Oct
20
One Year Anniversary & Moving On
October 20, 2014 | |
As my one year anniversary of the injury approached, I wanted more than ever to put this behind me. I had some obstacles in the way, but without addressing the mental one and taking that next step, I wouldn’t know what (if any) physical obstacles were still in my way. So, I decided that I was going to run. After a few weeks of just thinking and thinking about it, I got on the treadmill on October 3, 2014 (353 days after the injury and 351 days post-op) and I ran. I ran one mile and the leg felt great. The worst part about it was my stamina. I felt exhausted after just one mile, but I had no complaints otherwise. The next day, I ran 1.15 miles at a full 1.0 speed faster than the day before. I also ran the last 2.5 minutes on a 2% incline. Two days later, I ran 2 miles. The next day, I ran another 2 miles. Three days later, I ran for 30 minutes straight. I started to get in a rhythm and my leg felt. The only issues that I had were with cramping, mostly in my right leg. I don’t know why this happened, but I felt like it had something to do with being inactive for so long. I’ve never had issues with cramping before, so this was a new experience. I got through them, though, and will try to prepare better before running in the future so that I can minimize these issues.
This brings me to why I started writing this blog. The night that I ran for the first time, I decided that I wanted to write down everything that happened to me throughout this process. I still had a very vivid account of the past year, and I wanted to help other people know what to expect if they are going through the same injury. Also, by writing about it, I felt like I was putting it in the past. With it all in my head, and only there, I never really got away from it. Now, since it is written down, I feel like it is done and I can move forward. In three days, I leave for a hiking trip with some men from my church. We are going to a remote area and will be living outdoors, surviving alongside one another for 72 hours. This is a big event for me, because the hike will be 20-30 miles and there will be levels of physical strain that I haven’t experienced since my injury. I will be carrying 30-40 pounds on my back during the hike, so I think I will be pushed to forget about my leg and the past year, and move on with my life. I can’t wait.
Comments
3 Comments so far
Congratulations on your year anniversary! I will hit my anniversary date this week, as well. I started running several months ago and experienced all kinds of “little issues” (all non-achilles) because I had not been able to run for quite awhile. Once all my other muscles and tendons remembered how to work together, these “issues” all went away. Best of luck to you as you move forward and enjoy that awesome hiking trip!
Congrats to both of you!
Congrats, Aaron!
That’s huge progress over a short time; must feel fantastic. From experience, I can say the running comes back, but feels a little different (but not bad). Just keep it up; it’s amazing how fast running ability goes away these days post-op.
As for hiking with a heavy pack, that’s awesome. I hope it went well!