When I went to see my running doc back in March for an ankle sprain originally suffered back in December 2008 (it seemed OK at first!), an MRI showed that I had a healed stress fracture at the site of the sprain. While it’s cool that my body managed to fix itself without my noticing, I’ve been a little spooked ever since that I could be blithely running through a broken bone.
That fear has been especially acute ever since I felt a little twinge in my ankle after the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25. It had been fine for months after a cortisone shot back in April, but here it was, back to haunt me again.
That’s why it was such a relief yesterday to hear that a random, seemingly unfair flareup of that ankle is peroneal tendonitis rather than a re-broken bone. I left my doctor’s office with a prescription for physical therapy for my ankle and his usual instructions: “Don’t stop running or anything.”
A few words about Dr. Daniel Pereles, if you’re not already convinced he is a runner’s best friend: He helped me get to the starting line of the Marine Corps Marathon by letting me run through a flareup of an old hip injury over the summer, then setting up a plan for me to start long runs and speedwork in August. It worked — lots of other things went wrong on race day, but my hip was totally solid. When I told him about the experience, he was genuinely interested in the nitty-gritty details of the race that had nothing to do with my hip or ankle: what went wrong with my digestive system, what my “slow” finish time was, what my future marathon plans are. Even his office decorations — running ads, Runner’s World columns he’s quoted in and photos of him finishing triathlons and marathons — made me feel at home.
Yesterday, he had a new ad showing the seven stages of marathon, each illustrated by a hilarious or moving photo of a runner. My favorite is denial, illustrated by a dude grinning and calling out to other runners in the early miles of the race. As if I needed any more proof my doctor “gets it” — he had me at, “Don’t stop running or anything!”
WOW, I’m unofficially his patient – should anything go wrong with me in the next few months. This guy sounds awesome!!!
Glad you don’t have any more broken bones that you were unaware of
i am in love with your doctor. i hope to never have to visit him of course, but in the event something comes up with my legs i would so make the trip to the dc area!
glad the news came back good (or, as good as it could have anyway). definitely scary to think about what we possibly run through, but it’s also taught you to be a lot more cautious when things start flaring up.
If I need to see a sports med doc… i’m seeing him… he does sound like a runner’s best friend. Happy there is good news and so happy to see you still running!
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