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Any physical manipulation/constriction of the 'inflamed' tendons made things worse. They were very thickened, with a fat nodule of tissue sticking out from each. After 6 weeks the nodules had practically gone, and the tendons had thinned and become a little more elastic feeling. In a past life I'd tried the transverse/cross-friction massage thing that theoretically achieves the same effect. It doesn't.

GWS. Calves are not like Pringles.

^My 'new normal' is ~175k/month (it used to be more like 400k), and I'll be sticking with that for now, at least while I spend the next 3-6 months monitoring the recovery of my insertional tendinopathy.

You can see the reality of it here. I stopped running in mid-April, having spent the previous 6 months preparing for/competing in indoor track stuff (60-800m). Stopping was hard. I realised how it was a form of addiction. That passed within a few weeks. I think the break was healthy as a psychological exercise too.

And don't skimp on sleep during those first 12 weeks.

That's all. I think.

PS. For me, stretching of the Achilles area was 100% counter-productive. I'd strongly advise against it. Current science is with me. But keep the rest of your posterior chain supple (hamstrings, glutes).

I have some lingering insertional tendinopathy on one side, but that's well known to take a long time to fully heal, particularly at my age. The bi-lateral mid-point tendinopathy is definitely under control. Fixed, even.

After two years of diligently doing all the usual rehab protocols while continuing to train/race, I was getting nowhere. Sick of hobbling around for the first hour each day, and running through the discomfort hoping I'd be reasonably mobile by the start line or whatever.

Success came with rest. That old chestnut. Roughly:

• 6 weeks with no running, and as little walking as I could manage
  
• After the first 2 weeks, I reintroduced some rehab stuff: slow eccentric heel stuff, avoiding dropping beyond parallel; loads of isometrics, e.g. 30s building to 1' single leg tip-toe (not fully up, about halfway); some very slow concentric/eccentric deadlifts
  
• After the first 4 weeks, introduced steady turbo training; continued with rehab stuff, adding a bit of weight, and doing the isometric stuff on a balance board
  
• Weeks 6-9, all the above continued, but I added one easy run, buildling from about 5 to 10k
  
• Weeks 10-12, as above, but increased to 2 runs per week
  
• From week 13 onwards, I started to feel my way with increasing intensity or distance. One run might include some short hill sprints, the other essentially became my long run, and I was soon up to 25k / 2hrs, including plenty of off-road stuff to get all the proprioceptive/neuromuscular stuff as robust as possible.
  
  

Everyone's different, but early attempts at tempo pace didn't work, neither did a third run. Once I'd returned to track, it unfortunately became clear that middle distance work remained a no-no for my insertional tendinopathy.

A big part of the initial return to running was having 48+hrs between each run. If you want tissues to repair, much like love, you can't hurry them. I'm over 3 months back into my running, but where I've left less time between runs, I can feel that the net result is damage. This might be less of an issue if you're under 30, but you still wouldn't be immune to long term net degradation.

I also added collagen powder to my post workout drink. It's a whey/collagen blend now, and if it's been a particularly hard session, I'll have some vitamin C at the same time. Recent research has shown that combo to be particularly good for tendon repair.

But the big rest was what did it. Undoubtedly. I'd started to give up hope I could ever be pain-free mid-Achilles, and it was like a fucking miracle.

Good luck to all the HCers. Enjoying watching from the sidelines. Bringing back a few memories of races, all on fixed, no power meters or any of that. I got 3rd in the Wigmore event, just missed Catford/Bec podiums, and have won on Mott St a few times. IIRC, I decided to do the ELV event massively overgeared as an experiment (84”, I think), and still won. I’ve done similar experiments massively undergeared, because fun is better than stress and exactitude.

I think I’m saying that aside from having the proprioceptive nous to maintain a good bike/rider and tyre/road interface, the rest is just a mental game against gravity and meteorological conditions. A fight and a dance. I’m sure data heads and marginal gainers will disagree, but whatever, I just twat around on Zwift now and only race in running shoes/spikes.

Hope the weather’s kind…

Oh, so you’re D D. I haven’t a fucking clue on Strava sometimes (which may have influenced my decision to switch to unfiltered username recently - not that I know/can remember people’s real names on here).

I’ve been watching the recent Italian races on Rai (usually Rai2 rather than RaiSport) in the way you mention. No sign up necessary, unless you want to watch their on-demand replays.

My speed on group rides was only ever a strategy to escape tedious chit-chat.

I was ahead of the pandemic curve with sanitising (and those were always running side-effects rather than cycling).

@amey when my son was younger, I had to ensure I stayed on my feet after a long and exhausting ride, and go almost immediately into an outdoor activity with him. Sitting was risky. Lying down was game over.

You will have puffy eyes.

Tears are just failure leaving the body.

Never thrown up, but have made nose bleed and caused hot wax to bubble out my ears.

Same. Can’t believe how much mine’s plummeted. 170bpm used to mean barely warmed-up. It’s race o’clock now.

• to feel strong
  
• to maintain the momentum of getting out of bed each day rather than just ending it all
  
• to be a role model for my son (genes alone are not a free pass in life)
  
• to win/get on podiums/beat club records/get Strava course records for stupid pointless fun
  
• to enjoy that occasional moment in a race where you sense the main rival/s crack (something primal and a bit ugly, but the lizard brain likes what it likes)
  
• to enjoy food more
  

I processed an inter library loan for Fanny Procureur last week.

Have fun. Think I'm even feeling it in my arms now. So rusty.

I normally go: half dose nasal inhaler > +half dose Loratadine > +full dose Loratadine > +eye drops > +top-up Piriton as necessary. Usually starting from April.

Just about to enter the +eye drops stage, and possibly quickly transition into +top-up Piriton.

Being inside during lockdown and too injured to run has helped this year. Swings/roundabouts.

I'm missing parkrun, and the lockdown happened just as soon as I'd had my DBS check done for run directing at junior parkrun.

I'm not missing the spammy middle-class marketing from HQ though, especially after we copped a load of flack for shutting down our event before the formal (and too late) order to do so. Pfft.

After the six-year riding hiatus, my feet had grown/spread due to running, and getting into my old Sidi Dragon 2s is do-able, but not ideal. Plus the material/foam inside the heel cup is torn to shreds – possibly because they were always a half size too small.

Anyway, as you mentioned, they last for thousands and thousands of miles/kms, and are otherwise as good as new. I'd bought a spare set of replaceable sole bits, but hadn't got around to needing them…

…so they're yours for free if you want them (the sole bits – I'm keeping the shoes!). At whatever point in time. Just give me a nudge whenever.

Meanwhile, getting back into indoor cycling, I ended up buying a pair of lace-up Lakes from Sigma. Just needed a thin 'volume insole' added underneath the existing ones to take up the slack for my narrow feet. MX1G, I think. They seem fine. Leather, mind. I had a pair of Lakes decades ago which were good too.

Did 5k steady this morning to test things. 23-something: around the slowest pace at which I avoid slipping into sloppy jogging form. Initially shocked at how hard the ground felt. All those little systems you optimise to float were completely dormant. All felt very mechanical, but to be expected. I’m also 5% heavier than when I stopped, so whatever.

Conscious of the slightest reactivity in my Achilles post-run, but have to remember they’ve been constantly worse for two years, and I was managing to compete at a high (age group) level all that time. I don’t wish to return to that state of affairs, and ultimately I’ll go faster if pain-free.

Next run Sunday. Hopefully by the end of June I’ll be running more fluently.

Fuck it, I’m going out early tomorrow for 15 minutes or something; then a 5k at the weekend, all being well. I’ve been really disciplined with the rehab and my brain is demanding a fix of runner’s high. Username, usernature.

@Tenderloin Good to hear your Achilles held up. My six weeks off running ends this week, so I’ll try a local jog on Saturday. Not sure you can undo two years of tendinopathy in a month and a half, but it’s nearly time to find out.

If it turns out my running days are over, or my sprinting days, I’m determined to be gracious and philosophical in defeat. Determined…