Sunday, October 27, 2024.
I like to have future runs & races planned out. With some 10+ races on the books for late fall/early winter, I like to think of myself in a ‘constant state of training’.
Visiting family in the greater New Orleans, I decided to wake up a little early (4:30AM) and go for a 6 – 7-mile run. Running this early would get my Sunday run in and get me back in time to clean up and be ready for some quality grandkid time.
I’ve run this route dozens of times… the course winding its way through 2 neighborhoods and a city park. Nothing new about this route… and I always run with a headlamp to guide my path.
I was having a good run! You know those… where the miles just seem to effortlessly go by. In fact, I remember commenting to myself how well the run was coming along. Mile 1… mile 2… mile 3… mile 4… mile 5… all uneventful.
Then comes mile 5.2…
Running in a street alongside a golf course, always facing traffic, I noticed a car approaching. No worries… it quickly turn into the club house parking lot.
I continue running.
My attention then moves to a house on my right that during my previous run through this neighborhood was nearing completion. All the construction equipment and scaffolding is gone… and what remains is a beautifully lit home that has a special gold tint to it. I smile… because it truly is an add to the neighborhood.
Then it happened.
Somehow in my concern for an approaching car along with admiring newly completed homes, I missed a hole in the road.
It wasn’t a big hole mind you… but it was large enough to have my right ankle firmly depress into the ‘abyss’ that was much lower than the actual street level. It hurt.
Then my right ankle returned to the street level… and then I really felt it. It felt as though someone took a baseball bat and targeted with absolute accuracy my right heel.
The pain was IMMEDIATE and EXCRUCIATING! You know… on the 1-10 pain scale, it was a 14,658.
I bolted forward. Almost lost my balance- very close to falling- but somehow managed to keep it. I stumbled over to the side of the road and was able to literally hop my way to a nearby chain link fence that was surrounding a construction zone.
I paused.
“What the heck just happened?” I found myself wondering. I attempted to place a little weight on the right ankle. INCREDIBLE PAIN. So I decided to wait. We, as runners, know we must fight through pain. Most of our pain is what could be described as ‘transitory’: meaning here now but gone (or at least not as intense) in a relatively short period of time.
After balancing myself on my left leg for what seemed like ‘forever’, I attempted to place a little weight on my right ankle again.
PAIN!
My ankle was simply not getting any better. All the scenarios of me returning under my own power back to my daughter’s home depended on my ability to place sufficient weight on my right ankle… and this was simply not an option.
I had 1 option left… call my wife.
Technology can be a good thing… especially when the health of a person is in need. My wife answered… I dropped a pin to my location… and about 20 minutes later she arrived.
I must have looked rather pitiful balancing myself on my left foot while trying to retain my balance while holding on to a rather flimsy construction chain link fence. I decided not to sit down on the curb since I was uncertain I would be able to stand up. She placed my arm around her shoulder and walked me back to the car.
The pain in my right ankle was THROBBING. NON-STOP THROBBING. We decided to go to my daughter’s house and I would obtain a new shirt and then go to a local ER.
One hour later… at the ER… X-rays… nothing broken but the x-ray is showing other issues. I would need an MRI to fully determine those. But it’s Sunday… in New Orleans… and we live in Houston. Time to head home… a 6 hour drive along I-10… with pain medications ‘in tow’.
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Ruptured Runner 
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