Recovering from an injury and returning to previous activity levels is a frustrating process.

In June, I sprained my ankle playing a casual game of soccer. I had sprained my ankle multiple times before, all of which were pretty low-maintenance incidents (just ice and walk-off). Unfortunately, I had a sinking feeling that this time would be a lot worse. My fears were confirmed when a couple of weeks after the injury, my ankle was still bruised and swollen. So I (with the help of my friend) decided I needed to go to a physical therapist if I was going to return to the level of activity I was accustomed to. I genuinely believe I would not be where I am today in my recovery if I had not gone to PT. Through those first couple months of physical therapy, I was thankful I was beginning to heal and regain strength and function while also mourning the reality that I still could not run with my friends, rock climb, or play tennis.

I ran my first mile the second week in August. I was excited but knew I still had a few weeks to go before I would be able to run without pain. A couple of days after that first mile, I tried to run but realized the discomfort was too much, and I would just be hurting myself by running, so I stopped. This “almost-but-not-yet” was difficult. I had spent two months without the exercise I loved and did not want to keep waiting. I started biking occasionally during this time, which carried me through the few weeks of only being able to run once a week. Finding another way to get outside and be active felt so good!

At the beginning of September, I finally reached the point where I could run without ankle pain. I was so happy (and still am)! Throughout the past month of attempting to run again, my friends and coworkers at Terra encouraged me to listen to my body and try.

Recovery is not all or nothing. I had to be okay with running two miles one week and that being all I could take. The community at Terra, especially the Terra Trot group has uplifted me and inspired me to see the joy of running. Now I’m planning on running the 4 Bridges 10k in Chattanooga in October!