Hey all…hard to believe I just wrote that title to this post. Time flies when you’re having fun :) I’ve been keeping up with most everyone’s posts…although I did just read about Fordtough’s bilateral experience…and wow..I think that takes the cake. I was so fearful of rupturing my good AT hobbling around on crutches for those first 8 weeks, but in hindsight, I would have gotten through it.
On to the status report. The limp is pretty much gone, phew..that just seemed to not go away. Reminded me of those mosquitoes at Boy Scout camp buzzing around outside my bug netting at night. The ankle feels extremely solid in shoes, and better and better in bare feet. I took my first big mis-step in recovery about a week ago. Was not looking were I was walking and stepped up on to a curb and the heel dropped to the ground, full weight on the repaired AT. My heart dropped…but she held solid. I’ve been visualizing the repair site inside, and I’m pretty convinced that by now, it’s solid in there. I’ve actually been treating the first 6 months as time to let it heal. I’ve been doing very little strength training over the past month, just stretching and walking. I ride my bike daily with daughter in tow on the trail-a-bike…it’s a 10 mile commute round trip.
This morning, I put the clipless pedals back on the bike. I took a ride for the first time on the route that I rode a few days before tearing back in February. There are two good hills that put me to the test when I’m 100%. I almost bonked on the first hill (more due to a few too many beers this Labor Day weekend), but managed to grind through it and was so damn proud of myself at the top…I also gave a quiet shoot out to my surgeon and my PT. The second hill is shorter, but steeper….I started up it behind another guy. I keep it out of the granny gear and really pushed hard with my recovering leg….I cruised past the other biker. The AT felt good and altough winded at the top, I could do nothing but smile. Of course I got passed easily on the downhill by the same guy..but I’m a brake rider when it comes to the downhill…always enjoyed climbing more. Sooo..long story short, biking is good…and getting better. I’m going to keep the slicks on and stay on the road through the fall/winter. I’ll hit the trails again next spring.
So now it is on the strength training. I just recently got started, lots of calf raises (eccentric) and balancing. I never was a big runner, but hope to do a little of that as well. I actually am teaching my 3 year old daughter to ride her bike w/out training wheels and that’s a lot of running while bending over. The AT feels good through that.
The only thing that bugs me is when I’m doing a heel raise and at the very top of the raise, the AT feels like it’s bunching up at the bottom, towards where it connects to the heel. Other than that, my range of motion is close to 100%. I’ve been doing weight bearing stretches for quite some time, and will continue on with that. I can hit one, maybe two, single heel raises, but that’s it. I do them with assistance now regularly, so we’ll see how that pays off this next month.
Here’s a pic:
Just a slight improvement in size and definition of the calf from the last month. We’ll see how this next month goes with the increased strength training. I’m really pleased with the profile of the AT though…I assumed it was going to be super fat for the rest of my life, and although a little bigger than the good one, it’s much better than I would have expected.
Here’s the scar:
One legged calf raise (that’s as far as I can get off the ground):
Well, until next month, keep up the good work all! I’m excited to see how many folks are taking advantage of this community that Dennis has created.
Cheers!
Brendan
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