Monday: Off; did some serious self-massage that seemed to help. Also saw a physical therapist who used to work for t he Florida Gators - he clearly knows his ankle injuries. No sprain, just suspected compartment syndrome; it wasn't bad enough that he thought a pressure test was necessary. He mentioned that the muscles on the anterior-lateral aspect of my shin are much larger than "average", so the compression sleeves may just be too tight down there and could have encouraged swelling and restricted circulation - a perfect recipe for compartment syndrome.
Tuesday: Off and traveling back home.
Wednesday: Off. The self-massage is helping quite a bit; I can feel the fascia loosening up and the feeling of tightness/fullness in the compartment is dissipating. Biking feels pretty good, so if I can't get back to running immediately then I can just hit the roads.
Thursday: 2 miles, Foothills trail, 500ft of gain. Did a little shake-out run to focus on my form and test the waters with my shin - just some fullness/tightness in the skin, but no real pain. It was a little stiff afterwards.
Friday: Off. Got in a nice 1.5 hour ride this morning and then cruised around town in the evening.
Saturday: 4 miles, Foothills trail, 1000ft of gain; 4 miles, Foothills trail, 1000ft of gain. Went up and tagged the big A. I felt some fullness/tightness around the second mile, but after that it dissipated and felt pretty good. Went up again in the afternoon for an out-and-back to the reservoir shore. The compartment didn't feel any different on this run so presumably running isn't making it worse. I'll give the group run at Lory/Horsetooth a shot tomorrow and just see how I feel - I'm planning on cutting it off after an hour, but we'll see.
Sunday: 12 miles, Valley trails/Sawmill/Stout/Towers in Lory and Horsetooth, 1000ft of gain. Tagged along with the Quad Rock 50 preview group for about an hour and then headed back. The wind was nasty but at least it wasn't too cold. The compartment felt a little tight/full at the end of the run, but overall I was impressed with how it held up. Less than a week ago I couldn't make it 2 miles without the compartment seizing up, so it's clearly getting better.
Totals:
Mileage: 22 miles
Elevation gain: 3500ft
Artist du jour.
Compartment syndrome is not something to mess with. However, I've had it once before in the anterior compartment after a 50 miler, and I've found that alternating heat and ice with a lot of self-massage can clear it up in 2-3 weeks. I've been massaging up the compartment and doing some cross-compartment digging to loosen up the fascia and clear the swelling. The blunt end of a Sharpie does wonders.
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