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Ran a 10k - Official Thread (5 Viewers)

I have achilles tendinitis with calcification on my heel.  My calf/soleus are tight which is causing the tendinitis, but the calcification on my heel is amplifying it by pushing out against my achilles making it tighter.  Doc wants me to do 2mins of calf/soleus stretching 8-10x a day and then sleep in a night splint.  I can also wear the splint at my desk as long as I don't walk or stand in it.

Good news is he said I can run "if its that important to me" without causing any damage - just have to listen to the pain.  I go back to see him for a follow-up in 8 weeks to see if its any better.  If not, I may need surgery to fix my heel.
Pain says "#### that, go run."

(this sounds pretty good, no?)

 
Ned - so frustrating, isn't it?  It's so easy, when we're on a heavy running schedule, to forget about the light cross training and stretching that can help ward off the injuries, and we can sometimes ignore the warning signals ...all which I've learned as well in recent years.  Hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) you can get by without surgery.

 
I have achilles tendinitis with calcification on my heel.  My calf/soleus are tight which is causing the tendinitis, but the calcification on my heel is amplifying it by pushing out against my achilles making it tighter.  Doc wants me to do 2mins of calf/soleus stretching 8-10x a day and then sleep in a night splint.  I can also wear the splint at my desk as long as I don't walk or stand in it.

Good news is he said I can run "if its that important to me" without causing any damage - just have to listen to the pain.  I go back to see him for a follow-up in 8 weeks to see if its any better.  If not, I may need surgery to fix my heel.
It's nice to have an answer and a plan, I'm sure.

Where do you feel the pain when you run?  Can you feel/see the calcification?  What stretches will you do?  (I ask because I've had issues in that heel/Achilles area too when miles add up over the last few years.  Fortunately for me, though, any pains goes away after I've loosened up for a few miles.) 

 
@Ned would cycling be easier on it? Take the plunge buddy, I need a Peloton partner in here. Hope you feel better soon. 

If anyone has seen my last couple of rides on Strava you'll see absurd mileage/speed data. Seems to be a glitch with a recent software upgrade. All other metrics and charts are accurate but for my typical 17 mile 45 min ride Strava is saying I went 30+ miles. Can't edit it, they know about the issue, hoping it's fixed soon. 

 
Ned ź Good to know you won't injure it more by running on it.  But it's probably cycling and swimming time for a little while.  You might actually like it. 

 
It's nice to have an answer and a plan, I'm sure.

Where do you feel the pain when you run?  Can you feel/see the calcification?  What stretches will you do?  (I ask because I've had issues in that heel/Achilles area too when miles add up over the last few years.  Fortunately for me, though, any pains goes away after I've loosened up for a few miles.) 
It all started at the insertion point where the achilles attaches to the back of the heel.  It first was just an annoyance that went away after the first mile - this is going back to fall 2015 I think.  It always felt better during a run vs. around the house, but was just one of those things I lived with since it seemed so minor.  When I ramped up the miles this summer/fall it became a more frequent occurrence that eventually peaked around the taper to where it never went away during a run.  Then it quickly spiraled out of control by race time...

The pain is at the back of the heel right where the bursa sac is (little blue circle).  Not running for the past 2 months made 80% of the pain subside, but its still there.  The worst of it is first getting out of bed or after lounging on the sofa with my feet propped up for longer than 30mins.  It will loosen up by the time I take 10 steps, but it hurts enough to make me limp in those 10 steps.

I have a decent sized hook on the back of my heel (looks exactly like this) that makes my heel look dis-proportioned just like this.   He said he's seen worse cases get fixed by the stretching + boot, so there's hope I can fix this on my own.  I am very opposed to surgery (I have a partially torn left ACL that I refused to fix), so I'm really hoping this will do the trick.

ETA: he told me to do the normal calf and soleus stretches I've always done against the wall.  I just did them once @ 30sec only.  Not 2mins x 8-10.

 
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We wonder why the healthcare system is so jacked up?

The PA came in and told me to not buy the night splint at their office.  "Since its your achilles", insurance won't cover it and it'll cost me $100.  He gave me the name/model to order directly from Amazon for $19

 
@Ned - glad to hear you have some options. Really hope the stretching works out for you.

I've experienced some achilles and heel pain for the last year. And still do at this point. To complicate matters this medication I am on has a side effect of sore muscle and joint pain, aching, tightness, and stiffness. So I DEFINITELY have that at this point.

Seems like back to back days are killing my legs - I just cannot get them loose right now. Legs hurt all the time, and when I mean all the time, I mean all day every day. Sucks. 

I'm rolling, stretching, everything and nothing is working. So I can tolerate the pain when I run - but right now there really is no relief.  Racing the half marathon is pretty much out of the equation for this spring. I still plan on running the race, but at this point my goal is to try and build up to a 13.1 mile long run by April 8th. So there will be no time PR for me this year. Just a long workout that day hopefully. 

On another front, you guys might remember the 5K I ran in honor of my friend who suffered the bad head injury, documented in this report. Anyway, another good friend of mine is the honoree this year. He is one of my neighbors, and he was in the military, I believe in Afghanistan. His helicopter was shot down and he barely survived. You can read more about his story here.

His kids go to school with my kids, and this dude is an inspiration. He started a business called handy-cappin, where he makes art with recycled beer bottle caps. You can see his website here. For you on Facebook,  his page has even more pics of stuff he has done.  Incredible stuff - I mean mind blowing incredible. This dude is one of the nicest people, and has really come a long way. If you didn't know his story, you would not know he has suffered a severe head injury. A miracle.

So I clearly will be running that race again. My wife will even join me and many others in our neighborhood. Should be great.

So this spring will still be good - just not what my plans are. But I can still run. I'm one lucky guy.  :)

 
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@Ned would cycling be easier on it? Take the plunge buddy, I need a Peloton partner in here. Hope you feel better soon. 

If anyone has seen my last couple of rides on Strava you'll see absurd mileage/speed data. Seems to be a glitch with a recent software upgrade. All other metrics and charts are accurate but for my typical 17 mile 45 min ride Strava is saying I went 30+ miles. Can't edit it, they know about the issue, hoping it's fixed soon. 
I assume this is cartoon riding?  I haven't seen any issues with real riding.

And I'll shamelessly tag onto this that I got in 135 or some absurd number of miles this week.  That's my best week in over six months. 

 
It all started at the insertion point where the achilles attaches to the back of the heel.  It first was just an annoyance that went away after the first mile - this is going back to fall 2015 I think.  It always felt better during a run vs. around the house, but was just one of those things I lived with since it seemed so minor.  

The pain is at the back of the heel right where the bursa sac is (little blue circle).  The worst of it is first getting out of bed or after lounging on the sofa with my feet propped up for longer than 30mins.  It will loosen up by the time I take 10 steps, but it hurts enough to make me limp in those 10 steps.
Snipped some of what you wrote but what is left describes me to a tee.  I've always been stubborn running through injuries during marathon training (and I always have multiple injuries) and I'll try to run through things again this time but, at a minimum, it's a reminder to make sure I do my stretches.  Thanks for sharing your experience.

 
It all started at the insertion point where the achilles attaches to the back of the heel.  It first was just an annoyance that went away after the first mile - this is going back to fall 2015 I think.  It always felt better during a run vs. around the house, but was just one of those things I lived with since it seemed so minor.  When I ramped up the miles this summer/fall it became a more frequent occurrence that eventually peaked around the taper to where it never went away during a run.  Then it quickly spiraled out of control by race time...

The pain is at the back of the heel right where the bursa sac is (little blue circle).  Not running for the past 2 months made 80% of the pain subside, but its still there.  The worst of it is first getting out of bed or after lounging on the sofa with my feet propped up for longer than 30mins.  It will loosen up by the time I take 10 steps, but it hurts enough to make me limp in those 10 steps.

I have a decent sized hook on the back of my heel (looks exactly like this) that makes my heel look dis-proportioned just like this.   He said he's seen worse cases get fixed by the stretching + boot, so there's hope I can fix this on my own.  I am very opposed to surgery (I have a partially torn left ACL that I refused to fix), so I'm really hoping this will do the trick.

ETA: he told me to do the normal calf and soleus stretches I've always done against the wall.  I just did them once @ 30sec only.  Not 2mins x 8-10.
Um, yeah, that's basically what I've been dealing with.  First several steps are often tight and awkward; lump on the back of my heel due to a bone spur that looks like the one pictured.  :unsure:  

 
I assume this is cartoon riding?  I haven't seen any issues with real riding.

And I'll shamelessly tag onto this that I got in 135 or some absurd number of miles this week.  That's my best week in over six months. 
It's just a problem with the Peloton feed.

nice week  :thumbup:

 
Ned ź Good to know you won't injure it more by running on it.  But it's probably cycling and swimming time for a little while.  You might actually like it. 
last week i did ........ something.... to my groin. which resulted in me sleeping in a bad position that wrecked my back. woke up saturday morning feeling like i'd been hit with a hammer in the thigh and like someone stabbed me with a hot knife in my shoulder/upper back.

happened to have kids swim lessons on saturday morning and it was parents day. an hour in the pool totally absolved my pain.... for about 2 hours after :(   but that time in the pool was magical.

 
Um, yeah, that's basically what I've been dealing with.  First several steps are often tight and awkward; lump on the back of my heel due to a bone spur that looks like the one pictured.  :unsure:  
Ugh. When you said you had a heel spur, I assumed it was the plantar fasciitis variety. 

 
Ugh. When you said you had a heel spur, I assumed it was the plantar fasciitis variety. 
After that picture all I can see in my head are little aliens ready to hatch out of your heels.  

 
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Today's 6.2 brings me to 251.6 for January, just over 36 hours  (so, roughly 7mph). 
With 4 miles of mostly walking in the woods yesterday and 8 road miles today, I'm up to another 36 hours and 251.6 miles for the month, 503 miles for the year.  Didn't expect both months to be exactly equal. 

 
287 for me for February, 527.6 for the year.  

March will probably be lighter since I might rest a little before some tune-up races.

 
I have achilles tendinitis with calcification on my heel.  My calf/soleus are tight which is causing the tendinitis, but the calcification on my heel is amplifying it by pushing out against my achilles making it tighter.  Doc wants me to do 2mins of calf/soleus stretching 8-10x a day and then sleep in a night splint.  I can also wear the splint at my desk as long as I don't walk or stand in it.

Good news is he said I can run "if its that important to me" without causing any damage - just have to listen to the pain.  I go back to see him for a follow-up in 8 weeks to see if its any better.  If not, I may need surgery to fix my heel.
In 2011, I ruptured my Achilles completely. In the months leading up to it, I had some pretty severe tendinitis that I just powered through. Turns out that Achilles tendinitis that is ignored and continually stressed can lead to a rupture. I'm no doctor, but it seems odd that you would be told that it's ok to keep running with tendinitis. 

 
There has been a lot of good training recently, I put in 9 hrs of running last week and I was 6th on the Strava Leaderboard.  It's nice to see @SteveC702 back tracking his runs.

I made it to the taper with 270 for the month and 523 for the year.  The plan is to loosely follow the last 3 weeks of Pfitz 70 and will get in the recommended strides.  I haven't always done them, but I think they were beneficial last spring.

 
In 2011, I ruptured my Achilles completely. In the months leading up to it, I had some pretty severe tendinitis that I just powered through. Turns out that Achilles tendinitis that is ignored and continually stressed can lead to a rupture. I'm no doctor, but it seems odd that you would be told that it's ok to keep running with tendinitis. 
Probably the key is the "just have to listen to the pain" part.  

 
get in the recommended strides.  I haven't always done them, but I think they were beneficial last spring.
I should probably read that strides section again.  I haven't done them in years.  Part of the problem is I'd try to fit them in on easy days but they raise the heart rate and make it not easy anymore!  

 
Nigel said:
It's just a problem with the Peloton feed.

nice week  :thumbup:
Dusted off my bike for the first time in over a year.  I was hoping to use it enough to justify buying the Peloton, but now i just want a new bike! 

 
Juxtatarot said:
I should probably read that strides section again.  I haven't done them in years.  Part of the problem is I'd try to fit them in on easy days but they raise the heart rate and make it not easy anymore!  
I hear you about not wanting to do them on easy days, I am the same way.  I remember listening to a podcast with Pfitzinger and he was asked what would he change in his marathon book and he said that he would add more strides and hill work. In his Faster Road Racing book he did just that.

The way I view them is that they are the icing on the cake, not a necessity.  I think they help with speed and running efficiency, but may have more of a benefit for runners like me that tend to run much slower than race pace.  I like the idea of running them during the taper if you aren’t too beat up from the training cycle.  The key is staying under control, it would suck to pull a hamstring running them too fast.  

 
163 miles for the month and trending upward.

Week 1 - 31

Week 2 - 35

Week 3 - 40

Week 4 - 46

 Got my first mid-week double digit mile run of the year in this morning. Feeling encouraged. On pace for 50ish miles this week. 

 
Juxtatarot said:
I should probably read that strides section again.  I haven't done them in years.  Part of the problem is I'd try to fit them in on easy days but they raise the heart rate and make it not easy anymore!  
My understanding of strides is that they are short enough that the HR doesn't really go up that much, and even if it does you're really not shifting metabolically.  Another way to say it would be that they are a neuromuscular drill, not a cardiovascular one.  I've seen varying lengths suggested from Maffetone's 7-8 second strides (gotta keep that HR down at all costs!) to the more common 20-30 second strides.  I've been mixing in (not enough recently) 20 second strides with 1:40 between, as suggested by David Roche in a recent TrailRunner article.

 
feeling pretty great about banging out a 20 mile week over here

until i read this thread :(
Great thing about this sport, it's more about competing against yourself than it is competing against others.  That said, keep winning the one-on-one battles vs. yourself and eventually you'll start beating more of the others too.

 
Great thing about this sport, it's more about competing against yourself than it is competing against others.  That said, keep winning the one-on-one battles vs. yourself and eventually you'll start beating more of the others too.
yeah, i'm all in for the solo competition reasons. even when that 20 something smokeshow in tight pants blew past me with her dog on a leash and i tried my damndest to catch her, i didn't get mad at myself. just winded. and once the realization hit me that once i caught the bumper, what was i going to do with the car? i felt all better

 
You guys are throwing out some insane mileage this year.  Sheesh.  

I'm going to end February with 42 non-productive miles, as I'm still dealing with knee pain (quad tendon?) from four weeks ago.  Seems a perfect lead up to a 50 miler just six weeks out and a 100 just eight weeks beyond that.   :kicksrock:

I'm about a week from caving to go see a specialist.  

 
You guys are throwing out some insane mileage this year.  Sheesh.  

I'm going to end February with 42 non-productive miles, as I'm still dealing with knee pain (quad tendon?) from four weeks ago.  Seems a perfect lead up to a 50 miler just six weeks out and a 100 just eight weeks beyond that.   :kicksrock:

I'm about a week from caving to go see a specialist.  
If it's been hanging on for four weeks, don't wait another week.  

 
Finished February with 35:28:44 good for 175 miles and 19,413' of elevation gain.  That's my sixth biggest mileage month ever, with the top 5 all coming in the peak of the summer in the months of Jun/Jul/Aug, so pretty happy with the early-season ramp up for 2017 so far (especially considering only 28 days).

116 days  #seeyouinsquaw

 
Juxtatarot said:
Probably the key is the "just have to listen to the pain" part.  
Agree. But when I ultimately ruptured it I was playing softball and in no pain. I'm of course rather skittish about this topic since blowing out my Achilles was awful (not the incident itself, more the length of recovery). Bottom line, just be careful.

 
feeling pretty great about banging out a 20 mile week over here

until i read this thread :(
Yep. Thrilled to be back to 25+ mile weeks and I see that I finished 9th in running time last week. :shrug:

But, if i was doing this to win I would have given up a long time ago. Just chase those PRs.

 
Pales in comparison to many in here, but I'm very happy with my 127 mile month.  Not as many efficiency gains as January, but that bar (almost a min/mile) wasn't going to be reached again.  A 4+ minute course best at the 10k trail race I always do + an overall 8:13 pace across 127 miles (8:29/121 miles last yr) is noteworthy progress though.

I'm not doing the same strength training routine I've done before, but looking at what I was doing last February that was extremely easy compared to what I'm doing now.  I skipped too many sessions though…need to clean that up in March.

Yesterday was my 2nd track workout of the month, something I didn't do last year, but upon review the only tempo I did was on the trails to prep for the race.  I'm going to schedule one soon for a better apples-to-apples comparison to see where I am vs. last year when I nailed 8/6 tempo's on 2/28 and 3/4.

Not doing the usual 5 mile St. Paddy’s race this year – family stuff interfering.  Since my diet is usually terrible this month I’m probably going to wait til April to think about my next race.  March’s focus will be on being more consistent with strength training and really zeroing in on just one or two runs per week, rest will be just about accumulating miles.

 
I ran 40 miles last week, the most I've ever ran. I came in here and saw some people ran 80 miles and immediately thought it was a typo. As frustrating as it is to realize that some people in here are just machines. It is also motivating me to work harder to get on their level. However, I agree with the poster that said it's a competition against yourself. I have my first ever half-marathon on Sunday. After that, I plan to really start training to run my first ever marathon. I hope to have some 80 mile weeks in the near future. I will also join the Strava group once the app on the watch is useable as a standalone app (sometime this spring). Looking forward to becoming a machine too!

 
I ran 40 miles last week, the most I've ever ran. I came in here and saw some people ran 80 miles and immediately thought it was a typo. As frustrating as it is to realize that some people in here are just machines. It is also motivating me to work harder to get on their level. However, I agree with the poster that said it's a competition against yourself. I have my first ever half-marathon on Sunday. After that, I plan to really start training to run my first ever marathon. I hope to have some 80 mile weeks in the near future. I will also join the Strava group once the app on the watch is useable as a standalone app (sometime this spring). Looking forward to becoming a machine too!
Your enthusiasm is awesome but be careful about ramping up the mileage too quickly.  Chance of injury would be quite high. It wasn't until my 4th or 5th marathon before I ran into the 50s and my 8th before I hit 70.    

 
I ran 40 miles last week, the most I've ever ran. I came in here and saw some people ran 80 miles and immediately thought it was a typo. As frustrating as it is to realize that some people in here are just machines. It is also motivating me to work harder to get on their level. 
I remember the first time I broke 40 in a week and thinking I was only able to did it because I was on travel for work away from the wife and kids.  It was done in Albuquerque so it was at altitude too. It took about a 1 1/2 years of running to get to that point and it was a huge confidence boost that I could handle it.  In the end I found time by getting up earlier.

Keep in mind that many of us have been doing this for years and didn't just start with 60-80 miles a week. You'll see huge fitness gains running consistently at 40 miles a week. Hopefully you'll get on Strava soon.

 
Yeah, @JShare87 while running more is the best way to improve, staying consistent is a very close second. As someone who has been bit by the injury bug more than a couple times. Ease into more miles and back off if you need to. @pbm107 is exactly right...40 miles a week for months in a row, you'll definitely see gains. 

 
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So I registered for a cross country 5k on Saturday.  Looking forward to something different.  10k at the end of the month is what I am looking toward, but this should make my weekend more interesting.  

 
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Yeah, @JShare87 while running more is the best way to improve, staying consistent is a very close second. As someone who has been bit by the injury bug more than a couple times. Ease into more miles and back off if you need to. @pbm107 is exactly right...40 miles a week for months in a row, you'll definitely see gains. 
Yep. 

Last winter I ramped it up and pushed a couple days when I shouldn't have - made for a much worse 70.3 than if I had just been smart.  I think I've been smarter this time.  I've been running or tri-ing consistently for over 20 years now.  

 
Thanks for all the advice. I just plan to go on longer easier runs while monitoring the heart rate. 40 was pretty tough, so I'll stay there for a while and see what my body says. 

 

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