I planned on running Bloomsday last weekend, but the day before the race I felt some unusual bumps (very small) on the inside of my Achilles right where I was having all the pain in March. Just to be safe I popped in to see a doctor to make sure it wasn't a small tear or anything that would keep me from running Bloomsday. The doctor (a sports medicine guy who does work with the WSU student-athletes) diagnosed it as tendinosis. Basically, he said, it's worse than tendinitis - my tendon has degenerated - and I'm at an increased risk for a rupture. Not good. He set me up with a new physical therapist that specializes in foot and ankle stuff for athletes.
So I skipped Bloomsday and stopped running again for a week. My appointment with the PT was yesterday, and the news was optimistic. He said that I have a mild case of tendinosis, and that he expects that I'll likely make a full recovery. He also said that the injured area is higher than the usual risk area for rupture, so I'm not in the high risk category.
The plan:
I'm leaving for Germany this week for a two week trip. I won't be running the GutsMuths Rennsteiglaug ultramarathon. That's a bummer -- I've been having some sour luck with my international races the last couple years. Even if I was cleared to give it a shot, my training the last two months has been so low that it's not even worth calling it training, so I'm not in any shape to race a 45-mile trail course anyway.
I am allowed to run, but only on very flat surfaces, and - for now - no more than five miles every other day. When we get back from Germany, I'll get an updated game-plan from my PT. Man, it would be great to get some good news then.
Mentally, I'm preparing myself for a several month recovery. Sounds like this Achilles - even if I get back to full speed - will be something I have to deal with the rest of my running career.
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| With Sadie on Moscow Mt. a couple weeks ago |
-Scott
