A slap in the face

Still singing the injured ankle blues, unfortunately.  I felt pretty good after the adjustment the podiatrist did.  I I ran on it the next day, then that Sunday, and I was a little sore.  I called her and her staff relayed messages back and forth between me and the doctor.  She said it was normal to have soreness after the adjustment.  So, why didn't she tell me I needed to rest for a week or something?  Instead, she tells me it's ok to run, and I'm wondering if I'm hurting myself even more!  After Sunday's run, I stayed off of it till Thursday.  The funny thing is, I was having this little funny feeling in my ankle the day before and the day of my run.  I decided to run Thursday anyways, then I ran Friday, did Zumba Saturday, and ran Sunday again.  Four days in a row of physical activity.  I think it was a little too much, lol.  Today it was pretty sore behind the ankle.  I'm hoping it will be a little better because I plan to run tomorrow morning.  Here I am still wondering if I should just stay off of it for a while, but then I only have 11 weeks till the Charleston Distance Run.  I may have to forget about this race this year, which is devastating for me to think about, but if I can't do it then there's no reason to push for a faster recovery than I'm capable of.

I went back to the physical therapist.  The same guy who saw me free the first two times.  I told him I wanted to be a paying customer this time, so he doesn't get in trouble.  He said ok, and he did a full workup on me.  He even had another physical therapist take a look at me.  At this point, the other PT just starts ripping me to shreds, lol.  My left hip is weaker than my right hip, and this is what's causing my ankle problem, because other muscles are trying to compensate for the weakness.  My core is weak.  All my leg muscles are tight, which prevents my running form from being at his full potential.  My upper torso tightens up when I run.  I arch my back and throw my hips back when I walk and run, and that is just wrong.  At this point, I'm thinking holy cow, how do I even get through a day by myself, lol??  I had not one single problem last year and now I apparently don't know how to run or walk, haha.  They gave me strengthening and stretching exercises to do, and I'm supposed to go back this coming Thursday.  Apparently, the shoes may have been the culprit, but I would've eventually developed a problem sooner or later, according to the PT.  I'm just really overwhelmed at the fact that these measley little exercises are supposed to transform me into a better runner and cure me.  The last few days, I have really focused on keeping my hips forward when standing and walking.  It's really hard teaching yourself to stand and walk differently.  Something that you never had to think about, now you have to think about all day long.

I am just venting, lol.  I am taking this seriously.  I really love my physical therapist(s), and I understand what they are telling me.  Under all the whining, I am determined to beat this and to get stronger.  It's just really hard to hear that something you do so naturally has been wrong your whole life, lol.  I just want my ankle to heal so I can run like everybody else.  I miss it so much, it tears me up inside.

And all this because some new stinking Asics and a treadmill........