Cast your mind back to my last Running Dad Diary. What! You you can’t remember the last one? Actually, I can’t blame you as neither can I. The fact is that I hadn’t run properly since Sunday 5th May – the week that I ran the Kirkbymoorside 10K route every day leading up to race day. But I fininshed that week with some terrible pain in my foot.
Achilles tendonitis
That pain turned out to be Achilles tendonitis, as diagnosed by my ever patient (and thankfully fellow runner) GP. I’d run over 100 miles in each month from January to April – I had overdone it. Rest and special exercises were in order.
The things is that I can’t exactly rest the same way a professional athlete can. I have a job for starters. We have children that need taxiing places. I have dogs that need walking. So for me, resting meant simply no running.
On the 18th June I crumbled whilst attempting to kick start my running. I couldn’t handle to discomfort and I gave up after 300m. 300 lousy, painful metres!
On my bike
I decided to take a month off running completely after that and turned to my road bike instead.
The issue with the bike is that I feel that to make it worthwhile going out that I have to go out for hours and hours. I don’t have kind of time. During July I went out 11 times on the bike and the furthest distance I did was 22.5km.
Come August and I tried a few runs but I just couldn’t get back into the rythm at all. My heal was still hurting and I didn’t want to make it worse.
Walking was the answer
Fortunately walking was OK, especially with my supportive walking boots on. So, I have been doing more and more walking while I’ve not been running.
Actually, it was whilst out for a walk in the countryside, along one of my regular run routes, that I resolved to getting out running again. A friend ran past me in opposite direction. He looked happy and I felt such a pang of jealousy that he was running and I wasn’t. I wanted to feel like that – happy to be running.
Right there and them I decided that I would get back to running. It was a Saturday so I went out the next morning. Not far and not long, but I was running.
Running again
Since then I have been running again on alternate days. For the most part I have stuck to it other than when logistics have got in the way.
The girls’ new dance class schedule means that on a Monday after work I have two and half hours to myself. This gives me plenty of time for a good long run before returning hoime for some food and a show, all before I need to collect them.
I am loving running again. Sometimes my heel is a bit painful, othertimes not at all. I’ve decided to just go with it now.
Oh my word, what’s it like to get 2.5 hours to yourself??? I’m surprised 100 miles in a month would be enough to give you achillies tendinitis but what do I know? G;lad you have persevered with various exercises until you found something that was right for you. Alas, I’m still on the physio’s bench and not sure I’ll be running any time soon.