Thursday 4 November 2010

Achilles Tendonitis Woe

I've been suffering from Achilles tendonitis. Also known as Achilles tendinitis, this is swelling of the Achilles tendon shows itself as a swelling above the heal and pain while walking. The result is a harsh pain while running and I have had to put all training on hold.

How did this happen? I think there has been a series of factors. The problem is most like to have stemmed from a footwear crisis prior to running the London Marathon. Having issues with the running shoes that I was using at the time, I decided to fall back and use an old pair rather than risk blisters from brand new shoes. Big mistake!

Now I am missing out on running. I had been hoping to run the Movember 5K in Battersea Park this November. No chance of that. Instead my race participation has, for the previous couple of months has been, and will be, helping out, marshalling or spectating. All, far from a perfect situation.

So what have I done about this? Well, 'vitamin I' (Ibuprofen) has been a big help. Also I bought some gel heel cups, which have been a huge help. The pain is less and the swelling has gone down.

Now, I just need to be patient. As for my next planned race? Probably April/May time. It's frustrating, but stories of snapped achilles tendons (!!!) and a desire not to go back to severe pain tells me the waiting is worth it.

1 comment:

Jiangning Tang said...

You need to stop running too hard, stop running any races for a while. Otherwise you will not be able to run at all. If you really enjoy running itself, try not to think about race for a year and start running for fitness and fun. I have heard too many stores of over-training in one's youth, then not be able to run at all when one hits 40. What's the purpose of running if you can't not run after 40 when running is most needed?