Over the last several months, I've been struggling with an issue with my achilles... what I fear is the beginning of tendonitis. This is something I haven't mentioned before primarily because if I did it might become real and I would have to stop ignoring it.
Somehow with the help of a lot of ibuprofen, stretching and ice I managed to get through the preparation for both Oceanside and Wildflower without too many problems. After Wildflower, I took a couple easy weeks which I thought would help. But when I tried to ramp my running back up in late May, it became clear to me that I couldn't ignore it any longer. Waking up nearly unable to walk was a good signal that I needed to take some steps to address the issue before I did some serious damage.
It's been over two weeks since I've run a step, the longest break from running I've taken in nearly 3 years. I'm also getting regular ART treatments to help loosen my calves and am stretching a lot. The pain upon waking up is gone, though both tendons are still a little tender to the touch.
As much as it pains me to stay off the roads, I'm going another 2 weeks before attempting to run.
In the meantime, I'm staying fit with some time in the pool, on the bike (making a point to avoid excessive dorsiflexion), and the elliptical trainer. I'm also taking advantage of the forced off-season to work on an area of fitness that I've long neglected - strength training.
Key areas of focus:
Core strength
Leg strength and power
my basic routine (either done with kettlebells at home or with free weights at the gym)
- squats (quads, glutes, hamstrings as well as core stabilizing muscles in abs and lower back)
- hang cleans (quads, lower back, deltoids, biceps, traps, calves)
- deadlift (lower back, hamstrings)
- pushups (chest, triceps and core stabilizers)
- lat pulldowns or pullups (lats, biceps)
- planks (prone and both sides) (abs, obliques, back)
- swiss ball crunches (abs, obliques)
I'm really enjoying the change in routine... and I'll tell you what. If you don't think weight lifting gets the heart rate up, do a set of hang cleans. Those suckers are tough.