A couple years ago I thought I might not be able to run anymore, took a couple years off, then went to some physical therapy and with a lot of work, made it to the point of running a trail marathon at 3500 ft (starting line) with 2500-ish feet of climb total in 3:36 (was my first marathon) and managed to finish top 10.
Said race also seemed to destroy my calves as I still have pain almost 2 years later. Guess I need to give in and find the time for PT again. I've been icing and stretching a lot lately, but I don't know yet if it's working and yesterday I really hurt my back (plus while I sit here typing I can feel my calves/achilles spasming again).
Nonetheless...there was something special to me about being able to spend that much time on a trail and challenge myself. I keep thinking "if only I can train I can really enjoy the long distance trail thing" since that run was on about 3 months of base.
A little inspiration goes a long way, so I finally bought a photo from the race...(this photo was near the end of the race)