Happy Hump Day,

Today, started out like most Wednesdays. I woke up, pulled on my running clothes that I laid out the night before, grabbed my ipod, kissed Eric goodbye, and I was out the door. A four mile run was on the agenda for today. However, my plan was spoiled about 1/2 mile into my run. There is a lot of construction going on around our house, and in some places the sidewalk just stops, leaving me no choice but to run on the road. This usually wouldn't be a problem, except on this particular road the shoulder was covered in gravel and rocks. I bet you can guess what happened next. As I was jogging, completely lost in my thoughts, I hit a rock with the side of my foot and argh a shooting pain ran through my ankle as it rolled outward.I immediately thought, "oh no, not again, my race is in three weeks!" I took a few gentle steps to assess the damage, and was not pleased by the not so lovely feeling in my ankle. I sat down on the curb and took off my shoes to see if my ankle was swollen. It had started to swell slightly, but not too bad. At this point, I stood back up and thought about trying to run again, but then I heard Eric's voice in my head, "Lauren don't you dare, you're going to make it worse." So I started to limp back home. I felt like it took me forever to get home.

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This is not the first time I have injured myself before a race. Three years ago, I was training for the White Rock marathon and I got a stress fracture in my ankle. The following year, I was training for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon and managed to get a stress fracture in my sacrum! Who does that? So when I rolled my ankle this morning, I immediately assumed the racing curse had struck again!

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I am currently sitting with my leg propped up on pillows on the coffee table with ice glued to my ankle. Since my ankle hasn't turned my favorite shade of eggplant, and I can still hobble around without wanting to cry, I'm thinking I should be back to running in a few days. Until then, it's R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression, elevation) for me!

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Injuries are a never ending problem for runners. If it's not our ankles, its runners knee, illiotibial band syndrome, or shin splints. We simply have to fight the good fight as bet we can. Since I am not an orthopedic or a sports medicine doctor, I do not feel qualified to hand out injury prevention advice. However, my good friends over at RunnersWorld.com sure are. Here are a couple of my favorite injury prevention articles: (although none of them talk about running on rock infested roads)

How to avoid 5 common running injuries (ITBS, shin splints, runners knee, and more)

Foam Rolling for Runners If you are new to foam rolling, these videos are great!

My Knees Ache- If you are having knee pain, this article can help you narrow in on what ails you.

The 10 laws of injury prevention

IT Band Relief Yoga Routine- With this video we can prevent injuries and accomplish our November Health Goal

These articles and videos are great for anyone who works our regularly, not just runners! I hope they help you stay healthy as you strive to reach all of your health and fitness goals!

Food for thought:
Have you even injured yourself while training for a race?
Do you ever suffer from one of the common running injuries (shin splints, runners knee, ITBS)?

In health,

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