Difficult decision: we deviate from the path

When does the overwhelming joy of being on a hike override the practical realities of physical injuries?

My Achilles tendon has been bothering me for a few weeks. I have been slowing down constantly. I was doing easy double-digit miles with the group about three or four weeks ago, but lately I’ve been falling behind the group’s pace. I thought it was the heat. Yesterday, as the group descended a long hill, I couldn’t keep up. This shouldn’t have been a problem as I have one of the longest strides in the group and usually always catch up on the downhills. I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head, but it was actually the pain in my Achilles tendon that was getting worse. I noticed a change in my walk. I could no longer roll and jump on my toes without feeling great pain in my heel. My knee had been showing signs of pain, but I was ignoring them. My calf usually went limp after a while. It hasn’t been in recent days. Something changed, and not for the better. These details have been happening occasionally for the past three weeks. I ignored all these signs of a possible progressive increase in the injury. I stopped taking my daily ibuprofen about 10 days ago, since we were going to be in a car while traveling north. I checked the internet and according to several posts, I have been taking too much ibuprofen too often. I guess if you take ibuprofen for more than 10 days in a row, you should see a doctor. I have been taking a daily dose since mid-April, when my Achilles tendon began to fail. I guess the ibuprofen was doing its job masking the pain, but it was probably still damaging my Achilles tendon.
Last night I prayed about the decision at the vigil mass and this morning I think the pain in my leg is telling me something.
I’m pausing my walk. I go out of my way to try to heal the injury.
Thanks to all the people who read my articles, it has been fun to share various stories of the adventure.
I will miss the path, but it would be irresponsible of me to enter the white team with an injury that I know will be aggravated by the tough terrain ahead of us.
Unfortunately, the Achilles tendon injury looks like a long recovery time, so my walking might be on pause for a while.

Or am I just tired of the green tunnel and the heat, have reached my mental limit, and am letting physical things bother me enough to throw me off track? I just can’t be sure. But my Achilles tendon hurts a lot, that’s real. Am I just tired of dealing with the pain or am I just using it as an excuse? Perhaps this mental torment is unjustified. It’s crazy the thoughts that go through your head. Even re-reading my posts from the last few weeks made me think that I am slowly heading towards an exit. Oh well, at least I can be honest about what’s on my mind and I’m sure I’ll be guided to new activities and adventures in the future. Or maybe I’ve learned what I need. I’ve completed the introspective I needed to get inside my head on the road, and I’m being pushed to see if I can take some of my new personal learnings to the real world side of the arc…back through the wardrobe…hopefully I can take some of Narnia with me.

Flat selection

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