Since my setback in December, I had been worrying if I would be ready in time for the London Marathon. Although it was great 
to make a restart back into running, deep down I knew time was not on my side and decisions would have to be taken. 

Looking at the timeline I would need to cram 16 weeks training into 12 weeks and as I am still 2 weeks off 
doing a 60 minute run that comes down to 16 in 10 weeks. The other major assumption is that my achilles, or indeed any 
other part of my body remains injury free. With the required increase of both miles and intensity over a short period of time that would be a distinct possibility.   

So I have to say it is with heavy heart that I have made the decision to withdraw from the 2012 Virgin London Marathon. 
Not an easy decision, but I think its the right one. I can now concentrate on my recovery, and hopefully with the correct training 
I will come back stronger than before. 

We are now two thirds through February, and its getting really frustrating. I spent a week running 30 minutes every other day, 
and at the end of the week my achilles felt like it was on the mend. Two days later I did another 30 minutes and come the 
afternoon I was struggling to walk properly again. I have taken another four days off in the hope rest will help..... 
But alas it did not. I ran park run nice and steady and felt that it was OK. However the following day the soreness returned and 
I was struggling to walk properly. There could only be one outcome to this..... Complete rest from running, for at least 
two weeks and then re assess the situation. In the meantime I shall be doing 3 sets of 15 heel raises twice a day 
instead of once.

I am losing pounds from my wallet and putting pounds on my waistline with all this non running ....

11th March 2012...
Now four months after the original injury and three weeks since my last outing I have completed 15 minutes run. No problems 
whilst running and the day after if feels OK. Tomorrow is another short run, when I hope to be joined by Malcolm Gatenby, 
who I haven't seen for over thirty years. We are going to have to cram alot of talking in over 15 minutes ! 

4th May 2012...
Over the past few weeks I have continued to run, but allways with some soreness. 
It hasn't got any worse but more dissapointingly it definitely hasn't not got any better. 
On April 21st I decided that I would need to take more action to diagnose the problem, so I arranged to see a consultant, hoping that a scan may reveal an underlying problem. I have now seen him and have the diagnosis. In his words it is an injury which occurs in OLDER runners who have been running for a number of years,  "Acute non insertionary tendo achilles tendonitis". I had to write it down otherwise I would have forgotten it.

The treatment is one of two choices.:

• First option is to inject a steroid into the area surrounding the achilles. I didn't want this as all it does is mask the pain. It does not sort out the root of the problem and when the steroid wears off in six months you need more. 

• The second option is a relatively new technique, "Ultrasound shockwave therapy". This method initiates an inflamation type condition in the tissues being treated. The body responds by increasing the blood circulation and metabolism in the area which accelerates the body's own healing process. The success rate is over 75%, but NO running is allowed for three months after the treatment.