Pop!

Growing up in Iowa, on special occasions we drank, “Pop.”  These days I call it “Soda.”  Even as a little kid, I thought the name “Pop” sounded funny but we’re not going to be discussing regional colloquialisms today.

The other thing that we’re not going to be discussing is children’s rhymes or songs!

What we’re doing to discuss it a huge scare I had last Thursday and my Achilles tendon.

First things first, we need to backtrack to a year ago when I was sick and was put on antibiotics.  My Doctor (who is no longer my Doctor because of this) put me on a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and after taking only 2 pills, I started having problems with my Achilles Tendon.

I was a grumpy panda!

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If you want to know more about this, you can read the blog I wrote about that experience last summer:  http://w0ep.us/TM/?p=4393

Ever since then, I’ve had niggles.  I’ve run cautiously!  MFH can tape my Achilles with RockTape in his sleep.  He’s a pro with RockTape anymore!

So, last Thursday I was running a pretty easy 5 miler.  The first mile had been pulling the tire and the other 4 were just “regular” running.  I had pulled the tire on my street because it’s pretty flat then headed on over to Watson Road to pick up the last four miles.

Heading back and leaving Watson, I turned towards home when I felt/heard a loud, “Pop!”

Oh Nooooo!!!!

“Pops” are rarely a good thing.

Now, the week before I’d had a deep tissue massage and my calves had been very tight.  My massage guy had really worked the calves and they’d been a little tender ever since.  That “Pop!” was in my ankle right next to my Achilles.

I thought to myself, “Well kiddo, I think you tore your Achilles.  RATS!”

My second thought was, “My coach is going to kill me!!!”

My third thought was, “Recovery time….let’s see, I can hobble through the Chicago Marathon and maybe still be ready for that December 100 miler!?”

I was thinking all this stuff while doing a mental check of how my ankle and leg felt.  Did I hurt?  Not really!  Hmmmm…

I got home and looked~no swelling or bruising.  How odd!!!

Still, I was pretty careful moving around the house the rest of the day.

I finally asked a friend who knows about this stuff and he said, “Can you stand on your tip toes?”

Yes!  I could!

“Does it hurt at all?”

No! No discomfort at all!  YAY?

He told me if it was my Achilles, I wouldn’t be able to do the tip toe thing and what happened wasn’t my Achilles.  I was doing the happy dance!!!

Since then, I’ve discovered that my grouchy foot, the one that had popped, is feeling a lot better! It’s hardly cranky at all! That foot used to wake me up because I would have been sleeping with it a certain way and it didn’t like that.  As a matter of fact, that foot used to wake me up a lot!

Maybe the “Pop!” was a good thing?

I’m still not sure.  MFH (My Favorite Husband) is still taping my legs before I run….just in case but I’m still heading out each day grabbing the miles.

We’ll just keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

Happy Running, all!!!

#IRun4Aiden

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