4 Months

4 months have come and gone since the surgery and I'm staring to feel like my return to running is fast approaching. I know of course that I still have ways to go before I can get back to a regular running routine so perhaps I shouldn't be getting too far ahead of myself but it's good at least that I'm almost ready to take the next step. I met with Dr Oloff this week and he was happy with my progress, everything seems to be going according to schedule. I've been cleared to start doing some fast walking and gradually progress as tolerated to some light jogging. I got on the treadmill once this past week and walked a mile, starting at 20 minute pace and progressing down to about 13 min pace. A few times I tried to jog a couple of steps, just to see how it felt, and the result was rather encouraging. I didn't feel any pain but trying to run did feel a little awkward, which shouldn't be surprising I guess. I think my Achilles could tolerate some light running right now but I first need to build some more strength in my left leg, especially in the calf. I'm still not able to fully do a single leg calf raise on my left foot and I need to be strong enough to push myself off the ground before I can start running. Hopefully I'll get close enough by the end of this week but I'm definitely not gonna rush into it. I've waited long enough so far and I don't mind waiting a few more weeks to ensure that I don't have any setbacks. After all it's not like I'm gonna jump into running right away. I'll probably start with jogging a mile every other day and gradually build up the mileage and intensity. I'll continue to cross train until I get to the point where I'm running sufficient mileage, which of course won't be happening any time soon.

Speaking of cross training, this past week has been pretty solid. I started the week with a 29 mile bike ride on Sunday, got on the elliptical Monday-Tuesday and rode my bike to work the last 3 days of the week. Saturday was off as planned. In total I biked about 130 miles and spent a couple of hours on the elliptical. Here's the summary:

Sunday - 5/17
29 mile bike ride

Monday - 5/18
1:30 on elliptical

Tuesday - 5/19
Physical therapy
30:00 elliptical
1 mile fast walking, some jogging


Wednesday - 5/20
Biked to work
~32 miles


Thursday - 5/21
Biked to work in the morning, biked to PJCC for physical therapy, biked back to work and home in the afternoon. ~38 miles

Friday - 5/22
Biked to work
~32 miles

Saturday - 5/23
Off