Not an MD or anything of the sort, but just chiming in to share my wife's experience with RA:

Is yours RA or osteo? My wife has had to go through the process of finding a set of injections that work for her. That said, there are still good days and bad days. Ultimately, her and her doctors decided that running (low hobby volume, nothing like what we do here) was more detrimental than beneficial. I know that some people have had success incorporating fitness to ward it off, but her inflammation on bad days *without* fitness was rather debilitating, let along trying to recover from workouts.

Anyway, I have no solution. It's a shit diagnosis. At the least, work with your doctor and explore the treatment options; some do work better than others.

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

I agree with Justin above- can you elaborate on the cause of your arthritis? Multiple bad sprains, fractures, a trauma, etc. in the past? Or is it something else?

I would try seeing another provider- perhaps a good PT who works with athletes- who might show you a series of lower leg strengthening exercises which might get you back on the roads. Or, heck, just look it up on your own. (again, not knowing much about your issue)

If you can do some minimal running, why not forget about IM and do some short races- summer sprints can be a lot of fun, and just do your run training off the bike when you are tired. Focus on swim + b, your ankle pt and some lower-volume quality running ( on soft surfaces like grass fields) and you just might surprise yourself. Ease into it with one transition run of 2-3 miles per week and test it out from there. After starting on some pt that is.

Best of luck!

The hardest part of dealing with my RA isnt the physical but the mental. I have the drive to put in the work, I have the mental capacity to put in the hard work, but at a certain point my RA blows everything up.

I am constantly self assessing what can I really handle day to day. Sometimes that means more swim and bike and less running...sometimes I know my A race is coming and I know exactly how to get everything I can out of my knee to get me through the race but it means a full shut down for a month or more post race.

I haven't yet gone for the vegan or vegetarian route to cope. I have read some have had success. It would be a radical lifestyle change that I haven't committed to.

It all sucks. We know what we were. We know what we could still be. It's a constant self awareness check. Its truly about management.

Hope that helps. You aren't alone. It's a new journey

I have OA, but the restrictions are about the same. Only the left ankle is affected. If moving regularly, I can stay limber enough to do most straightline activities. It is the after that cripples me. The ankle will lock up, until I slowly get it going again. Trail running, basketball, tennis, etc is all out of the picture, now. Even kicking a soccer ball with my son will cause strain, if I kick with my left. It's the lateral pressure that cripples me.

Don't have a specific cause, but did play soccer for many years, when I was younger. I am sure the years of drills have some affect. No issues with my ankles, until the last 3-4 years.

Have you tried or had suggested cortisone injections?

I have one annually for arthritis in my wrist and it's a big help. I've been told that after that stops working the only option is a fusion, which I obviously want to avoid. Just had a partial knee replacement too (48yo).

Having bad ankles too (though not OA yet) physio to strengthen them and get my proprioception back has been a massive help. Largely one leg balance type exercises.

I won't ever run again, but walking is now fine and cycling too. Or will be when I have my heart sorted lol! Sadly, I'm not joking either, expecting stenting in the near future!

As you might expect the black dog regularly circles lately.

Hope you get some relief.