged from 4 (but only if her mom and all of her friends agree) to 42. My favorite response came from Jo who said, “Who needs doctors when you’ve got the internet?” I agree, all of those people can’t be wrong.

Right?

So to run or not to run, that’s the question. Dr. Hoosier gave me a long lecture about running. He said he gets it, that it’s my one thing – after giving everything else to the family – that’s just for me. That it’s social, not just physical. That there is nothing like running. Nothing feels as good or is as rewarding as a good run. It’s like he read my mind.

It was really annoying.

Dr. Hoosier suggested I give this device a try:

Seriously. I don’t think I can buy that unless I’m on Medicare. And living in Florida (God’s waiting room). And completely disinterested in ever being cool, even among other almost 40-year-olds, ever again.

Yeah…so, I’m probably going to start running again.

How many times do you have to hear professional medical advice before you take it?

As you all know I have a love/hate relationship with running. I love the way it feels, especially after I get through the first mile. I love the way it makes me look, more lean less cheese. I love the comradre with friends that has come out of hours spent running and chatting. I like how it feels to know that I can run 10 miles and live.

I hate putting my shoes on and walking out the door. I also hate being injured – which I currently am. Last month after an 8-miler I injured my right achilles. It hurt a lot. I could hardly walk on it. I took some time off and did stretches. I even bought this handy contraption to wear to bed. Of course, I waited until after Dallas left from R & R to try it out – he probably couldn’t handle how sexy it made me look.

Hot, I know. But it worked. My right achilles is totally fine. However, my left ankle has some issues. It hurts all the time. Walking, running, going up and down stairs, constantly. Except when my left shin or left knee hurts instead. It sucks. I can barely walk without wincing. I’m still running, but I have to get up extra early so I can load up on ibuprofen beforehand. It’s not bad to take four or five of those at a time is it?

I’ve also invested in several contraptions to help heal my ankle/shin/knee issue.

The first was this brace, it doesn’t help at all but at least it was cheap.

Next I tried this air cast, borrowed from Sara. It helped a little, as long as I didn’t have to walk much.

I went to the Doctor who suggested this lace-up ankle brace. He also suggested I stop running for a while. (That’s not an option. Duh.) This worked on my ankle, but I couldn’t wear it in a shoe. I also couldn’t run in it. Not that I’m running, Doctor.

I also bought this brace. I thought it was going to be awesome. And it is, for walking. But when I run it feels like someone is driving rusty nails into my ankle. Which is slightly worse than how they feel normally.

In the midst of all this, my shins started bothering me so I bought compression socks. Three different pair. Only the expensive, full sock type works. I wear them before and after a long run. They make a huge difference, sadly I can only find one of them. I think the big kids hid them so they wouldn’t have to babysit while I run. They’re passive aggressive like that.

My knee hurts too, so I bought this knee brace. It helps a lot, but I could never wear it running. It gives me muffin top on my legs. Gross.

I even purchased this thing, which makes me feel super old. It also helps me remember to take vitamins, which may or may not have caused/helped with my injury.

Most recently I bought new shoes. (Perhaps my shoes are causing the problem and not my birth date?) I was happy to do it. The last time I bought shoes the salesman suggested Saucony’s made for flat-footed losers like me. They look like pink orthopedic shoes. I hate them. My new shoes are fabulous. They look like blue orthopedic shoes.

I don’t want to think about how much I’ve spent. (It’s only money, Dallas’ll make more!) But guess what? My ankle still hurts. Every single step. It sucks. But I’m still running. Slower than I would like to be and not nearly as much, but I’m still running. I have a race this weekend and a half-marathon at the end of the month. Even if I have to  limp across the finish line – I’m doing it.

I’m also linking up with my friend Jamie for a project called Run.Blog.Give. We are forming a virtual team to run 2,429 miles. It’s the distance between BlogHer ’11 in San Diego and BlogHer ’12 in NYC. But running is not enough, we want to give something back too. I plan to donate $1 for every mile I run to The American Widow Project. If you are a blogger you can link up too. You don’t have to donate to the American Widow Project, but I’d give you a giant virtual kiss if you did. If you don’t want to link up or aren’t a blogger and would like to donate your miles to Team Twinisms, note it in the comments. I’ll email you each week to collect your miles and log them in. If we log the most miles Jamie will make a donation to my charity, The American Widow Project.

Run. Blog. Give. 

If me and my crappy old ankle can do it, so can you.