Luckily, I’ve had a steep recovery from what I thought might have been a long-term niggle. I’m just about back to normal training.
The only things I don’t think I’m quite ready for right now are long runs with lots of elevation gain and high intensity running.
From what I’ve been reading and hearing about tendons (this video is excellent), the isometric exercises I’ve been doing and continuing to run have probably been the key.
I’m even rethinking my weekly day off from running (again!). Apparently tendons need an almost daily load to stay strong and functional. I think this is even more important as you age because the signal from training is weaker.
So it might make sense to run every day, even if just for 20 minutes on what might otherwise have been a weekly day off.
Of course, it’s vital to be ready to take a rest day at the drop of a hat and rest upfront when you do get something more than a niggle you can run through.
Anyway, this time I’m not going to stop at just getting back to where I was before. My calves are obviously a weak point, so I’m going to make them and my Achilles stronger.
Calf/Achilles plan
- Calf raises and holds a few times a day (already doing)
- Keep running and get back to normal training (the Big Vert plan)
- Heavy lifts a few times a week (e.g. 4×8 single-leg calf raises) with other leg training (e.g. squats and deadlifts) (start next week)
- Skipping and other plyometrics, building up to the single leg jumps as explained here (maybe start this week)
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