Amy Begley - The Official Website

It is a great feeling to say that this Achilles rehab is ahead of schedule. However, I don’t have time for another injury between now and the Olympic trials, so I am being very conservative in my come back. The plan is to start racing in March. That gives me plenty of time to slowly get back my strength and speed.

I have booked my tickets to Houston to watch my friends compete in the Olympic Marathon Trials. It will be an amazing event for athletes and spectators. I can’t wait to feel the excitement! The marathon will kick off the Olympic year. Athletes get one shot to make the Olympic team, but some of the athletes that don’t make the marathon team will come back in June to try for the 10,000 meters.

My goal is to make my second Olympic team in the 10,000 this summer. I have spent the last seven weeks rehabbing from an Achilles surgery. I knew what to expect because I had the other Achilles done last year. This one was easier because the doctor only removed the sheath and left the Achilles alone.
People have asked what I have done for rehab and cross training. This is a run-down of some of my therapies.

Walked with crutches and a boot for 10 days. I literally sat on my lazy-boy with my foot elevated and let it heal. I used an ice pack under the back of my knee to ice the leg.
I started slowly biking at 8 days with the boot on.
At 12 days, I started doing a cold ice bucket with foot flexing.
I was out of the boot at 2 weeks.
After I was out of the boot, I started to slowly walk and progress the distance.
At 3 weeks, I started using the Alter-g at 70%. I started with a mile and heel raises after each run. I also started physical therapy.
I progressed my mileage and worked up to 90% on the alter-g.
At 6 weeks I did my first run outside. It felt great!
I am doing continued rehab with the cold bucket foot flexing, physical therapy, core, balance and proprioception work.
I am also keeping the scar cared for by using arnica gel and cocoa butter.
I will progress my mileage on the alter-g and outside. I will start workouts on the alter-g before I do workouts outside. This will be a slow progression to get healthy and stay healthy.

Along with the continued rehab for the Achilles I will also be making a change of scenery. We believe that the surface that I have been running on is part of the reason behind my 2 years of lower leg injuries. My main running surfaces in Portland are covered with thick bark chips. They become slippery in the winter. I have decided to move to Eugene in January to train on the trails there, which are made from a finer grade of material. I am going to consider it an extended training camp. I will stay there through the Olympic Trials. I look forward to joining the running community of Eugene and getting to know the other runners, including the OTC. I am also proud to be wearing the OTC uniform again!

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