KiloMike’s Achilles Blog

It’s almost been 2 months since I last updated this blog; I felt that I didn’t have much to write about. Quite honestly one of the main reasons I started this blog was because it was a form of therapy for me, writing therapy. I guess I used this blog as a venue for me to vent my frustration.

Anyways I’ll get the important stuff out of the way first, about my Achilles. This way, for those who are reading this, you won’t waste your time reading about my "reflections" at the end.

My Achilles feels great. It’s getting stronger, more flexible, and more stable each day.

I’m able to get a pretty good cardio workout now; I have no problem on the bike and elliptical anymore, I can basically go at full intensity.

I found Yoga extremely helpful. I lost so much flexibility and balance and even though I knew this, Yoga REALLY made me see this. I’ve only been to a few sessions but I was able to see lots of improvement each time.

For leg strength, I’ve been dong back lunges, step ups, and single leg deadlifts. Weights are still light, but it’s  slowly getting there. I still find squats quite difficult, my hips and left ankle are still quite tight.

I dislike doing calf raises; I find it incredibly boring and if I’m being lazy, I’ll skip them. I can almost do an unassisted calf raise now and I found walking on tip toes to really help.

From what I’ve been told, I don’t have a limp anymore when I walk. Hopefully though my friends and family aren’t just being nice. But I do know that when get tired from walking, I’ll limp if I don’t concentrate about pushing off with the ball of my foot.

I’m hoping to break out into a jog soon. I think I’m almost there.

Why am I happy that I tore my Achilles?

There were so many opportunities available to me before I was injured, and I never took them. "You miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky (my rugby coach used to always say this).

I’m happy for this injury because I realized how much of a darn coward I was, and a few weeks in, I realized that I’d hate myself if I let a stupid and minor injury like this one prevent me from doing the stuff I want to do.

For example (and I’ll use this lame one…) one thought that ran across my mind at the beginning was: "Great, just how exactly am I going to impress women now?" Now I’ve never been popular with the ladies, and the last thing I needed was something to make the playing field more difficult.

I am happy I tore my Achilles because I am more hungry for the things I want; I have a clearer sense of my goals and I am less concerned with what other people think of me.

It’s really given me a great opportunity to have an introspective chat with myself (I should highlight a "meaningful one" because I have pointless chatters with myself all the time). The injury may have made the road to where I want to be more shrouded and murky, but the finish line has gotten much clearer and brighter.

I also like to think it’s helped me meet this amazing and beautiful girl. And for reasons I can’t quite comprehend yet, she’s willing to go on long walks with me. Which is well… really good for my rehab. The walking I mean.