Returning to running

I'm not very good at listening to doctor's orders but I'm trying to be smart and trust that my podiatrist knows what he's doing.  Last week he told me I could do a walk/run Friday and Sunday and I jumped at that chance.  I followed his orders Friday, though I found myself using the run intervals as speed work and realized that's not the best idea when recovering from an achilles injury.  I did another long pool running session Saturday and walked/ran on Sunday; that day I diobeyed his orders by making the run segments longer (0.5 miles versus 0.25) and increasing the distance so that I covered 5 miles.  My achilles area felt "off" but not painful so I figured I was okay.

Monday I returned to his office and admitted I ran a little farther; he laughed and guessed that I ran 10 miles.  whew.  5 was not so bad apparently. :)  He examined my achilles and noted that it feels normal- edema and crepitation are gone.  Yippee!!  He gave me the green light to return to running but, unfortunately, he mapped out a VERY gradual return to running.  The next two weeks are the most critical.  I won't even admit what he mapped out for me as it almost brought me to tears; the plan for the next 5 weeks fails to even scratch the surface for what I know I need to be doing in order to run a 100 miles 8 weeks from now.  When I kept asking about increasing it more than his plan allows, he said I could but kept emphasizing how I have to be careful or I'll end up out for a long time.  Running PCT 50 in less than 4 weeks is so far from the running plan that I am contemplating writing the RD and withdrawing from it.  My boyfriend said I might as well see how I feel the next 3 weeks and then attempt to hike/jog it.  Obviously, that's now a thought in my head as I really need to train on the course...

Yesterday I did 30 minutes of pool running and then tried a land run.  I slightly upped the mileage (from doctor's plan) and the length of 2 intervals to make my total run/walk 6.5 miles.  The plantar fasciitis in my left foot bugged me from the start but my achilles felt okay.  While I was hoping for a "perfect" feeling run, I'll take it.  It was a reminder that I have to be diligent about working on loosening up the PF, something that I backed off of when it seemed better.  Today's another pool running session and I'll give running on the roads another go in the morning.  June 12th is still looking very iffy but I'm going to see what my body can handle over the next 3 weeks.