Hum! So I got in from work Monday evening about 7pm and managed to get out before 7.30 to go out for a short (4.2k) tempo (HR 153-160) run.... nice evening, not too hot, not too cold. Felt good and all was going well. Until, about 200m from home it felt like someone had just whacked me in the back of the left calf! Now it was quite painful then it felt like a cramp. My first thought was "phew that wasn't my achilles" (as I have a permanent fear of achilles rupture having witnessed two in my life - talk about nasty and very painful). Then I thought "well if it's cramp and as I've got couple hundred metres to go I'll see if I can run it off".... What a wally (dictionary meaning : a silly and inept person; someone who is regarded as stupid )
Got home, stopped and couldn't move! Damn!
So did the whole R.I.C.E thing and looked up "calf strain" on the internet.... I think the words were "the biggest mistake a runner makes, having felt a sharp pain in the back of the calf feeling like someone has hit them, is to carry on running. This will make the tear worse and lead to longer recovery".... Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!
So I'm hoping for a grade 1 strain (5-7 days recovery) rather then a grade 2 (4-7weeks and bye bye half-mary).... I know it's no worse then that as I can put weight on it and it's not sore (unless I pull my toes up!).... Obviously I'm hoping by the weekend a miracle has been performed and I can do my long run!!
It is feeling better today then yesterday so my fingers are crossed and I'm touching wood!
I went for an early morning swim session yesterday. Mainly concentrated on drills for the best part of 45mins, doing about 1300metres. I then took myself into the hydrotherapy pool and got the sore calf massaged by the water jets in there, followed by a plunge into the cold tank (brrrr).
Sleep was the order of the day this morning - depending on the calf I may get on my bike this evening for a 40min turbo (is wet and windy outside) followed by club swim - I guess fitting both in will be dependent on what time I escape work.
Here's to R.I.C.E for lefty calf and some massage I think!
oh and three cheers for it being the middle of the working week already .. Hip Hip Horray!
Hey! Thanks for learning me a new word. Wally! Wally! K. Trying it on for size. I like it :-)
ReplyDeleteYou might need to consider some endurolyte tablets. I ordered me up some for my next race. Almost assuredly a calf strain is preceeded by a cramp. That's how the muscle gets torn.
Here's to the middle of the week... Blech... :-)
eek! a calf injury. :(
ReplyDeleteHope it heals up quickly.
Dang! Sounds like RICE and some self-inflicted light massage should do the trick. It's always some sort of niggle that rears up before an event. The toughest part is making the call to do the right thing and not start if you are still hurting. Wally is probably better than our favorite "Dumb Runner". I suppose they both have the same meaning.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteGet yourself to Boots and buy a tubigrip for your calf, and then wear it at night. It shouldn't be so tight as to cut off the circulation (obviously) but it should leave a nice grid pattern on your leg when you remove it.
After it has healed you want to strengthen the area. Hang your heels off of the back of a step. Remove one foot and lower your body weight using the one leg. Then use your other leg to help you return to the starting position, and repeat. Do this 10 times on each leg. These calf lowers (it is an eccentric contraction) will guard against this happening again. Do 1 -2 sessions per week increasing the reps gradually.
Hope that helps
Congrats on your first Olympic Tri, chad listed both of us as completing races this past week. I hope your calf improves. Keep us informed. what is RICE?
ReplyDeleteOh no... I hope the calf heals quickly. Take it easy!
ReplyDelete