It's beyond frustrating at this point. The mental aspect of this injury is 100 times worse than the physical pain in the achilles tendon. I have days where it feels great and I think I'm getting close to resuming training but then out of nowhere it swells up like a "cankle" and my tendon is barely visible under the swelling. I've had no pain biking or swimming but after swimming Wednesday my tendon ballooned out of control again and I decided after talking to my wife that I need to take a complete break from training to let this injury heal. You can easily tell when comparing my good right leg to the one on the left that it is not healing well. If you click on the picture it will make it larger. The toughest part is not knowing. I have no idea how long it will take...I'm already long past the expected healing period I was thinking before surgery. With most injuries like a stress fracture there is a pretty solid timeframe for how much time one needs to take off training to let the injury heal. With this I have no idea if it will be a week or forever. Just a few months ago I woke up every day with a goal of making a professional podium at a race this summer. It was a goal I had convinced myself was realistic through the workouts I was completing. Now I wonder every day if I'll be able to compete again...when that day will be. Will I ever be able to run pain free again...thoughts that are much bigger than triathlon. I don't want to have to tell Payton I can't run with her some day because of an injury that wouldn't heal. It is why I have decided I'm not going to train until I can run pain free. I wish I knew how long that will be.
I hope that it will be someday. The Rock Island Argus/Moline Dispatch ran a story of my injury in the paper today which can be found by clicking the photo or accessing the website at
http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=497035 It will be tough to watch the QC Triathlon next week but I'm glad I can help give back to the sport and community that I love. I may not post for awhile if I continue to have bad news. It's wearing me down mentally more than anything and I just wish I could do the things I love to do. I'd like to congratulate my older brother Jason on finishing the Hy-Vee Triathlon with his best race ever today in the pouring rain in Des Moines. I'm excited to watch his progress next year as he continues to commit to living a healthy lifestyle. You've made me more proud than I can express in these words. If my own journey has helped to inspire you it makes every second of it worth it. Thanks for reading. DREAM BIG!
It's beyond frustrating at this point. The mental aspect of this injury is 100 times worse than the physical pain in the achilles tendon. I have days where it feels great and I think I'm getting close to resuming training but then out of nowhere it swells up like a "cankle" and my tendon is barely visible under the swelling. I've had no pain biking or swimming but after swimming Wednesday my tendon ballooned out of control again and I decided after talking to my wife that I need to take a complete break from training to let this injury heal. You can easily tell when comparing my good right leg to the one on the left that it is not healing well. If you click on the picture it will make it larger. The toughest part is not knowing. I have no idea how long it will take...I'm already long past the expected healing period I was thinking before surgery. With most injuries like a stress fracture there is a pretty solid timeframe for how much time one needs to take off training to let the injury heal. With this I have no idea if it will be a week or forever. Just a few months ago I woke up every day with a goal of making a professional podium at a race this summer. It was a goal I had convinced myself was realistic through the workouts I was completing. Now I wonder every day if I'll be able to compete again...when that day will be. Will I ever be able to run pain free again...thoughts that are much bigger than triathlon. I don't want to have to tell Payton I can't run with her some day because of an injury that wouldn't heal. It is why I have decided I'm not going to train until I can run pain free. I wish I knew how long that will be. 
6 comments:
Jeff - A nice article about you in the Dispatch/Argus! Sorry to hear about your injury which is sidelining you for this year's QC triathlon. Think you'll be up for the Bix? I'm going to try to run it this year, if my 45 year old knees don't give me too much trouble over the next few weeks. Best wishes. -Jeff Strasser
Good choice. If you can find it a sandy beach would be a great place to test it as you can get in some open water swimming which about everyone could use more of and that surface will let you test it earlier bc you will want to test it in all reality. Speedy recovery and keep the blog up during injury just for the mental pushing through and journaling.
Hi Jeff - Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. You have a phenomenal work ethic and I am sure you will fight back from this challenge when the time is right! I hope that you still come out to the Quad Cities Tri this weekend - I would like the chance to say hello while I am in town. Take care - Chris from AZ
Jeff, so sorry to hear about your set back. I am praying for a speedy recovery, so you can get back to training. I will miss your blog every week! Thanks for the kind words about me. It is because of you that I am in the best athletic shape of my life. I still have a long way to go, but I know that I can get there! Thanks for the motivation and encouragement!
Jason
Jeff - it was nice to meet you this weekend at the race. Thanks for coming out to volunteer. Here is the blog of the guy I was telling you about.
http://fuel4manceblog.blogspot.com/
Hoping for a speedy recovery for you. And, happy father's day!
Thanks to all of you for the positive well wishes. It means a lot. I hope to run the Bix Jeff, my first run will be on sand or in mud Adam. Chris and Rachelle it was great meeting you two at the tri yesterday and congrats on great races!
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