My racing goals for 2011?
January 12, 2011Since August I’ve been hampered by swelling and pain at the bottom of my left Achilles tendon. I’ve seen two physicians and a physical therapist and done a bunch of stretching and strengthening exercises, and I’ve seen improvement in my flexibility around the ankle joint and ability to run pain-free. Yet the world of serious competitive running remains distant. I haven’t tried to run faster than seven-minute pace, or farther than eight miles, in four months. And every time I extrapolate from a good week to possible participation in a winter or spring race, a setback soon torpedoes those ideas.
So when people ask me what’s on my 2011 racing calendar, I say, “Nothing,” and I mean it. I will continue running to the extent possible, but I’m not going to pick a race until my training resembles its pre-injury state. And that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Serious bummer, Greg. I hope it starts feeling better sooner than you expect.
Not fun at all… but I think you're smart to get it figured out first. So many ultra runners just run through problems and end up worse for it! Good luck figuring it out!FWIW, Derrick Spafford had great results with shockwave therapy for his Achilles issues… might be worth dropping him a line for more info, if you haven't tried it yet.