AT Surgery Status Update

 A friend asked how I was doing with regards to my Achilles Tendonitis Surgery and recovery. His friend is considering the procedure. I think my reply may be a good general status update for anyone who is interested.

My surgery was on May 27 (funny how I have no trouble with remembering that). It was with Dr. Mark Berkowitz of Cleveland Clinic. I would recommend him.

 

I’d suffered from Achilles Tendonitis for over 7 years. The pain was worse after hard running efforts and while driving (it’s my right foot). It was a calcium buildup at the base of my heel, so I think that’s the same as a bone spur. The procedure was to cut the calcium and even a little bit into the bone to reshape it. I was told to only go for it if I was truly desperate because the recovery is so long and difficult and requires a lot of PT. The usual recovery would be 9-12 months.

 

It’s now 8 months, and I’ve resumed running since November. The pain is completely gone, but despite the PT I still don’t have the strength I once had in that area. Of course, I gained weight and of course, I’m running very slowly with much fewer miles.

 

But I am pretty sure I’m glad I did it.

Can You Keep Up?

 

It was a simple question: "Are you able to keep up with them?" Debbie asked it after I talked about my plans to run with my friends again the following morning. "Oh yeah," I answer. "Usually. Well, mostly. Well, sometimes. Okay, Occasionally," I qualify. But then came today's run itself.

I'm on the Lester Rail Trail for the first time in a while. And it'll be a while before I'm here again. Michelle and Andy Wolff and I had run one six-mile loop, and now Harold Dravenstott has joined us for a second one. Although we'd started in the dark, it's clear, yet very cold, and the sun is just beginning to rise. I reflect on the fact that I love running here.

Unfortunately, after a couple more miles, I am also beginning to reflect on the current problem at hand: I'm getting tired. Michelle and I fall back a little, but my ability to maintain even this slower pace is failing. Eventually, I have had enough. I announce that I'm turning around and heading back to the parking area.

Thus, I have to say that this was one of the days when I could not keep up. I suppose I should add yet another qualification to the answer to Debbie's question: "Only when there's a blue moon."

At least I got 11 in today. And I'm still recovering from last weekend's BM. And I ran for three consecutive days prior to today. And I still need to get myself into decent shape. And...

Noted: Pride Goeth Before the Fall, Episode XIV

"It was a slip, not a trip," I say. "I want that noted."

This, whilst I'm still on the ground, trying (and failing) to avoid laughing at myself.  I'd slipped on some ice earlier in the run, but that time, I'd managed to (barely) stay vertical. Not this time; I'm completely horizontal. My friends, Michelle Wolff and Harold Dravenstott, are not laughing at all. They're much too polite. And concerned. 

They should be, for I'm an old man.

But I'm okay. Only my pride was hurt. I just hope that everything is noted.

Ice-Eight and a Half

 

I've written about Ice-Nine before. I was gonna do it again, but it's easier (for you and me) to just reference it here. It's a little bit of fun. I mention Ice-Nine again because I thought about it as I encountered ice during this morning's run. I don't like ice, but I don't like not running, either.

As I step out, ice isn't the first thing I notice. The first thing I notice is the cold wind. It's bracing. Then, I notice the ice when I take another step towards the driveway. It's fairly thin - more like what you'd call black ice - but there's enough to give me pause. Do I really want to risk falling during my run this morning? 

Maybe the street will be better, I think. After what seems like a long, slow, careful walk down the driveway, I discover that the street is indeed somewhat dryer. Maybe I can get my run in, after all. The wind is from the North, and that's my initial direction. It's been a while since I've run on such a cold morning.

I encounter some other slippery areas. I avoid them as much as possible. 

It wasn't pretty, and I didn't get very far. But at least I got a run done. And I managed, moreover, to remain vertical. That's a critical success factor for most of my running these days.

Brunswick ((Half)) Marathon

 

It's really supposed to be the Brunswick Marathon, but some of us have, on occasion, wimped out and only did a half. So it's almost a thing. In fact, since I did it this time, I'll go as far as to say that the Brunswick Half Marathon is a thing.

At the start - Julie Boggs Photo

That didn't affect Michael Kazar and Felicia Fago, who managed to run the whole thing. But for me, a half would be just fine, thank you. Fine because I haven't run more than nine miles (and most of those were walking) since my surgery. 

But I felt absolutely fine during the first fun 6.55-mile romp around the streets of Brunswick. I started with some fast folk, but hardly noticed the speedy pace because we were all talking, catching up on old times. By the third mile, I certainly did notice the fast pace, and duly slowed down. (Note that, as always, whether a pace is fast or slow pace is entirely relative.) I should also mention that our fastest 1/2 marathoner went out so fast, he was nowhere to be seen.

I finished the first loop with my usual running posse consisting of Harold Dravenstott and Andy and Michelle Wolff, and that was fun as well. We all talked for a while, and some were done for the day, either because they started early or because they were just plain done. But when it was time to begin loop 2, I paused for a moment. Yes, I was feeling fine, but this would be uncharted territory for me.

Off I went, following my friends Theresa Wright and Julie Boggs. Would I be able to maintain this? The short answer is yes; we stuck together for those entire 6.55 final miles. I do think those two could've left me in the dust if they'd wanted to. We all finished together, and I was still surprisingly fine. I'll be sore tomorrow, but probably not hoblling.

My time was 2:38:51. Not bad for an old guy coming off surgery, right? Don't answer!