It’s been more than twenty years!

With a deadline of my 40th birthday, I set a goal to do something I haven’t been able to do in over TWENTY years. And with 1 day to spare, I completed it! What haven’t I done in over twenty years??? RUN.

Here is some background. As a teenager, I was very involved in sports, primarily basketball and softball. I was also prone to ankle injuries. I had countless ankle sprains, taped my ankles for every practice/game, wore braces, did physical therapy, all of it. When I was 15, I underwent a bone scan for other reasons and was told that my ankles showed the “wear and tear” of a middle aged person and that if I continued with my current regimen, I would be in pain by the time I was 40 (just walking around). Now at 15, that seemed very far off and I was young and healthy, the idea of being in constant pain was unimaginable.

Fast forward a couple years to college. No longer in organized sports but still very active in the gym, taking classes, etc. I quickly learned that running either outside or on a treadmill was no longer an option. After a little bit (we’re talking 5-10 min of running) my ankles hurt. Sharp, shooting pain with every step after only short periods of time. I tried many times but ultimately, had to stop running.

Another few years and I started hiking with my husband. After a 10 mile day hike my ankles would hurt but not like when I ran, so doable. Add in backpacking with additional weight and I had maybe 4-5 miles before the pain set in. At this point, I was resigned to the fact that I would just hike for as long as I could before my ankle pain limited me completely.

Then, at 36 years old we changed our lifestyle. We started eating a whole food, plant based diet. Were we perfect? No. Not everything was whole food but it was plant based. But we were CONSISTENT. I do a lot of reading about plant based diets and health. I listen to podcasts, read research studies, books, etc. A lot of them talked about how this lifestyle can improve joint health and ultimately pain. I never really considered myself as a “joint pain” sufferer because it wasn’t chronic. It was only on long hikes and backpacking trips which I only did a few times per year. So I didn’t think much of it.

This summer we took the kids on their first backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park. We weren’t going to go super long distances (4-5 miles per day) but Nick and I would be carrying most of the weight. Nick was constantly worried about my ankles and my potential pain. But I noticed throughout the trip, he would ask and I would be fine. No pain. All week. Interesting…

Now, during the past handful of years, my children have heard me say “I can’t run” and “my ankles hurt when I run so I don’t” time and time again. So much so, that when we prepare to play a game of baseball in the backyard, they worry about me being able to run the bases! I must admit, it was never THAT bad to where I couldn’t run around the backyard but my words and explanations about why their dad was running the 5k and I was walking it had clearly sunk in.

Once I noticed that I had no pain while backpacking, it made me wonder, have my ankles been healing? Could I run without pain? Interesting….

I started an eight week program that was made for people who don’t run and get them training for a 5K through Peloton. I didn’t say anything to anyone about what I was doing. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I hadn’t run any significant distance since high school. I was going to turn 40 in a couple months so I decided that would be a good end goal. Got to the end of the first session….no pain. But it was mostly walking. Then, the end of the first week. No pain. Now, I’m a month in, no pain. I keep going and now my family knows what I am doing. Now I have even more motivation and someone to hold me accountable. 7 weeks into the program and I run a 5K WITHOUT STOPPING! No pain. At least, not in my ankles!

I fully believe that the changes our family made to our lifestyle 4 years ago allowed for me to be able to do this after twenty years of not running. Not because I couldn’t per se, but because of the pain and potential damage I was creating for the future. I truly feel I have “turned back the clock” on my joint pain and have achieved something I really had resigned to never being able to do. It didn’t happen quickly. I remember having ankle pain on a backpacking trip a couple years ago in Wyoming while living this whole food, plant based lifestyle. It took years to improve but it also took years to create AND took over 20 years of limiting myself due to pain away from me. So taking 4 years to get that back, definitely worth it!

Now, does this mean I’m going to start running marathons, etc? Probably not. Running is still not my favorite physical activity BUT it does mean that I am not afraid of the pain when my kids want to do a fun run 5k or I need a simple workout you can do anywhere or restrict my hiking trips. I also can hear my kids ask me to join them instead of hearing them repeat my excuses, which is probably the best result of them all.

I am very proud of this accomplishment but not for the actual running or distance. For 20 years, I couldn’t do something due to the pain it caused even though I otherwise physically could have done it. The choices I made starting 4 years ago are what made this happen. I am proud of the fact that I took control of what I was putting into my body. I found what worked for me and made that choice everyday until I healed. Once I realized the healing had happened, I accomplished something I thought could never happen at this point in my life. Now I get to look forward to doing whatever activity I want without pain and that is huge.