Training log is going to be a little different this week.
I’ve never had an achilles issue before but I do now. I first noticed something on Thursday. The heel felt a little tight when I started my run but quickly went away. I continued on and did the workout no problem. Then later in the day it just felt kind of sore. Nothing crazy but kind of sore. So naturally I took to the internet to play PT. After some research it sounds like some low level achilles tendinitis.
I decided to test it again on Friday and did my normal easy/recovery run following my Thursday workout and before the double long weekend. The stiffness was there again and never really went away this time. Blows. I knew but didn’t want to admit it yet that I needed to stop running for a bit.
By Friday afternoon, I decided the best course of action was a week of no running. Sucks but not that big of deal. I am still pretty early into my cycle and if I can get this corrected before it lingers and becomes a bigger issue I should be okay. I’ve dealt with injuries before…the right hamstring had my sidelined for about the first 4 months of of 2013 but I know that if I am patient with the achilles I will come back just fine from this little set back. Patience is the key here. Nothing is lost and being impatient will just create more issues.
I also think I am going to start have Lindsey and review my logs. If I am honest about this I did it to myself by running too much. I can handle the load of 70+ mile weeks but I did it too early into the cycle. I went back and forth last fall about getting a coach and came real close to signing on but decided I will continue doing it myself. I like designing the workouts and structure of what I need but I also need someone to double check my work and help me evaluate if I am doing too much. Hopefully that is where Lindsey can help.
Anyway, here is the log.
Week 6 – Feb 10th – Feb 16th
6 Runs
46 Miles
1 Workout
Monday – 6 Miles
Recovery day…about 7:55 pace
Tuesday – 14 miles
Two runs: Run 1: easy 10 around 7:05. Run 2: 4 miles about 8:00
Wednesday – 10 Miles
Easy run. Kind of  tired. 7:12….at this point I should have recognized that something was starting to wear down. I was overly tired for some reason when I had no reason to be…probably the cumulative volume that I put on over the last 6 weeks. Looking back it was not gradual enough.
Thursday – 10 miles.
This was first outward sign that something was wrong. The tightness quickly went away so I continued on with my workout. It was a good one too. Â I felt controlled and strong.
2 Mile warmup
7 mile progression tempo with 4 around or under LT Pace (6:40,6:25,6:15,6:00,5:56,5:52,5:47)
1 mile cool down
Foot felt fine afterwards. It was not until later in the day and really into the night that I noticed some stiffness when walking on the snow.
Friday – 6 miles
Easy run after the workout yesterday. About 7:30 pace or so. Â By this point, I knew something was wrong. Heel never loosened up.
Saturday – No running.
Sunday – No running.
I am hoping that I caught this thing early. Based on what I have been researching it sounds like it is mild what I have. No real pain or discomfort when I wake up or first start walking but based on how I was feeling while running I am taking it slowly. I have already started a pretty routine structure of ice, calf raises, elevated calf raises, and stretching to help work out the muscle. Looking online if you let it, this thing can linger and really mess with you so let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
My plan is to take a full 7-10 days off with no running and very little/none cross training. I rode the bike a bit on Saturday and that kind of pulled on the Achilles so I am thinking to just shut it down a week and just rehab it.
Only time will tell. Here’s to hoping this is a minor setback, Mohican goes fine and I learn to listen to what I tell others and not run too much too soon. I just love to run.
Dealt with an Achilles before? What’d you do? Do you struggle with overtraining?