It’s been too damn long. If you are following my blog, my apologies. But everything after this sentence is good news.

My Achilles injury, despite the fact that it curtailed my running for almost two months, was not serious in the end.

Just a strain.

According to the orthopedist I consulted, and the physical therapist who treated me for six weeks, the tendon was not torn. At all. Some swelling, yes. It could have been much worse.

But in the end, I am glad this injury happened. The fact of the matter is, I’ve been way too active for too long without paying proper attention to strength training and flexibility.

If I am going to pursue my running goals, I have to treat my body the way a professional athlete would treat theirs: devote as much time to strength training, flexibility, diet, weight management and movement as I spend actually running.I got lucky. I know at least three people who I either run with now or have in the past who did not read the warning signs. Who allowed a sore Achilles, muscle or bone to give them problems without addressing the root cause. In every instance, they spent several months not doing the thing they loved to do: run.

I have chosen to learn from their mistakes, and not make the same mistake with my body.

Old habits are hard to break, and new ones can be even harder to establish. But here is where I am at now:

A basic full flexibility routine each day, usually in the evenings. I start with some simple floor stretching of the leg muscles, focusing on the calves, hamstrings, quads and IT band. I then go through approximately 30 minutes of yoga and deeper flexibility exercises. One is called “15 minute runners flexibility routine, and the other is a basic yoga video called Yoga Zone Flexibility 1.” Both are available on Youtube. I follow up these workouts with a foam roller, concentrating on my upper and lower calves. In addition, I strengthen my Achilles tendons three times a week with three sets of 15 heel drops on my apartment stairs. On days I do the heel drops, I do heel raises holding barbells. I am working up to a full body workout routine with weights, as well.

Each evening’s flexibility session takes approximately 45 minutes. With the weights, it’s an hour. And it’s time well spent.

I’ve noticed over the last several weeks that as I’ve gained flexibility, little problems I didn’t know I had began manifesting themselves. For example soreness on the Achilles tendon I didn’t injure, along with some ankle soreness and tightness in my upper hamstring. All of these I’m addressing as I encounter them.

I have run some races since I was injured, as well. The Santa Monica 5k, the Pasadena Half Marathon, and the LA Marathon, where I attempted to help my team pace runners to a 4:20 finish.

How did those races go, and how is my training progressing now?

Read on, MacDuff. Read on.