About six inches stands between me and my next marathon. I plan to run the Athens Marathon in just over a month, the third of my five marathons. I have my plane ticket. I have my hotel reservation. I’ve been training for months. I’m ready to go - except for about six inches of tissue at the bottom of my right foot.
There’s something almost poetic about having an Achilles
tendon issue while training for the Athens Marathon. The Greek hero, Achilles,
for whom the Achilles tendon is named, figured prominently in Homer’s The
Iliad.
Except that it didn’t feel all that poetic when I started to
develop a distinct pain in the area of my right ankle a couple of weeks ago.
The pain arrived out of the blue and uninvited, nearing the end of one early
morning run. Having never experienced this particular injury before, and
thankfully having experienced very few running injuries in general, I ignored
it. That is - until my next run when the pain became more insistent, forcing me
to call it a day just minutes into my run.
Still not sure what was wrong, I turned to the experts - or
at least whoever claimed to be an expert and came up on a Google search. None
of the standard reasons given for Achilles tendon problems applied - I hadn’t
stepped up my training dramatically, or suddenly started running more hills.
And I assure you that I wasn’t wearing high heels. I suspect that a new pair of
running shoes may be the culprit, but I can’t be sure. As one web site noted
after listing every possible reason, sometimes no specific reason presents
itself.
Yet, here I am, with a marathon to run in November and an
Achilles tendon issue in October. I’m determined to run the marathon. I didn’t
come this far to throw in the towel. I’m also determined not to do something
stupid. My Google experts emphasized that the Achilles tendon is serious
business. They also gave me all manner of exercises, stretches and massage
remedies to speed up the healing process.
Mostly though, they recommended rest. Which poses a dilemma
- the most effective way to get over this would be simply to take a break from
running for about a month. That would get me to Athens with a recovered
Achilles tendon and no ability whatsoever to run the marathon. Or, I can
continue to try to run as if everything’s fine, compounding the injury so that
I will have no ability whatsoever to run the marathon.
I’ve developed a “hedge my bets” strategy, and discovered an
important life lesson along the way. My strategy is simple - I took one week
off and am now gradually returning to running with the hope of being up to
speed (pun intended) in time for the starting gun in Athens. I’m doing every
expert-recommended stretch, exercise and massage that exists to recover
quickly. So far it seems to be working. I’ll let you know how it turns out - a
future blog post will either proclaim that I ran the Athens Marathon despite an
Achilles tendon injury, or explain why I didn’t run the Athens Marathon because
of an Achilles tendon injury. I’m strongly favoring the former result.
In the meantime - strange, is it not, that I’m devoting so
much thought and effort to a six inch band of tissue that resides above one of
my feet? In the larger context, it’s a marginal part of my running. There’s
picking out running shoes, focusing on running form, the mental game of
running, protecting my knees, planning my training schedule to maximize my
running ability, performing exercises to strengthen my back and core, working
on correct running posture, etc. etc.
And then there’s this little tendon at the bottom of my
right foot that right now is pushing all that aside and clamoring for all the
attention. But that’s how the Achilles tendon has always worked - In the Greek
story, Achilles was killed by Paris, who shot him in the heel - thus the phrase
“achilles heel” - with an arrow. Ever since, the Achilles has been the metaphor
for a person’s weak spot, often seemingly inconsequential and even hidden from
view, but ultimately determinative.
Years ago, a certain self-help book made the bestseller
lists – Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It’s All Small Stuff. Sometimes, this can be sound advice - look at the big picture, don’t get swept
away by the details. But often, the seemingly small stuff turns out not to be
so small - at least if the small stuff turns out to be your weak spot. One
incompetent minimum-wage customer service representative can lose hundreds of
customers and thousands of dollars for a company. One little defective spark
plug can render an entire automobile immobile. One errant cell can multiply
into a fatal cancer.
Sometimes, it can be unproductive to focus on the tiny
details at the expense of the big picture - but it’s critical that we identify
those little things that, when properly cared for, can make a big difference, and
when not cared for, can derail us. Often, success in any field comes down to a
few basic principles or a couple of skills. Often, it is the small changes we
make that can have the biggest impact on achieving our goals.
So I’m going to start thinking small. I may still be running
five marathons over the course of a year - but for the next few weeks, I’ll be
focusing on those six little inches of tissue that will either help me reach my
goal or stand rigidly in my way.
_________________________
I am running these five marathons for the amazing children and adults at the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. We have set a goal of $5,000. Every donation of any amount makes a difference. Click here if you want to help us get to the finish line!
great post. Thank you for sharing
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