ART Therapy

As some of you may have heard me mention (or whine about), I injured myself about 3.5 weeks ago. It was completely my fault. Doing long runs are fine, even good (and by "long" I mean "long for me" not long for a real triathlete). Adding some speed work during a long run is fine, even beneficial. Running while recovering from the plague, or possibly a nasty case of the flu, is fine, so long as you are careful. On the other hand, doing a long run while recovering from illness that shortened/eliminated runs for a couple of weeks, and deciding to do one mile at faster than 10K pace is just asking for trouble. Moving that fast mile to the end of the run when you are tired and your form has degraded (as someone warned me about) is like holding up a big, neon, blinking sign that says "please injure me." The higher powers obliged and about .8 miles into the 1 mile hard effort, I felt a sharp pain in my Achilles. It subsided when I walked for a minute after finishing the mile, but flared back up again when I started running the 2 miles home. So I stopped running and walked the last mile. I would like to say that I iced the heel and that it went away by the next morning. Unfortunately, I can't say that because it's not true.
Despite my sincerest efforts at rest and recovery, it hasn't gone away completely after almost 4 weeks. I can run some, but not fast and not for more than 30-40 minutes or uphill. Given that I have at least 3 races between now and late July that will require me to do all 3 (unless I somehow develop 29 minute 10K speed off the bike in the next 3 weeks), this is a problem.
Brian mentioned that he has battled Achilles tendonitis before that LA Sports Massage helped him. As I understand it, massage therapy can speed rehabilitation by breaking up scar tissue, loosening tights muscles and connective tissue, and promote blood flow to the injured area. So, I called Dennis. Even with the tri-club discount, it's not cheap -- $90 a session. But given the cost associated with (a) my bike; (b) race entries; and (c) travel to races, it was worthwhile to try to recover quicker so I can enjoy my training and races. Dennis called me back promptly, and we agreed to try a session yesterday (March 17).
I showed up a few minutes early to fill out the paperwork. It was similar to the intake forms at a doctor's office, but a little less detailed on medical history and more concerned with past or present injuries. There was even a chart of the human body where you could indicate the source and type of pain you were experiencing. There are about 1000 jokes you could make about that, but many of them are not fit for all audiences. Anyway Dennis was on time, and studied the forms as well as asking me questions about what hurt, when it started, why it started etc. His resume also indicates that he is qualified, having done massage therapy at the L.A. Marathon and Ironman Hawaii. So, Dennis started out with high marks.
Then he went to work on my achilles and calf. The room is similar to a typical massage room at a spa. There was a table with a sheet on it, a shelf for a CD player, and a hanger for clothes. That is where the similarity ended. There was no dim lighting, no calming music, no incense, and very little of the oil/lotion that masseuses cover you with. I am not complaining because I wasn't there for a nice, relaxing massage, but some therapy to sort out my achilles tendon. This was also not the typical swedish massage. Instead, the session involved a lot of heavy and extended pressure on tight or uncomfortable points, along with rolling up the achilles and calf. The ART therapy did not hurt as bad as the rolfing described by another TNS Training member, but then again, I have a relatively low pain tolerance. After digging into my achilles and calf for 30 minutes, the muscles were acutely sore. I did not expect to be in pain as a result of the treatment. But Dennis explained that was likely and intended. After 30 minutes, Dennis asked what was the next priority. I also have tight IT bands, but having used the foam roller on my IT bands (ouch), decided that I couldn't handle 30 minutes of work on them, so we did the shoulders and back instead.

After an hour, we were done. I sat up and noticed that my calf was actually hurting and I had a little trouble walking to the car. Again, not what I expected. Dennis said this would continue for a day or two, and that I should not do any running or intense cycling until the soreness had gone away. That immediately altered my training plan for Thursday-Sunday, but okay. The soreness continued last night, and my calf/achilles was still pretty upset with me when I went to bed.

Today it is better though. The soreness is gone, and weird stretchy feeling in my achilles is not present (for now). I don't expect a 1 session miracle, and it is too early to really judge, but I would give Dennis a positive review as of now, and I scheduled a follow-up session for Tuesday. Hopefully, if I follow the recommendations, my achilles will be back in good shape in a week or so.