27 yr old Male Runner, Partial AT, Right foot, Day 25
I am very glad to have found this site as I was beginng to think a little bit alone on an island with this injury. My brief story: I was running a half marathon and during the last 100 ft of the race in rainy/windy conditions going on a steep hill I heard the infamous pop in my right leg. I took solace in the fact that I was able to hobble the last 100 ft to the finish in what felt like an hour, but really was more like 5 min. Despite that 5 min hobble at the end I still PR’ed my race by 14 seconds, which would have been probably close to a 6 min PR had I completed the race w/o rupturing (at least it showed my training during all the snow this winter aid off). This happened 03/30/14. Two days after I was praying I had just had some kind of major strain, as I never incurred any type of leg injury before, but with the pop I kinda new what the end result was. I do feel fortunate that this is a partial tear, which I hope will shorten the recovery time a bit. My treatment has been nonsurgical in the boot with wedges and crutches. At my 3 week appt this past Tuesday, my doctor said within a week or so I can begin weight bearing on the boot w/o the crutches, with the goal of going to two shoes by end of May. That I assume will be followed by a lot of PT.
As a competitive runner who has completed numerous races over the past several years theis injury is of course devastating to me. Next week I was to run the Pittsburgh half marathon, followed by races throughout the summer, with my finale for the 2014 season being my first full Philly Marathon after 8 half marathons. I realize the marathon is out of reach, but my doctor has told me that with diligent work I could perhaps do the half again by the end of November. 25 days of sitting w/no running or exercising with about 5 weeks to go before a stationary bike is attempted is definitely pushing my limits (as my girlfriend and family are finding out, I do not do well sitting). This week especially I have been having constant spasms in my upper and right side of my calf, where the tear is towards the left. My doctor assured me this is just atrophy/strain from the heavy boot, but I cannot help to be worried this is some kind of setback. I would love to hear from runner and non runners alike on their experiences and recovery as ths journey continues.
