I will run for the first time in 6 weeks this coming Tuesday, and not a minute too soon. Unfortunately, it will be at least three months before I can do anything aggressive – I’ll probably be clinically insane by then. I should at least be able to maintain a slow burn until I can stoke the flames and start incinerating all this extra crap that’s clogging up my view.
Meanwhile, my father’s stud runner just suffered a devasting injury. Having had achilles pain on and off for a few weeks, they were being very cautious with her. Today, 300 meters from the finish…gunfire. The crowd heard it. A full rupture complete with evulsion fracture off the heel.
That does not happen. Unless you’re a football or basketball player, achilles ruptures should not happen. Three weeks of sporadic pain is not an indicator of a RUPTURE. That is not supposed to happen. Ruptures happen when you try to dunk and hit your foot funny on the plant, or when you’re shoving around a defensive lineman and your cleat gets stuck. It isn’t supposed to happen running on a cross country course.
I, for one, am very upset. Lillian, who I called Gebrselassie instead of her own similar last name, was a phenom. I first saw her run at Penn as a Frosh two and a half years ago and was mesmorized by her stride. Powerful and graceful; a true thing of beauty. She was a gazelle. This is a devastating injury. As an achilles victim myself, to see someone with such a bright future suffer the worst injury the body has to offer is exceptionally sad. It’s possible to come back. 12 months at least, more before she could actualize any benefits from training again. And right when she should be getting her scholarship locked up too. I’m sad. My father apparently wept.
Words 
That is a horrible injury. If only God had given tendons, ligaments, and cartilage quality blood supplies, then we’d all be better off (and Lillian, too). Oh well. I suppose we are fragile creatures because we are fallen.
In high school, I thought a stress fracture was just about the worst thing imaginable. Oh, how naive I was.
20 weeks after surgery on my ankle, I’m now jogging once a week with Laura for about 15-20 minutes. However, while out jogging last weekend, I twisted my ankle badly. It’s so easy to do that because the supportive muscles are still weak and my range of motion is still limited. For a while I thought I tore up the cartilage again, but I think I’m ok.
Part of me just wants to quit running and take up biking or swimming. Every time I run, I feel like I’m gambling with permanent disability.
when i first read that 2nd paragraph, i thought you were talking about a “stud” horse.
anyway, that sucks.
That’s horrible man. At least she’s young… hopefully she can come back from this.