Back to running after surgery
- Penny
- Jan 29
- 2 min read
It's Time!
Today is the day. My first run after surgery.
Three months ago, I was in hosptial having just had surgery to reconstruct my tibia posterior tendon which had snapped. As an athlete who regularly runs 2000 miles a year, competes in many races and was training for New York Marathon having achieved a good for age place in the event, I was devastated when this happened in August 2024.
I was lucky in that I managed to see a consultant very quickly who after an MRI diagnosed what I was dreading. I had no option but to have surgery and as with many procedures like this, was told that there was no guarantee I would run again!
Fast forward three months and after working incredibly hard on my recovery, following all medical advice, I have been told that my tendon has made a 'brilliant' recovery and that I can now gradually start running again. What amazing news!
I have started with a one minute on / one minute off routine. It was the best feeling in the world to be out in my running shoes. I have been doing daily workouts at the gym, strength building and non-weight bearing cardio work but the outside is what I love. My dog, Max, was extremely excited when I showed him his running harness.
We covered a 5k loop running and walking throughout. I kept the running pace super steady but had no pain at all in my foot (I tried to continue running after the injury occurred but it was too painful so to run pain free was a huge relief).
I have set myself two targets: 1) to be able to run 5k without stopping in 3 weeks time and 2) to able to run a parkrun with my dog Max at the end of February. For someone who was running 50 miles a week and achieving 1st place in my age category at events, this is very different to my 2024 goals, but I need to be patient and so by aiming for 'small steps' I will hopefully achieve success.
