Hello,
{I may have answered my own question below - just by putting my thoughts into words} But if you have any experience in recovering from achillies problems please feel free to share your experience and thoughts.
This year my achillies have become a problem. I have never has any pain or swelling in the past 20 years, so it came as a surprise. I have had the usual tightness of hamstrings, which a stretch whilst on the bike sorted out, but never as bad as it is now. I should add I don't routinely stretch but maybe it is time I started. I'm 46 and not as young as I was, in my .. err.. youth.
It started the weekend before a 300 (Beyond the Dales we know) with a 100 mile cycle to Glasgow and back. My right calf felt tight and slightly strained at the end. I rode it from cold, which is what I usually do. Easy out and faster back. The 300 on the 29th April resulted in my right achillies being painful in the last ~60km. I had pulled my toes up to limit it's movement which may have done more harm than good. The next week was grating, pain, swelling etc...
As a result I rested for 2 months and sought physio which appeared to work, in that I had good range of movement and no more grating or pain. I was given excercises which I did at first but have tailed off in late June.
Early July I took my cyclocross (not my audax bike - different setup) bike to Europe and cycled a few 50 - 60 - 7 80km rides with no problems. I could feel the calf slightly, but no swelling, no grating, no pain.
Not much commuting over the summer and last Sunday I rode a DIY 400 back on my Audax bike. Result? Swelling, grating, pain, restriction in mobility of BOTH achillies!
So my worry is, why now, what have I done. I changed the seat post, as I bought a new MTB frame in December and the donor bike's seatpost was too narrow. The Audax bike's fit so I used that until I got a new seatpost. So it could be a different seatpost height? Could this be the cause? I'm not fully convinced though as I rode a DIY 600 in early April with no problems what so ever, and the seat post has not moved since I moved it back from the MTB build. I even marked the height with black insulation tape so I knew how far to put it back in.
But nothing else has changed. Could it be a mixture of wrong stretches over the last couple of years, on the bike pushing back on the pedals instead of against a way on a flat surface? Could it be coupled with a higher than correct seatpost height? My shoes are the same, the pedals.... hmm, I did change the pedals, as the old ones has started to seize in the bearings... They are not the same make/model...
I am resting until end Oct when I am riding the Old Peculier 200 from Darlo...
Could a slightly higher seat post and different pedals rally be the cause.
How long should I rest, completely? 4-6 months? Until Spring? How long does it take for Achillies to heal? I friend whose wife is a phyiso says they are difficult to heal (no pun intended). It is annoying as I have ridden 4 & 1.2 SRs with no issue....