Foul sorcery was afoot today. Or, at least, it was Achilles (ha!). The combination of being a bit under the weather (thank you, Nina) and the morning cold had my right Achilles aching {aching} in a way I didn’t think I was supposed to experience until I was old?!
{Shut up!}
{Yes, you.}
I certainly could have done without the reminder and yet, thank you universe, it turns out that today is an anniversary of sorts. In the wee hours of January 21st, 2022, I crutched home the seven blocks from {receiving some excellent care at} Lions Gate hospital wondering how the f*ck I was going to meet my daily responsibilities.
Writing about bikes was my only job at the time. It would be at least six months until I could ride. How was I going to get my kid to school? It being my right Achilles I couldn’t legally drive my car. How I was going to get my choring done, never mind sleep? Wearing the walking boot I would destroy {from use} long before I was supposed to go without it.
I didn’t have surgery for my ruptured tendon. I have this theory, that when the surgeon, who gets paid to cut you up, recommends you not go under the knife you listen. And I think the healing process went about as well as anyone could expect. Most of the mobility is back. A lot of the strength has returned. I still notice improvements in both as I continue to stretch and do exercises.
{I also am thankful to have zero numbness, which is an issue that many Achilles surgery receivers have for years afterward.}
I won’t say too much more about the process, having written about it plenty before, but I do have some advice for all the other rad dads* out there. I’m going to pop in a couple links to past pieces on the experience in case any folks are interested and then I’ll jump in again below.
*{I have met women who have had a ruptured or otherwise injured Achilles but always from doing something AWESOME. You know, like eating shit on their bike or fully missing a forty-foot snowboard jump. It seems to always be dudes who blow theirs up walking, getting up, grabbing a beer, etc.}
- Part 1: Traveling In Good Company
- Part 2: Traveling In Good Company (One Year Later)
So listen, sh*t happens. Bikes get crashed. Steps get missed. Trail-building injuries from years earlier don’t heal properly. But in this case, I could have most likely prevented my injury through three very small changes in my life that I regularly practice now. And, on a day when my ankle area is aching, I figured I would share them {again}.
Footwear: I lived most of my life in a pair of Blundstone Boots with a fairly significant heel-to-toe drop. I rode, and hike-a-biked, in a pair of shoes with essentially zero heel-to-toe drop. This meant that when I was hiking I was already pre-stretching {preloading} my Achilles tendons notably further than their regular resting place.
The takeaway is to live life in shoes with similar dimensions to the ones you use to recreate. Like an idiot I gave away my Blundstones when I could have just had them re-soled, but, well, lots of chances to learn from my mistakes here.
Heel Lifts: I do at least fifty, maybe even a hundred, one-foot and two-foot heal lifts a day. Yep, just raising your heels off the ground. It hasn’t done anything to correct the fact I visually have one muscley leg and one scrawny leg but it’s done wonders for my balance, mobility, and strength.
The crazy thing is once it becomes a habit it’s just something you {or at least, I} do all the time without even thinking about it. Standing at the workbench taking a dropper post apart – heel lifts. Standing in line to order a beer – heel lifts. Cooking dinner – heel lifts. It’s easy!
Stretching: I know, and I mean, do I know, that we all hear about how we need to do more or less stretching before activities all the time. Which is it? I’m no expert. I mean, I’m at the point now that I have to do some mobility stuff every morning or I can’t move, so some stretching is necessary in my life.
But, I will say that I had no idea how bad my range of motion was in some ways – especially in my ankles – until I started working on getting my range of motion back in my right leg and, by nature of the exercise, developed a lot more range of motion in my left leg as well. Food for thought.
So listen, I was walking a bit funny today {stiff} but for the most part it has been years now since anyone but me noticed when there wasn’t quite enough mobility, power, or balance to walk or ride normally. My one-leg lifts on my right aren’t as strong as my left but I’m happy to say I’m still getting stronger over time.
My many weeks off the bike passed quickly and Claire and I replaced our riding experiences with other time together so I certainly don’t think of it as being lost months, or opportunities.
And hey, not saying I need to justify myself here, but before I passed out on the trail, I saw three JacAttacks in the same place! AHHHH! I mean, little wonder my brain needed a brief reset. I’m not saying you need to have a (reasonably) significant injury to know who your friends are, but if you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s always nice to have a reminder you’re traveling in good company.
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