Unhappy hiker feet

Take good care of your hiking feet. (Compass Points Media / flickr)

And then, all your plans come to a sudden halt.

Two weeks ago, I felt I was well on my way toward training for endurance hiking. On a Sunday, I whipped through an 18-miler in northeast Pennsylvania and looking toward a 20-mile loop in Shenandoah National Park, Va., two weeks later. I returned home feeling fit, confident and determined. Later that week, I went on a training run, which went well.

Until the last step.

Standing at my front door, a burning sensation tore through my left Achilles Heel. Instinct told me that this wasn’t going to be an easy stretch-it-out fix but an off-your-feet-for-weeks kind of injury. That day at the television news station where I work, we covered several tornadoes that devastated parts of our coverage area, which meant a lot of running around the newsroom and further damage to the Achilles.

I couldn’t get up and down stairs comfortably. The pain spiked. I felt future hiking plans slipping away.

Not sure what I did yet, and I’m scheduled to see an ankle specialist today. The heel has healed but there’s still a little swelling, and I can only perform on an elliptical machine with minimal discomfort. Certainly not confident enough to tear off a 60-minute run around Compass Points Media headquarters.

I’m being more patient with this injury than any I’ve had before. I’ve learned that the body does heal, but it has to on its own time. You can’t force it. But I’m sure shortly I’ll return to the trails and the pursuit of great things in the outdoors.