Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Boo.Hiss.

I have no idea what else to title this.  

Here's me right now...



That's an ice pack if you cannot tell. So for the past week or so, I noticed when I put my foot up on the desk (just like in the picture, MINUS the ice pack) that it felt almost like a bruise on the back of my heel.  I didn't think a lot of it, I thought it was just a little sore.  A couple times I noticed it burned/hurt as I was putting my shoe on, but it wasn't hurting after that or while I ran. I took an unplanned rest day yesterday because I was sore all over from my Friday and Sunday runs and felt ready to do a little treadmill work this morning.  I went to put my shoe on and BURNING pain in the back of my heel...yep, self-diagnosed Achilles pain.  

This is me right now.
 




I'm probably a bit more dramatic than Alice, actually.  

Dallas still wanted to hit the gym, so I decided I would do some strength training while he ran but that was thwarted as well on the first set of shoulder lifts as something pulled in my neck.  WTF??  I  admit, I got on the TM for about a minute to see if I could run but I knew that even if the pain subsided that I would be doing some damage, so I was banished to the bike for 25 minutes.  Sigh.  

I'm not even sure at this point if I can bike, it seems sore just after doing that too.  Wah!!!!!! 

When I try to do calf stretches, it burns, so I'm just sitting here on my pittypot with my ice.  It's not like I haven't been here before, the last injury I had was at the very beginning of my running career when I was out 10 months with PF.  I NEED to run, why can't my body get with the program??? 

So what do I do other than icing, anti-inflammatory and stretching?  Anyone have achilles experience?  I don't think it's a severe injury, I may have caught it in time.  Hopefully that in a few days this will clear up??  Help!

19 comments:

  1. No advice, Karen, but I feel your pain. I NEED to be running, too....and I can't. Hope we are both beating down the road soon. What do you suppose caused your achilles pain/injury?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least we're down right now instead of fall/winter when we'll be deep into training, right?!! Most common reason for achilles issues is overuse. I do wear minimalist shoes though, so I wonder if that low heel drop is causing some issues...BUT...I've been running with them for months, so why now? Maybe the 8 miles was too soon? I thought I built up pretty slowly.

      Delete
    2. Well....I keep reading the standard increase week over week is 10%. I read your weekly recap for LAST week, and I think you ran 15 miles for the week. Your longest of the week being 5 miles. THIS week, you not only ran 20% more miles (3 for a total of 18 for the week), your longest was 8 miles! So...yeah maybe slow down on your increases? Hope you are feeling better today!

      Delete
    3. I think my biggest mistake was thinking that the jump was ok b/c I ran 6.2 recently and 7 a month or so ago...but I guess the increases will have to not jump around? That's how I have my Princess training though, some weeks are lower to give me a rest and then they go back up. I guess I'll have to rethink that and just keep going up by a mile each week.

      Delete
  2. :( I'm sorry, Karen! I don't have any specific advice, just rest, rest, rest! Fingers crossed that you heal quickly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kim! I hope it heals quickly as well, I cannot sit around, it drives me nuts!

      Delete
  3. That does NOT sound fun - I'm so sorry :( I would definitely stay off it for a few days and see if that helps! Praying for quick healing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lauren! My IL's are coming, so maybe they will help keep me busy and not wishing I was running.

      Delete
  4. Oh no! I had no idea my injury was contagious!! I had the exact same thing. I took a week off of running (yeah that stunk) and I've been trying to take it easy, lots of calf stretching and icing. It seems that my PF is related to it too, so I'm icing that as well. And using the KT/Rock tape on it. I bought "the stick" and have been using it on my calves.

    I haven't run since Saturday this week because my 2 1/2 year old has a raging stomach virus and doesn't want anyone but momma. So, that is probably helping too.

    So, I'm sure it is not what you want to hear, but ice it, tape it, stretch it and rest for a bit. Hope we both get it healed up soon! And look on the bright side: at least you don't have a toddler with diarrhea at home ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ack! I knew you were injured, but had not paid attention to the symptom details. Well, at least I can blame you now, since you are clearly contagious! ;) OMG, I'm not sure I can take a week. I'm going to be crabby and unbearable to be around...right when Rey and his parents arrive for the week!

      LOL...well, no, no sick toddler! There's that! ;)

      Delete
  5. Hey Karen, this is your perpetually-injured friend here (remember, ER 8 weeks pre-PHM in 2013???) Do NOT do anything dumb. Mind over body this time. Try the water jogging like I had to do. You won't feel like you are doing anything, until you get out of the pool and you collapse :-) Trust me. My advice came from a guy that coached people in the Olympics, he knew what he was talking about (and no, I didn't believe him at first either). If it makes you feel better, wear a sparkly bathing suit and it'll make you feel like it's a Sparkle-Skirt!!! Message me if you want more specific instructions on what I had to do!!! Be careful, you have plenty of time to rest and get back into it---heck girl, you already have a 10K to submit. What you DON'T want to do is push it and really hurt yourself and be out for an extended amount of time. I have been running so super-slow and progressing so slowly that I can actually run without a knee-brace now. . . WHAT, ME without a knee-brace????!!! Unheard of (watch, I just jinxed myself).
    Oh, and Trey's walking now without the brace (between yelling at you to slow down AND him, you're both gonna drive me nuts!!!) :-* kisses!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I meant without the 'crutch or walker'---thinking of my injury, not his!!!

      Delete
    2. YES MOM!!! LOL

      I'm going to TRY to rest until Friday and see how I feel. How's that for a compromise? I'll try to run on Friday and if it hurts, I will stop right away. I'm hoping this is just overuse from the long run and not an actual injury-injury.

      IF it goes on longer, I'll consider the swimming, but I have a real aversion to the indoor pool we have...I SWEAR I got plantar warts a few years ago from walking on the floor barefoot and now I'm totally grossed out by the locker-room/pool deck. It's kept me from any swimming for quite a while, I do not want to deal with that again!

      Delete
    3. Oh and I'm so glad he's recovering so quickly!!! That is awesome!

      Delete
  6. I am in the same boat, combined with some heel spurs. I wonder if you might have some spurring in there as well. depending on where the pain is, it might be worth looking at if the pain continues. you need RICE (rest ice compression elevation) but it looks like you go that already. you need to listen to your body.

    You might also need a night splint to keep it stretched out when you are sleeping and take the pressure of the blankets off of the inflamed tendons while you are sleeping. I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Florida-Orthopedics-Healwell-Plantar-Fasciitis/dp/B000RDM68E

    I have tried multiple different night splints but this one seems to really allow me to sleep while stretching it... as opposed to the other boots that i have had which are too painful to wear to allow for sleeping.

    be gentle with yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't have any advice on your injury specifically, other than please be careful! Especially with achilles injuries, those can take months to years to recover from. Whenever my achilles gets sore, I give it as much TLC as I can to nurse it back to health. I understand about the needing to run, but your body is telling you that it needs a rest, and that is the best advice you can take right now. Listen to your body and let it be your guide.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I had some Achilles pain after doing 2 half marathons in 2 days and being very undertrained. I also experienced the same thing last summer when I was training for my first full. I did a lot of heel stretches, but I also found that stretching my hips by crossing one leg over the other and leaning forward helped pain in my lower legs. Might help a little.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What about aqua jogging while you rest up? Its not quite the same but easier on all the joints and if you use a flotation belt, you won't be putting any weight on your feet/heel at all.

    No medical advice from me but it might be worth the trip to a physiotherapist or your family doctor, just in case. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh NO! :0( I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this right now! I hope it feels better soon!

    ReplyDelete