I was at a bookstore on December 20th, 2024. I was just taking a snap of the beautifully decorated Christmas store. My eyes were on the camera, and I didn't realize there was a hole in the tiles. Apparently, the tiles that were supposed to be uniform had a hole, and I didn't realize until my ankle slipped, and then it got twisted.
There was extreme pain for five seconds, and my leg was back to normal.
The next 10 days were as regular as the days before them.
I resumed my running and other workouts in the first week of January.
I was doing my regular 5ks. The first day was good. The second day was good. The third day, I wanted to improve my pace and so I was just trying to run faster than usual.
I noticed a slight discomfort in my ankle. It felt weird, and I thought maybe I had wrong-footed or the ground wasn't even. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable to apply pressure to my feet. I still finished my run.
In retrospect, I feel I should have just abandoned my run and got my ankle checked.
But yours truly self-diagnosed it as nothing, continued running and playing multiple sports. Despite the discomfort.
Then I had my cricket matches. I couldn't press on my ankle. In cricket, whenever we dive, we have to apply pressure to our ankles to give us the push into the air to dive. It wasn't happening because every time I applied pressure, my ankle didn't have enough strength to take the pressure.
I continued to play for a couple of months with my injury. I could sense I wasn't fully fit. I was running with pain. I was sprinting with pain. I wasn't at my best with my wicketkeeping. My reflexes towards my right were slow.
I thought I could manage, but I was only hurting my team and myself. So I forced myself to take a two-month break from running and cricket. I haven't played any matches, but I went to my cricket training sessions with minimal effort on my ankle.
The discomfort in my ankle has reduced, and the strength has increased as well.
My movements are not slow. It is not restricted by the sudden shock or pain, but I am still conscious and mindful of my steps.
Anyway - The good news is I will resume my runs soon. It's been over six months and I just started testing my ankle for running. I checked on the treadmill or just in short distances in my cricket training.
I'm not sure if the treadmill is the best place to start because of the hard surface. But I was able to run a kilometer comfortably, and I didn't overstretch it.
I am excited. I miss running.
I really want to get back because it is more of a mental exercise than physical.
In cricket, events are explosive. There's calm, and then you play a ball with intensity, then there's calm again.
But running is a gradual line with moderate intensity. No spikes.
I look within myself without even trying. It's an unplanned, unconscious journaling. There's a revelation about my behavior. It's calming than it is tiring.
It's one of my peak meditative activities and I wish I get back on road soon.