Hello, 2023. Ryan from Canada here. These days, I'm on a quest to walk 1,000 walk days. I fired up the walking in February 2021, and now, in 2023, I'm hovering just over 483 walk days. You might be asking, "Ryan, why all the walking?" Well, walking became my main form of exercise after rupturing both my Achilles tendons between 2010–2017... Yaba Daba Doo. For the long story, scroll down toward the end of this post.
So far, the walking has been going well with the odd sluggish walk day here and there. I have about 517 walk days left. I've noticed there's a sweet spot pace for my walks, and if I go too fast, I need to take a couple days off. I'm still using the massage gun to help with the calf muscles and I'm looking to focus on more strength training for my calves. I also need to take more breaks between walks.
In 2022, I had the treadmill upstairs and now it's downstairs. I don't think that was a good idea. I thought I could move the treadmill up and down the stairs with ease, but nope. I also got a rowing machine in 2022 to work my upper body, help with posture, and give a break on the legs when the walking gets too rowdy. That actually "worked out."
For 2023, I'll be looking around for a compact treadmill I can move up and down the stairs. I found nothing yet. I'll also be looking around for some new water-resistant trail shoes. Hopefully, I can stick with the good-old Asics brand, but I'm open to other brands. I'm sure there will be a few other items of walking gear that will pop up. I listed a few of them below.
- Fitbit Charge 6 (If released)
- Fitbit Scale or something like it.
- Polyester shirts
- More socks
- New first aid kit
- New water/coffee mug
- Standing desk
- Hand truck (For the treadmill)
Looking forward again in 2023, I started looking around Canada for some cool walking spots, but, well, the travel life these days has been all over the place. I'll be researching away, hopefully, I can get some good travel deals. My eyes will be peeled for cool urban hiking spots, mall walks, and the classic trails with those mountains and waterfalls. If travel starts looking grim, no problem, I got sidewalks just outside.
The walks are slower but steady. After starting this blog in 2021, I was not completely sure what I was going to blog about when it came to walking, but after a few years, I found my walking gear reviews and some of my "interesting," walk days did pretty good. For 2023, I'll be continuing down a similar path. The YouTube channel has been ever active this 2023 as I document almost every walk day I do with a short vlog-style video. I put a YouTube video just below. I'll keep that going. The adventure continues. Ok, time to get walking.
Till the next walk
Ryan
I hobbled my way over to the bench and eventually got to the hospital, where the doctor said it was a 100% rupture. A few days later, I got surgery on the Achilles tendon and started the long recovery of getting better. I was a little bit irresponsible with the left Achilles tendon rupture because I didn't really do physiotherapy and the necessary exercises.
All I was thinking about is getting back to work and just starting my life back to normal. As of the time I'm writing this, my left Achilles tendon rupture and calf muscle are not 100%. I had to stop lunging activities.
Like deja vu, I headed back to the hospital, the doctor looked at it, said it was ruptured, and then he gave me the option to have surgery or not have surgery. I didn't bother with the surgery. The reason being is I didn't have a great experience with my left Achilles tendon rupture in terms of all the drugs they gave me and the amount of pain I was in after.
I said I'm going to let it heal naturally, and that's what I did. Unlike my last mistake with my left Achilles tendon rupture, I went to physiotherapy, did the calf exercises, and followed everything the doctor told me to do. Again I was a little excited to get back to work, and that's what I eventually did.
Writing this post, my right Achilles tendon and calf muscle have not healed to 100%.
Okay, there you have it, the long version of my Achilles tendon ruptures. If you're still reading, thanks for reading all the way through. I'm going to try to update this blog as much as I can. I usually update the blog on rest days.
Till the next walk
Ryan
You can check out some of my walking gear on my Amazon shop.
I became an Amazon affiliate in May 2022. If you click through the link above and purchase items on Amazon, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
A. Keep's me motivated to stay in physical and mental shape.
Share my walking gear experiences.
Share my experiences walking around.
Share my photography/videography on some of my walks.
A. I try to get out of my house and walk as much as I can, but I do live in Canada, so the weather can get cold. The treadmill is great for the colder months.
A. I'm in the middle.
My Achilles Tendon Ruptures (The Long Version)
The Left Achilles Tendon Rupture
My first (left) Achilles tendon rupture happened in 2010 while I was playing squash with my family. We got to the squash court, had a little bit of a warm-up, and then about halfway through, it was like a racket hit the back of my Achilles tendon. I looked back at my Achilles tendon to see if I got hit, and I saw nothing. I took one step forward with my left foot, and it felt like Jello in the Achilles tendon area.I hobbled my way over to the bench and eventually got to the hospital, where the doctor said it was a 100% rupture. A few days later, I got surgery on the Achilles tendon and started the long recovery of getting better. I was a little bit irresponsible with the left Achilles tendon rupture because I didn't really do physiotherapy and the necessary exercises.
All I was thinking about is getting back to work and just starting my life back to normal. As of the time I'm writing this, my left Achilles tendon rupture and calf muscle are not 100%. I had to stop lunging activities.
The Right Achilles Tendon Rupture
The right Achilles tendon rupture happened in 2017 while I was playing basketball at a local YMCA. I was dribbling the ball and doing a crossover, and it felt like there was a pop in my right Achilles tendon. All the players I was playing with stopped in a stunning bit of amazement. I then realized that my right Achilles tendon was ruptured, and I hobbled out of the gymnasium and sat down on the first bench I could see.Like deja vu, I headed back to the hospital, the doctor looked at it, said it was ruptured, and then he gave me the option to have surgery or not have surgery. I didn't bother with the surgery. The reason being is I didn't have a great experience with my left Achilles tendon rupture in terms of all the drugs they gave me and the amount of pain I was in after.
I said I'm going to let it heal naturally, and that's what I did. Unlike my last mistake with my left Achilles tendon rupture, I went to physiotherapy, did the calf exercises, and followed everything the doctor told me to do. Again I was a little excited to get back to work, and that's what I eventually did.
Writing this post, my right Achilles tendon and calf muscle have not healed to 100%.
Okay, there you have it, the long version of my Achilles tendon ruptures. If you're still reading, thanks for reading all the way through. I'm going to try to update this blog as much as I can. I usually update the blog on rest days.
Till the next walk
Ryan
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I became an Amazon affiliate in May 2022. If you click through the link above and purchase items on Amazon, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
FAQ
Q. What's the point of this Blog / Vlog?A. Keep's me motivated to stay in physical and mental shape.
Share my walking gear experiences.
Share my experiences walking around.
Share my photography/videography on some of my walks.
Q. Treadmill or leisure walking?
A. I try to get out of my house and walk as much as I can, but I do live in Canada, so the weather can get cold. The treadmill is great for the colder months.
Q. City Walks or Nature Walks?
A. I'm in the middle.
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The Disclaimer Stuff
You may see links to products on my site or channel. If you purchase a product from that link, I may receive a commission. I'm just an average Joe walking around trying to get into shape. I'm not an expert in this field. Please consult your local physician before doing any exercise.