If You Have a Line, Cross It

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Steve loves running trails. It’s like a little mini-holiday from the city. As soon as his feet are on dirt, he feels the tension just melt away.

He’s always been an active guy, but more cycling than running. In 2020, Steve lost his bike commute and his daily dose of exercise to the pandemic. 

To stop himself from going crazy, he tried running. It had been 40 years, so he was a little hesitant. ‘Let’s just do ten runs,’ he told himself. Before he even got to ten, he was already hooked.

He was immediately drawn to the trails. The forest near his city home became his refuge from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

After a few months he started to notice some tightness in his Achilles tendon. He tried to continue but it got worse as the weeks passed. He saw a local PT who diagnosed him with Achilles Tendinopathy.

Over the next couple of years he tried a bunch of stuff to fix the issue. He made progress with Physical Therapy, but his recovery kept sliding backwards. In 2022, he tried PRP and Shockwave. Neither worked. 

Throughout 2022, he barely ran at all.

He was fed up and really worried that he might need surgery. He booked an appointment with a surgeon but the idea of it filled him with dread. But he got lucky and the surgeon discouraged him from going ahead with surgery.

So he went on a mission to find answers. The more he learned about Achilles tendinopathy, the more he became convinced that rehab was the answer.

He went back to basics. Heavy strength training and very slowly conditioning the tendon to tolerate running. He started with very small run-walks and over the course of 2023 he methodically increased his running bit by bit.

In spite of a few little setbacks, Steve was able to get himself back to 20 minute continuous runs without any Achilles pain. 

During the course of his research Steve had come across Brodie Sharp’s Run Smarter Podcast. Brodie’s emphasis on long-term no-frills rehab that focuses on creating sustainable change resonated with Steve. 

With Brodie’s help, Steve was able to get back to 45 minute runs and even started including a few strides! 

However, the trails still eluded him.

Anytime Steve would venture into the forest the uneven terrain would play havoc with his tendon.

He also had trouble with intensity. His tendon could handle going long and slow, but if he tried to add in a bit of short and fast, it would get angry.

As luck would have it, Steve heard me on Brodie’s Podcast ranting about how injured runners need to target the exact thing that is causing them problems.

So he wandered over to my show and found one of my episodes on tendon rehab. He decided to reach out for help to get to that next level.

When we first met for his Free Call, Steve was in a pretty good place with his running. He was running consistently around 15 miles a week. However, he had to do it all on the road as the trails would cause his Achilles tendon to flare up.

This just isn’t enough for Steve. He really wanted to get back on the trails. That’s where he found his peace and that’s what he wanted back.

Steve shared with me that my analogy of tendons being in a “Teenager Phase” had really resonated with him. That’s when the tendon is not completely useless, it can do some stuff. Just not all of the things it needs to be able to do. Much like a teenager.

Steve’s tendon couldn’t tolerate trail running because of the increase in stress on the tendon. With the variability of the terrain, some steps will put a ton more stress on that Achilles.

It was the same reason his tendon would flare up with speed work. He had enough resilience in the tendon to tolerate a certain level of stress, but not more.

Uneven terrain or speed work represented Steve’s line. If he crossed it, the tendon would get angry.

So that’s exactly what we had to do.

We devised a 3 phase plan to gradually build up the resilience in the tendon. This would allow Steve to return to the trails.

First, we’d continue the excellent job he’d been doing on strengthening his calves and the Achilles tendon.

Second, we’d gradually sprinkle in faster bouts of running. Consistently adding a little more of this each week.

Third, we’d layer on very graded exposure to trail running. Allowing Steve’s tendon to slowly adapt to the variety of stresses the uneven terrain creates.

Over the following 3 months Steve saw his tendon become stronger and stronger. 

It grumbled a bit when it came to sprinting, but it didn’t flare up.

Last week, he ventured out into the forest again. One hour of trail running was the plan for today. It was a beautiful winter’s morning and Steve was back where he belonged.

Now that his tendon can handle the forest again, Steve has set his sights on a 20 mile Trail Race in the Spring. 

Like I said, when I met Steve, he wasn’t in such a bad spot. In spite of the nasty tendon problem, he’d managed to get back to running. It was just the trails that caused trouble.

After two years of battling to get this far, nobody could have blamed him for settling with what he had. But that’s not Steve’s way. He loved trail running and if there was even a small chance he could get back to it, he would take it.

Lots of runners have a line with their running. Due to some previous injury or problem area, they avoid one specific thing because they don’t want to flare it up. 

Some runners avoid long distances, some don’t sprint, some won’t do hills. I even knew one who wouldn’t run on the side of the road where the camber had his left leg lower!

If you have a line with your running, you’re going to need to cross it. 

It’s just going to keep closing in on you. As the years pass, you’ll avoid more and more stuff until one day, you’re barely running at all. 

That’s when you’ll quit.

Don’t let that happen. 

If you have a line, cross it.

If your line is stopping you from fully enjoying running, we can help. Just click the button below to book a free call with us. We’ll see where you’re at, and what you need to do to get back to full training…