One year ago I underwent surgery to repair my Achilles and though the onset of the injury was nearly two years prior to my surgery, I have to admit, I was highly skeptical of fully recovering to the extent I could enjoy racing 5ks as I once did. Today is my one year anniversary of my surgery and this is my final blog.
Since the first weekend in September, I have run two marathons, one 10k, five 5ks, and a half marathon. I set a personal record in my 10k, (39:23) which the only significance in this is that it was my 37th 10k in the last seven years. Before my surgery, someone asked how I would measure success of my surgery and I said, “If I can set a personal record (PR) in a race within two years of surgery, then for me, it would be a success.” My 5k times are very near pre-injury race times. And though I hit the dehydration wall in the Chicago Marathon October 9th, I ran my second faster marathon in Tupelo the month before (3:19:47). I’ve logged 1,673 miles in the last nine months since I started back running.
It was only 3 months ago that I still went for PT treatments occasionally. Only in the last several weeks have I completely discontinued using the Achilles-Pro brace. My Achilles does not swell anymore and though the tendon that was transferred into my Achilles may become mildly sore after a hard speed work-out, I stretch as needed and the soreness goes away completely. There is no need for icing it anymore and it’s been a while since I have used ice on it. Long runs of 18-miles or longer do not bother it at all. As far as my Achilles, the only noticeable difference than pre-injury is the fact that it may be a little stiff in the mornings, but without pain. Truly, I can’t believe my surgery worked out so well. But I will tell you also, I worked pretty hard getting back as described in my previous blogs.
I run, because I enjoy it! It’s a gift from God, and for me, one he restored. I’ve learned to stop training before there is pain. I remember to stretch more often before and after hard workouts. I am much wiser about speed-work, which I believe was the predominant factor over time that caused my injury. No more twice a week ¼-mile repeats for 5ks every week for months at a time. I was addicted to speed-work on a treadmill and even now I going into a closed gym and hitting paces on a treadmill I know I shouldn’t be running would be fun. I’m just wiser about running, but still love to run hard.
I am always cognizant of the repaired Achilles, but probably now if I want to have faster race times it’s my diet that needs attention. Ah, but it is nice to be able to eat anything you want, and lose it the next day in a 12 mile run! I don’t take that for grant it! I can’t imagine how poorly my Achilles would be today if I had not undergone surgery. There was no exercise, no amount of time off that was going to heal my particular injury.
And once again, I simply can as I hope you do,
Enjoy the run!
About Me
- David
- I was teaching cycle at the YMCA and a friend said, "You ought to run!" I thought, “I am 43 and somewhat content in life he must be nuts!” There was nothing appealing about running to me. My friend was a very gifted and knowledgeable runner and in a few months he had me in the right shoes, on the right diet, and believing I too could run. Simply getting to where I could run 3 miles was my biggest challenge. I started doing local races in 2004 and since then have logged over 13,900 miles.