Function Progression Running - Week 8

It's surgery for me.  Enjoying my last few runs.

M - 3 miles
W - 3.5 miles
F - 5.5 miles
Sat  - 4 miles

Weekly total of 16 miles.

 XC Season starts.

Dr. Porter Visit (Surgery Decision)

It's been 20 weeks since my MRI.  I'd been in a boot for 17 of those weeks, and have started easing into running for the past 8 weeks.  The pain is still present, so I wanted to see what Dr. Porter thought for moving forward.  Being a teacher I get the summer off, so if surgery was the next step, I wanted to do it sooner than later.


The visit with Porter was relatively short.  He came in and inspected me, and some questions, and laid out my 2 options...

Option 1) No surgery, but only minimal running where the pace was comfortable and the mileage was around 20-30 miles a week.
Option 2) Surgery, with the hope that in 6-9 months I would be able to train again pain free, and get back on the horse.

Without hesitation, I choose surgery.  If I ever want to run fast (I know this is relative) again, then surgery is my best bet.  That being said, even with the surgery, there is a chance that my Achilles will still not cooperate.

The countdown has begun...T-Minus 6 days.

Function Progression Running - Week 7

M - 2 miles
W - 2.5 miles
T - 2 miles
Sat  - 3 miles

Weekly total of 9.5 miles.

Lots of stretching and strengthening.

Function Progression Running - Week 6

No more boot.

T - 2.5 miles
W - 2 miles
T - 2 miles
Sat  - 3 miles

Weekly total of 9.5 miles.

Now that I'm running a little more, I can tell things are not entirely back to normal.  I'm not in a ton of pain, but I'm also not healthy.  Ugh.

Big week this week.

Appointment scheduled with Porter.
Last Student day was Tues (June 10th)
Last Teacher day was Wed (June 11th)
Got Married on Sat (June 14th)

Reconnect with Porter

After 17 weeks in a boot and following the running program for 5+ weeks, I am still not out of the woods.  I'm still not in a lot of pain, but I know that I'm not better yet.  I reached out to Dr. Porter and I've scheduled an appointment for June 25th.  I will talk with him as to how to proceed.  Surgery will be the likely course of action.  I've penciled it in for July 2nd.  If Dr. Porter recommends surgery, I am confident that it will be the best course of action.  I fee like I've exhausted the other possibilities.

Phone Call with Ben

I was sharing my situation with my friend, Matt, and he suggested that I connect with Ben because he went through a similar situation.  Ben and I talked for about 45 minutes.  It sounds like we were similar situations.  In fact, Ben also had Dr. Porter perform his surgery.  He shared his experience with me, and he made sure to emphasis physical therapy.  He said that was what really seemed to help get him better.  He was very aggressive with the stretching and strengthening.  I'm not sure if it will be enough time, but for the next 2 weeks (leading up to my June 25th appointment) I will really emphasize stretching in conjunction with the running.  This main consisted of heel drops, 1 legged squats, terra band work, and balancing.  I kinda feel like this my last ditch effort before surgery.  I just don't know if 2 weeks is enough time, or if it will really make a difference.

End of the Boot

After 17 weeks in the boot, I've decided to stop wearing it.  I've come to the conclusion that 17 is sufficient time for the Achilles to repair itself (from what I've read, it usually takes between 8 to 12 weeks).

I will continue to do the Functional Progression for running.  After following the program for 5 weeks, I've built up to 8 miles.  I can sense my Achilles, but I really haven't gone far enough for it to hurt.

Function Progression Running - Week 5

Still wore boot during day, but not in the evenings or to sleep.

M - 1.5 miles
W - 2 miles
F - 2.5 miles
Sat  - 2 miles

Weekly total of 8 miles.

Function Progression Running - Week 4

Still wore boot during day, but not in the evenings or to sleep.

M - 1 mile
Th - 1.5 miles
Sat  - 2 miles

Weekly total of 4.5 miles