[Ryan G]

@Pia Mia,

I’ve been struggling recently with a bit of off-and-on Patellar tendonitis, while not the same as Achilles tendonitis, it has made me think a lot more about the tension on my ligaments.

As I’m hiking uphill I can either use my anterior chain – pushing through my forefoot and quad, using the foot as a lever (placing a good deal of force through the achilles tendon) or I can hike using my posterior chain – pushing through my heel with foot flat on the ground. This places less strain on the achilles tendon, but elongates in nonetheless.

I’ve noticed that when my achilles tendon gets fatigued I have to scrap both of those methods and go to the stair master. This lets me place my foot flat, instead of toes up-heel down, and use my posterior chain instead of anterior. Because my foot is flatter I also reduce the elongation of the achilles tendon, though, not eliminating it.

Not sure if this will be helpful, but hope you recover well and get to race!