Then 2:04 into my long run, I feel the side of my calf tighten up, I try to run through it and less than a minute later it hardens up and I can't run. It's on my right calf and is about 6" in length and runs from just below my big calf muscle to the top. I hope it's not what I had 5 years ago.
In the past, pre my comeback I used to have calf problems. I'd try to train, it would seize and felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat and then I couldn't run for 6 weeks. I'd start running again and them wham, the same thing would happen, over and over again. It was extremely frustrating.
I tried everything to cure it and was told over and over that it was scar tissue that needed to be broken down. In the past, although it was a long time ago, I thought it was the entire part of my calf muscle, not just the side like it is now.
I tried everything in the past to fix it and eventually I found the solution, I bought "The Stick", which is rollers on a stick. I would roll my calf's for 40 strokes every morning, after ever workout or race and every night. It worked and for the past 4 - 5 years I've been trouble free.
Last night I think it may have come back. Originally I had a 1:30 run planned and decided to make up for Sunday's run and do a 2:15. Had I stopped at 90 minutes I'd be fine right now. I kind of knew something was up with my calf at the Y yesterday, I could feel both of them feeling stressed after my swim and while I was doing my workout.
I was even wondering if it was from this weekends long bike session with long breaks in between? I didn't stretch between sessions.
Before I get to what I did when I got home, I must say tonight was the darkest, blackest night I've EVER run in. Even though there was no cloud in the sky and I could see the stars, the moon wasn't out and it was dark. It was hard to see the road at times. It was also windy and a little cool. I ran out in the back country roads with no street lights and when cars would come by me, I had to stop, go off the the side of the road and let them pass before starting up again.
For the entire run I did the run-walk technique and I must say my running speed is really bad. I went from having a great tempo run in the 5:03 pace last week to these past couple runs being 5:40 plus. I can't remember the last time I've run that slow consistently in years.
I called Alice to pick me up and Reid came with her and video taped and laughed at me. I tried to stretch a little before they showed up and it helped a little and I walked about 5 minutes before they got me. When I got home the first thing I did was stretch and then I put ice on it, twice. Afterwards I dug into my dresser and pulled out the geeky looking compression socks and put them on. Then I grabbed the stick and started massaging the legs. The weird part was I didn't feel any knots in the calf's and it didn't hurt when I rolled them. I remember it hurting and being knotted in the past.
Then I started thinking about what could have caused this injury. A number of things came to mind. The first was that I haven't used the stick very often in the past couple of years, perhaps scar tissue was forming again. The second was that my shoes have close to 1351 km / 837 miles on them and should be changed at around 500 miles. The only reason I haven't changed them was because I figured it was a scam to change them and they were a poor mans newtons or barefoot style shoe now. The third reason was I figured I might have been dehydrated. I lost about 4 lbs on the run and I don't think I drank as much water as I should have today. The fourth reason is I was running slow of late and perhaps I was using new muscles that my body is not used to and they have been overworked. The fifth reason is that my weight is about 5 - 8 lbs higher than it has been in the past and that is putting stress on it. The final reason may be stress, I don't have a finalized contract and unrelated to my current employer, I had a major scare about something else today, something that was a miss-understanding that was resolved today but would have cost me a lot of money.
I'm not sure how serious this is. I'm hoping it won't take more than 3 - 5 days for it to fully recover. I know from past when I got a serious cramp in the pool it took about a week for it to heel before I could run on it again. I'm hoping it is just that minor. If not I'll still be able to bike and swim and will have to do my running in the pool and hope for the best at IMSG. Needless to say, I'll also be wearing compression socks regularly, using the stick regularly and up my muscle repair protein intake, more whey Isolate and I'm be taking more oils. Last but not least I'm going to give Don Juan (his recent threesome) Coach Gord a call and get some advice. Maybe even some physio. I'm also going to try and relax from the stress I'm feeling. Oh, and before I forget, I'm going to the running store today and getting a pair of new shoes with some cushion and I'm going to start drinking a lot more water.
The good news was the Achilles issue from Sunday didn't bother me.
I calculated my totals for February and all things considered I'm really happy with it. Even with 5 days rest I was able to put some respectable numbers on the board for my first 4 weeks of Ironman St. George training.
Oh and on a very positive note, I felt like cupcakes after dinner and was pleading with Reid or Alyssa to go to the store and get some for me, full bribery and it didn't work. Instead, I had a nap before my 8 pm run and the urge went away. Had I had them it would have been 1000 - 1500 calories I wouldn't have needed and would have regretted. This urge was purely emotional, not like Sunday's urge which was purely physical.
Tonight I went to bed with my compression socks on.
Today I posted a picture of Reid as a baby. It's is grade 8 graduation and they are doing something with the photo's. There is no way that anyone going to recognize him from then to now. He had blond hair and looks different now. He was one cute kid back then. Of course that is coming from a parent and even if your kid had the face of a dragon they'd be cute.
Long run - 2:04:46 / 21.78 km / 5:43 km pace
188.4 lbs
February's Totals
Swim - 17 km
Bike - 1000.06 km
Run - 170.89
Gym - 7 sessions
Total Mileage - 1189.95 km / 737.77 miles
Total Calories burnt - 53,248
6 comments:
Go ahead and poke fun at John and Matty, they deserve it anyway :) Hahaha
Hope the calf is OK, great numbers for February. Glad to see you getting back into the swing of things!
Totally inexperience. I don't know how much is too much and now I'm beginning to learn my limits the hard way. I push too hard and go too fast - yet I'm still very slow by comparison to the back of the pack. Frustrating.
I gotta check out this stick thing, sounds useful!
Hope it heals up quick! Maybe its from all your extra training weight? lol You eat like an American! hah
Just watched the video, that is kinda gross but pretty cool at the same time.
I've got 550 mi. on Newts and they are still very fresh (alot of t.mill miles). Prior to them, I tried same thing as you and went the poor man newtons route. That made the transistion to newtons pretty easy. And, it does seem to be providing a breakthrough for me, because they actually do perform as advertised. Stiffer forefoot for ballistic action, rather than mushy forefoot that disipates energy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
My two cents...
"I would roll my calf's for 40 strokes every morning"
Well, that's not what I give a good 40 strokes to every morning, but whatever works for you buddy!
LOL.
Hey throw the ball at me, inexperience MY ASS. Had this injury in college, essentially I have it from no form drills or regular stretching. I got lazy. That is why I am injured. I would not stretch pre or post run and would go crush a workout. I can't wonder WHY I am injured, only why I am such an idiot and this was totally preventable.
Amazing how you can push off that cupcake urge with a nap or distraction, but other than that, you are SCREWED, your mind can't deviate from that thought. I cave typically. I like training with heavier weight and then lose the weight 2 weeks before a big race. I call it priming the pot.
Smartest thing you could have done was bail on the workout. Use the Stick. It is an amazing tool, might need to get a massage too so they can actually get the target spots.
That sucks you had to call the SAG wagon, even worse Reid enjoyed it :-), but you did the right thing. Going back to The Stick, plus rest plus message sounds like the right approach.
The ART therapy sounds intense. I had my first sports massage a couple weeks ago and while not ART, I can relate. It hurt when she found the knot in my calf and went to town on it.
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