I finally have accepted that I need to pause my training in order to recover from an injury I developed last month. Prior to Christmas, I had experienced a slight niggling in my achilles tendon, and then on Christmas, I attempted a 500km ride, but had to stop due to knee and achilles pain at 313km.
I admit that for most of the new year, I have been in a state of denial. But, for good measure, I took my bike for a professional bike fit last week. And, because the pain and other symptoms had subsided, I was hopeful that I would be able to continue riding. I thought that if I just “took it easy,” that I would be able to move past this injury and continue to train. Welp, that was wrong!
This past Sunday, January 23, 2022, I went for a relatively short (three hours) endurance ride, and the next day, my achilles tendon was swollen and painful. Whoops!
So, I saw an orthopedist for evaluation, and he has referred me to physical therapy. At this point, it looks like I will be off the bike for about 4 weeks. Although I expect to be able to return to training after that, it seems unlikely that I will be able to ride the Solvang Spring Double Century.
I am hoping for the best.