Unpredictability

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack …

Back from a lot, it seems. Back from not blogging. Almost back from two stressful home negotiations (more on that later). And not quite back from Anklegate 2011. Here I am smiling a few days after the "accident," with no idea the frustration to come. 

As everyone knows, I broke my ankle on my 30^th birthday thanks to a Sir Chachi Soderlund (Yes, he’s been knighted). I had surgery a week later and am now the proud owner of a bum ankle with a metal plate, five screws and imperfect reattached ligaments. Here's how it looked a week after surgery-fatty alert! (but cute toes-like I've said time and time again, never trust a girl who doesn't paint her toes). 

Having a Terminator ankle and not having used said body part for seven weeks has presented some problems getting back into the walking and exercising scene. I have more good days than bad, but I never know when a bad day will occur. And we all know what happens when something happens that I haven’t anticipated: TYPE A FACE EXPLOSION!!!

When I do work out, my ankle feels fine. I started out just doing the exercise bike and elliptical because those were less stressful on it, but I’ve moved on to running and taking weights classes. The only exercises I have a hard time with right now are walking lunges (can’t even do them on one side), lunges in general (I can do them but I definitely can’t do them with weights on my shoulders or in my hands) and anything involving balance.

The problem lies afterward. I never ever know how a workout is going to affect my ankle. Sometimes, it’s perfectly fine and I’m walking normal. Other times, it’s a little tight and I’m rocking a bit of a pimp limp. And there are times (like after I ran four miles outside) where I look like FDR, the polio days. A few times lately, I’ve had to hit up my babies (i.e. Vicodin-killer buzz) because I’m in quite a bit of pain. 

I’ve found the shoes I wear also have a lot to do with how the Terminator feels. Gym shoes and flat boots seem to serve it well. Sparkle flats or sandals-not so much.  I’ve tried on high heels a few times, and it’s gone from “Omg omg omg stabbing” to “Not so bad, not so bad, OK enough.”  So hopefully I’m getting there, but I think I’m a ways away from rockin’ a 5’8” stature thanks to some stilettos. It’s gotten so bad that I actually saw a pair of Naturalizer flats and said “Oh those are cute!” FML.

I’ve done some research online, and I’ve read it can take anywhere from a year to never for your ankle to feel back to normal. I ran into a woman in the elevator who had surgery on both her ankles 25 years ago and she said she still has issues. Le sigh.

It’s frustrating because I want to be back to working out four to five times a week, but it seems the ankle can only handle three, maaaaaybe four on a good week. A lot of days, after a long day of commuting downtown and walking a lot, it’s just not up for a workout. Oh yeah, it also depends on the weather. I've become a human barometer. 

My short-term goals are to be able to run a 5K by the end of the summer and take a kickboxing class. It's not that I can't do the run, it's more that I won't know how my ankle will feel on race day. Long-term goal is to run another 10K.

Chach’s short- and long-term goals for me is to break another bone so  I can stay home all day with him. Here he is performing his new trick of sitting on the top stair in hopes of tripping me on the way down.