2026...where did you come from?!
Happy New Year everyone!
The PC has been dug out from where a mound of dust used to sit so I guess you could say I am quite literally dusting off the old blog!
You will have to forgive the jump in time here, its been a bit of a rollercoaster. On one side, another successful and very fulfilling year as a personal trainer, the other, an injury that`s taken over a year to heal and is still not 100% there yet!
As most people do this time of year, I have been thinking about the new year, goals, fitness and all that jazz.
From a fitness point of view last year (still sounds weird to say) was a very frustrating one. The year before (2024...also weird to say) I was in great shape and running very well.
I really geared myself up for St Albans Stampede, a wonderful 4 mile loop around Heartwood Forest. The format being as many laps as you can/want (delete as appropriate) in 12 hours. This can be done in teams or solo...obviously solo was my choice of punishment.
The weather this particular September was great and I was over the moon to finish 13 laps with 52 miles in 10:40:44 and a new personal best for the stampede!!
A month later, after a week of feeling pretty under the weather, I ran the "Top Run" event with the ever friendly Phoenix Running on a section of the river Thames. Walton on Thames to be more precise.
I took it kind of reserved as I wasn't feeling my best and was very happy to finish a marathon in 4:10:06! This also marked Marathon/Ultra number 33...brilliant.
I hobbled off to get some lunch with Mummysaurus. While I stuffed my face, we chatted about future plans and how I was closing in on 50 marathons/ultras, a goal I had set myself a while back, to complete 50 marathons/ultras before I turn 50.
Lunch done I stand up and my left foot is pretty tender. Not really new news for me so I just begin hobbling out of the pub. The stairs is where the real "fun" starts and I very nearly fall down them. On flat ground now and we have about a half a mile walk to the car park. After only a couple of steps I feel like something is a little different. My heel hurts, like...a LOT! I grit my teeth and shuffle my way to the car.
Around an hour later I step, ever so stiffly, out of the car. My foot touches the ground and I want to scream. I settle on a small whimper, hug Mummysaurus and head inside for a nice hot shower and some painkillers.
I limp around for the rest of the evening and head off to bed.
I roll out of bed, put my foot on the ground and instantly feel like its been hit by a truck! Now I`m not new to foot pain but this feels new...different...in a BAD way.
I spend the next couple of months not being able to run at all, even walking around is extremely uncomfortable. I`ll spare you the boring build up back to 10km, I wish I could have missed it too. Even now, a year later, I have to take things a little gently.
I`m not really sure why I waited so long to see a professional, I guess I just thought it would take time and get better...with hindsight I should've just seen someone right away but well...here we are!
I went to a muscular skeletal specialist who promptly told me off for not seeing someone earlier. Yup...totally agree! At least there is nothing wrong with my hindsight, that's 20/20!! (insert comical "BA DUM TSS!)
They prodded and poked and then referred me for an x-ray to make sure I didn't have, possibly now a badly repaired heel fracture.
4-6 weeks later, x-ray done and results finally back I head back to the muscular skeletal specialist for the verdict.
"Well the good news is its not a heel fracture"
"ok" I reply slightly nervously as I await the bad news portion...
"You have Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy"
"ah....so what now?"
"Well....try some heel lifts in your shoes and halve the amount of running you did when you injured it"
At this I had a slight smile on my face and said "oh...I probably did it during the 50 miler...does that mean I can run a marathon?!" assuming the obvious answer, somewhere along the lines of "no you absolute moron!" what I got was unexpected.
She leant back on her chair a bit with a small smile, gave a little shrug and said the following glorious word;
"sure".
She went on to explain that I've got to build up and listen to my body along the way, all the normal advice really.
I walked out with mixed emotions. I had prepared myself for protentional disastrous news and instead was left with something along the lines of "its just going to take longer".
Before I go much further lets backtrack a little to the diagnosis - "Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy"
For those of you that want a proper breakdown, please Google that now, its really quite fascinating!
For those that don't, I`ll do my best to give you a quick breakdown.
Basically it means the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to your heel bone has been damaged.
I've added a picture here for reference...
The pain can present itself much like Achilles Tendinopathy and Plantar Fasciitis. In my case I get pain just in front of where that arrow is that shows the Heel Bone.
So in summary - Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy - Not fun, would not recommend 3/10.
Obviously there are much worse injuries out there and overall I'm thankful that this wasn't one of those. The road to a full recovery may still be some time away but most important of all, I can still run!
This I think is a nice positive way to end this post and start the New Year!
I don't really do New Years resolutions, more of an ongoing thought.
Its time to start the journey back to that crazy fitness level that makes me feel like a superhero!
So here it is, my thought for the New Year;
New Year, Old Me!
Thanks for reading and a very Happy New Year to you all!
Love as always,
Cardiosaurus
