2 weeks until half, achillies problems

I wouldn't go so far as to call this advice, but what I would do in your situation? go with number 2, assuming this pain isn't really serious and/or sharp. It's not the smartest idea, but two weeks backing off probably won't really hurt your race that much if at all. Back off as much as you need to to minimize the pain -- and that includes complete rest.

But hey, i'm not an expert.. Taking that route, you might end up with a ruptured achilles, or in the least, you'll end up needing more time to recover from the injury once the race is over. And how much would it suck if you got in the race and the pain was so bad it affected your performance, AND you severely aggravated the injury? something to think about.

Try massaging your soleus muscle that is below your calf. Alot of times it will tighten up causing your achillies to tighten also creating pain in your achillies. So make sure your soleus muscle is not tight. I would recommend googling "soleus muscle" to get a better explanation on where it is and what it does. I had achillies problems throughout high school and when I got to college my coach told me to massage my soleus and it was amazing how fast it loosened up and stopped hurting. So before thinking about taking time off, try a deep massage on the soleus.

In the future you might want to add sitting calf raises to your weight/core workout to strengthen your soleus.

First off, QUIT STRETCHING!!!!! Then quit wasting your time icing. The cold probably just tightens the muscles even more than they already are.

Your AT hurts because you are OVERUSING it. REST is the only thing that will cure it. Of course you are going to run the race on 9/27 regardless so here is what I would do.

Take 3 days off running and do some cross training that doesn't irritate your AT. On the fourth day, run a strong 10 miler and see how your AT feels. Take 3 MORE days off and do the same thing. If your AT still feels pain, repeat until race day. You will lose very little fitness running twice a week for 2.5 weeks. The extra taper might even help since you seem to have been training pretty hard anyway. If your AT is painfree at any time, then you can resume whatever training program you were doing.

Good Luck

I had an achillies issue about a week before a big race earlier this year. It was mid-achillies and as it turned out was related to tight calf muscles. Had a PT do muscle stripping on it on a Monday, ran easy on it on Wednesday, then again on Friday and raced pretty much pain free on Sunday.

Might be worth a try if you can determine if the calf is tight. In my case, it did not feel tight, but when she got in there she showed me the difference bewteen the 2 calves and it was significant.

I like this plan, except for the whole not icing thing. Yeah, it can tighten the muscles, but it also reduces inflammation and helps promote healing, or so we're told. I am resting now with chronic insertional achilles tendonitis and when I ice, it actually feels a lot better because of the reduced inflammation. and then I sleep with a Strassburg sock and it's rarely tight or creaky in the morning, but still tender and painful to run on.

Rest, quit stretching, get a bucket of water that you can put your foot in flat and have the waterline up around you calf. Fill with cold water and a bunch of ice and stick your foot in for 5-10 minutes as many times a day as you can bear. This is the most effective icing method I've found for achilles problems.

Avoid doing anything that makes it painful- ie calf raises, running, whatever. Once you are pain free while walking for 2-3 days then you can ease into running again. If you caught it early and its as minor as you say then it shouldn't take long to clear up.

are eccentric heel drops considered calf raises? this is the exercise many people on lets run promote for achilles stuff.

thanks

When I had achilles problem couple years ago, I took about 3-4 days off from running and crossed trained. Did the trick, especially if you catch it early enough. Nothing worse when pain doesn't go away while running, it's not like PF where it hurts at first and then goes away. Ice certainly helps, only 'light' stretches and calf raises when feeling better.

I think some of you are having a little communication problem. When your AT hurts from running too much, it is not saying "ice me". It is screaming "QUIT RUNNING FOR A LITTLE WHILE".

Carry on.