5 Months Off

This post marks the passing of 5 months since I stopped my running due to injuring both achilles tendons. Posts so far have largely been about the ups and downs and progress of a recovering would be runner rather than the intended story of a developing athlete building up to a successful physical challenge to celebrate reaching 60.

I am generally feeling brighter about things just now. A lot less discomfort and stretching exercises pull in a less alarming way. Maybe... maybe a short run at the end of next week? We'll see.

I have been researching PAYG gym availability again in the light of my osteopath's preference that I start on a treadmill rather than going direct to the streets. As I said in a previous post, there is no way I am taking out membership of a gym. Anyway, it turns out that a hotel about 10mins away by car has 1 day off-peak swim and gym passes for £4 which my work pattern means I can take advantage of once a week.

Armed with the above news, I will ask my osteo' when I see him next Thursday whether he thinks it's OK to take my first tentative steps (on a machine).

Have a good week everyone. Thank you for reading, if indeed anyone is?

First Walk of The Season

Lynne and I do most of our hill walking from Autumn through to Spring and yesterday we set out for our first venture for a while. A lovely varied 6 mile walk including Three Shires Head were the three counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire meet at a delightful pair of pack horse bridges and waterfalls in a dip in the moorland. I don't have total ascent figures but the range was around 800ft so reasonably taxing.  Route on Google Map

I was very nervous as to how the tendons would react to up and down and walking over uneven rocks and through sucking mud (yes, that was meant to be an 's').
During the walk I was acutely conscious of not straining and took it easy and careful and happily had no issues with achilles other than feeling stretched after sitting enjoying a pint and some food at a pub a mile before returning to the car. As a precaution I did the iced water soak when I got home and this morning, all seems well.

I must be feeling better as, over the past week or so, I keep getting a feeling that maybe I should try a gentle short run which frightens me. I know from my long term back problems that there is a point at which you must stop letting the fear of it rule and challenge it. The very thought that it may hurt again affects the way you walk and the return to normality in movement is a major step in the return to true mobility. I think I have to resist a little longer, too soon and I'll definitely regret it.

All the above said, they are still tender to touch whenever I have pushed them a bit further, such as now after yesterday's walk. So for now, I am continuing with the stretching exercises morning and evening, keeping moving at work and trying to think a bit more positive.

Spoke Too Soon but Registered Anyway

Hope lost:
A quote from my last post, "...and this morning I am suffering no noticeable achilles issues which is fantastic news."
Well, about an hour after writing that, I got up out of a chair and it felt like I had been stung inside my left achilles. An isolated acid burning feeling which caused much swearing and cursing, not due to pain but sheer frustration and anger coming down from such elation to hope drifting away again. I spent the next 24hrs walking very tentatively with varied levels of low level pain in one or both tendons.

Hope returns:
By the next morning things were massively improved and for the last 3 days now, I have attended to them well, iced water, heat rubs, ibruprophen gel, stretches and support bandages in various orders and they now feel pretty well where they were only a couple of weeks ago so hopefully not much damage was done. I guess many people at the event who have not had previous problems will have had sore achilles over the last few days.

Registered:
So, to big news. Yesterday I registered for the Great Manchester Run 10k on May26th 2013, 15 days after my 60th birthday so the target remains.  Thanks to my daughter Gillian for reminding me that entry was open and for assuring me that I should register.

Half Marathon 13.1ml walk

Lynne and I completed a Half Marathon 13.1ml walk last night, the Manchester Shine event for Cancer Research UK (plus 0.5ml each way to car).
I detected slight discomfort early in my left tendon but I was looking for it. I think it was actually the stretching and warming up rather than walking that caused it. Once walking, I suffered no achilles problem at all through the whole walk. As a precaution, when I got home I sat with my feet & calves in iced water for 20mins before heading to bed and this morning I am suffering no noticeable achilles issues which is fantastic news.

I did have sore feet in the last few miles and I had three points of concern with knees but each time, keeping steady and straight it cleared.

Unexpectedly, at 10 and 12 miles, I had small jars from my lower back and this remained uncomfortable driving home. This morning it was in some spasm, pulled across a little to one side and was quite painful around the sacroiliac joint and the base. My back being a chronic problem, I attacked this with experience; 2 minutes relaxing by counting breaths while face down on a mat, a couple of small clicks sounded positive then followed by a concave push up exercise my Osteo' gave me years ago which released another crack after which it felt much more comfortable and looked much straighter. I'm now quite happy with it but will be careful and make sure I attend to exercises.

Stat's: Dist 13.1ml; Time 4hrs 5min; Pace 18.5 min/ml (11.5 min/km); 3.2mph (5.22 kph)

( Still not too late to sponsor me! www.justgiving.com/teams/GednLynne )

[PS: Spoke too soon, see next blog]

Silly and Shining

I saw my Oseopath again yesterday. When asked how the achilles were going the best I could come up with was, "They're just Silly". An odd thing to say but they're now like an annoying child that keeps pestering and comes and goes when it likes.
In a more considered reply, my feeling is that the Left is more tender but both are stiff in the morning and display various levels of discomfort.
His observation was that the right is 'thicker', I think suggesting more severe injury/imflamation, and the left more localised. Either way, when I stood on toes (mine, not his) he observered that they were much better than last time he saw me.
Lasered again and the need to attend to the stretching exercises re-emphasised. Back in 4 weeks for another laser treatment.

Tomorrow will be a testing stretch as I'm taking part in Shine Manchester, a 13mile night walk through the streets of Manchester for Cancer Research UK. I think I'll have to put them in ice water when I get home (2-ish in the morning) and rest up Sunday.

( Not too late to sponsor me! www.justgiving.com/GedDonovan )

A Further Month On

I have not risked running yet but a degree of optimism is creeping in that I may be able to start soon.
My wife and I have just spent 2 weeks in Florida with lots of swimming in the villa pool and a lot of walking and standing (in queues for rides). I have not noticed my achilles most of the time other than some stiffness just after getting out of bed in the morning.
Some time ago, we signed up for a 13 mile night walk in Manchester City centre for Cancer Research and that is next weekend. We have just returned from an 11.4 km (7 ml) road walk and though I felt some tendon discomfort early on, this walk went well.
I have been hopeless wrt my osteopath's recommended exercises whilst on holiday, I'll try to include them in prep' for next weekend. I'm seeing him again on Thursday this week so it will be interesting to hear his views on healing progress.
I'll let you know how the walk and the osteo' goes next week.