(Almost) 4 Months Post-Surgery! PLUS running for the first time!?

I recently started working on running. Running for the first time felt very weird and unnatural. I almost have all my calf muscle back but I still limp a tiny bit while running, especially at the end of a run. Right now, my physical therapist said it's okay to run but to not overdo it. So I've been doing intervals of about 2 minutes running and two minutes not running. This is really flexible though, and sometimes I will run for longer or walk for longer. Overall it's going okay. I can't sprint or anything. It almost feels like fake running. It definitely doesn't feel like I'm running normally, but that will come with time (I hope)!

My ankle still swells up a lot, especially at the end of the day or at the end of a run. I'm walking a lot everyday for my new job, so my feet get really sore too. I'm still doing stretches, calf raises, and working with the resistance band. I also try to remember to take my calcium and multivitamin pills everyday. My flexibility is still not quite there. Moving my foot up toward the ceiling is getting better, but pointing my foot downwards is still pretty bad. That also might be because of the swelling though.

My limp is completely gone except for a few minutes after I go for a run. And at that point it's just a minor limp that lasts for maybe 30-45 minutes max. Once I stretch, then my ankle is fine again (although very swollen).

The scar is healing nicely. It's pretty noticeable though. I wore capris for the first time the other day (I'm up in Northern Minnesota, so it's still been pretty cold here) and one of my coworkers commented on my scar. He knew I had surgery, but when he saw the scar he said, "Woah, that's a big scar!" The scar doesn't bother me too much I guess. The part that bugs me is that whenever I see it I start thinking about my injury, which I never want to re-live. But I'm proud of how far I've come. It's been a tough road for sure, but things are looking up. I'm so happy to be somewhat running again and working on strength. Overall though I'm just glad I got through those really tough 3 months and I'm able to walk again. There are so many things I take for granted, but the ability to walk and run will never be one of them again.

A photo from my first time running since pre-injury. May 17, 2013. :)