It has now been a week, since Achilles tendonitis shut down my ability to run.  I am gradually getting better, but I need to remain patient, and not run until the injury is fixed.

Whenever you get an injury, it is important to try and figure out what may have caused it.  Sometimes, it is easy to identify.  Twisting an ankle during a trail run is a good example of being able to easily identify a cause.  For my Achilles issue however, there wasn’t a single traumatic event that caused it.  In these cases, it often helps to try and understand what has changed from your regular routine.

In the case of my current injury, the most obvious change has been the fact that I have started lifting weights.  Could this has been a contributing factor?  Quite possibly.

I have been using regular running shoes during my lifting sessions.  These are not the correct footwear for weightlifting; running shoes are too ‘flexible’ and the foam is too soft.  This likely meant that my ankles and feet were working hard to keep me stable during my lifts.  It is not unreasonable to then assume, that this stressed my Achilles tendon.

Even if this shoe choice wasn’t the cause of my injury, it’s important for me to use the right kind of shoe for my lifting.  So, before my swim this evening, I stopped in at the local sport store and bought myself a pair of Nike Metcon training shoes.

Now I have the right tool for the job!