I haven't been able to run since Bride of Flowers due to a strained right Achilles. I have been Icing and taking Advil. The problem is Bay state is 8 weeks away, and I know at some point if I can't get going there will be no point in going. I am just having trouble figuring out when that cut off point should be, On a side note I have been able to bike. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Hey Jeff, sorry to hear about the injury. It looks like you have had some great running leading up to this point. One or 2 weeks of very low miles is not going to kill you. You still have 8 weeks to go and that is plenty of time. I also see that you do not list a PR for marathon, so I am guessing this is your first one? As long as you can get back to normal running in the next couple weeks I wouldn't worry about "the cut off" point. Running your first marathon will be a learning experience no matter what. Even if your training does not go perfect you should still try to get out there and do it. It will give you valuable experience for your next go at the distance.
ReplyDeleteJeff: in addition to just ice, try a contrast treatment. ice/heat/ice/heat in 5 min intervals. Don't try stretching it until you're sure you're in the healing process. Once you're ok to stretch, do so gently for about a minute, then do it again. You may want to ditch the advil before you try running again b/c it could mask the pain-be careful. I'm no expert but the above are some things my doc has said about treating the calf. I'm majorly worried about BayState too. We have to be patient and that's the hardest thing to do. I feel like I'm in detox.
ReplyDeleteIf I was you, the number one priority would be taking care of the injury. While you need to do a marathon at some point, it's not fun doing longer races without enough training. If you can run 20 miles close to race pace by two weeks before Bay State without pain, then run. There may be times when you can justify the risk of an injury, but this is probably not close to being one of those times. Similar to doing workouts over your head, racing long without enough miles also risks injury. Your achilles could be fine, but you could hurt something else. I also second the Advil comments from KG, and the icing. The goal is to promote blood flow to an area that gets very little, and alternating hot and cold is an effective way to do this.
ReplyDeleteHey Jeff, I agree with what the others have said. Ice is important for any inflammation and it will reduce pain somewhat. But heat is good to get circulation to the area and to help healing. And be sure to warm up your calves and achilles before any stretching or exercising. And massaging your calves first thing in the morning will help too. Tiger Balm, or something like it can help to keep things warm and loosened up a little. Just remember it's not just your achilles, it's probably your calf that is a little tight, putting strain on it.
ReplyDeleteThank you guys for the input. My main goal right now is to get healthy and I will begin to do the heat as well as the Ice. As for the advil I really only take that while at work (standing for 8 hrs doesn't make it feel that good)
ReplyDeleteCome over. I've got some pills and pt you can use.
ReplyDeleteMy two cents. All recent work shows that what people are calling achilles tendonitis is not inflammatory at all but tendon injury - hence the appropriate name is achilles tendonopathy. Also means that ibuprofen won't do anything (other than ease pain). Good evidence that eccecentric strength exercises is the quickest route to recovery. Just google scholar this (or regular google).
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