I started off fast. I was headed down a little hill to start things off and then across some flat before going into the first hill that I always climb when I run around here. I was already feeling a little off before I even made it out of the parking lot at Pell Place.

At first I told myself that fast run on Monday must have taken more out of my feet than I had thought. I tried to stay fast, but I dropped off as I rounded the corner and headed across the flat section in front of the elementary school.

My left foot started to ache in a place I haven’t ever felt pain before. I started slowing down, but the pain continued to grow. I dropped out of my rhythm and started walking. I was only 1/3 of a mile into the run and I was walking. And my left foot continued to bother me. The pain was very low and very far back. I’ve had my Achilles Tendon be sore once or twice. When it’s been sore, I’ve always felt it directly behind my ankle, never so low. I wasn’t sure if it was even my Achilles or not, because it was so low. It almost felt like there was a problem with my shoe… right at the bottom at the very back of my left shoe.

I tried to think about what could be wrong as I walked up the hill past the library to the light at Carmel Country Road. When the light turned green I tried to jog, but it wasn’t going to happen. As soon as I was across the street I was back to walking. When I turned the corner at the church I wondered if it was one of those things that might hurt more walking than running. I was wrong. It hurt more running, so I dropped back to a walk.

I didn’t make it to the top of the hill before it hurt so bad that I came to a complete stop. I put my hand on the back of my leg to see if there was a problem with my Achilles, but it seemed ok. It didn’t hurt to put pressure on it from the back; It didn’t hurt to pinch it. Those have always been my tell-tale signs that something bad is happening, but they were absent this time. I tried to stretch my leg by leaning against a tree. It seemed to make me feel a little better, but I knew I wasn’t going on. I was going back. I started walking back down the hill and it wasn’t hurting that much. It was definitely feeling better than it had when I was going up hill.

Stupidly, I decided the diminished amount of pain meant I could start jogging again. It hurt more to jog, but I pushed through the pain. I got back past the school and started climbing towards Pell Place again when I had to walk. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t even walk up that last hill. I was hobbling and really hurting.

I still don’t know what’s wrong. It’s been several hours and I’m still in fairly serious pain. I can’t stand straight up. I can’t even sit down for very long without needing to move to make it feel a little better. It seems to be mostly OK when my foot is pointed, but if I try to flex my foot it really hurts. Even if I just relax my leg muscles and try to position my foot that way with my hands (to stretch the tendon) it’s maddeningly painful.

I really hope I feel better in the morning, otherwise I may have danced my last dance on these particular streets.