OK. Here's the thing. I've managed to tear my calf muscle - not terribly badly, but enough to make running a bad idea for a few weeks. As we have the NHS (National Health Service) over here and I have a really good local GP practice, I've taken some medical advice on what to do next. And by good, I don't just mean good advice, I mean I call at 9am Monday and have an appointment to attend at 10:30am same day.
So, we assessed the calf muscle for damage. I am able to fully stretch the muscle with only minor discomfort in both directions (toes pointy up and toes pointy down). So it is intact and torn rather than snapped. It is definitely healing, but is likely to take a couple of weeks to get back to a point I can start running again. In the meantime, I don't need any specific physiotherapy; I need to keep *lightly* exercising my leg, especially stretching so that as the muscle re-knits it does so without significant shortening which would reduce flexibility and may lead to future injuries.
This means that the training plan is now out of the window. As Phil pointed out in his comment for "Run #4", it was a bit of a mad plan.
I hadn't considered myself to be desparately unfit and it's probably only natural (for this optimist anyway) to expect to be able to do more. Perhaps I've been kidding myself on the basis that I climb stairs in preference to taking lifts. A couple of sets of stairs a day is not enough! Perhaps my wife is more of a realist than I've given her credit for!
So I'm not going to change the target at the moment (I can always enter the short fun run anyway!), I'll re-assess this in early June. My re-start of running will be when I feel the leg is ready, and this is probably a minimum of a 2 week lay-off from running. The re-start will be to an entirely different plan.
In the meantime, I'm not going to wallow as I can already feel some of the benefits of the exercise coming through, and I need to build stamina and endurance anyway. My local swimming pool opens early and closes late so I've started an interim program of swimming for 30 minutes three times a week, but not pushing it for the moment as this is meant to be the light exercise for my leg, not a session of thrashing up and down the pool and coming out looking like my head's been boiled.
And in any case, even at 9:30 on a Monday evening, my local pool was packed with at least 60 other swimmers, making anything other than a light pace weaving around the supertankers impossible.
I'll post a new plan as soon as I've worked one out, and I'll carry on digging for other runner blogs to see how they're getting on. If you know of one, stick it in the comments and I'll sort out a link in the side bar.
Mr Stumble.
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3 comments:
Andy,
Happy to hear that you weren't too badly injured. Sounds like you'll recover just fine and be able to pass on sage advice concerning starting a running program in no time.
Once you get into it, you'll discover why running becomes a passion for many of us. For me, it's the competition. I love to race. I'm not very good and will probably never be a top finisher in my age bracket, but there is just something magical about getting out on the road with several hundred (or thousand) people and running the best race I am capable of running on that day. I'm always looking forward to the next race. I'm always trying to tune my training to continue to get better.
Shrug off this initial injury and chaulk it up to experience. You'll get yourself in shape quickly and soon discover that something happens to your body once you get over the inital hurdle and are able to stay on your feet for 30 minutes. You discover that you are capable of doing something that most of the population thinks is absolutely nuts. Those who don't run will never understand why those of us that do (especially those of us who run poorly) continue to do it. Why would anyone in their right mind get out of a perfectly warm bed at 5:30 AM to beat themselves up for an hour or so? We do it because we feel so darn good, even as we are complaining about our minor aches and pains.
I certainly encourage you to continue swimming while your calf tear heals and look forward to reading more about your journey from sloth to active runner.
Phil
Phil,
Thanks. I have a revised training plan which I intend posting soon. It's got a start date in a week or so, but I'll only be re-starting if I feel the calf is up to it.
Swimming is helping, as is Ibuleve - an ipuprofen gel and regular stretching.
Your advice and support very much appreciated.
Andy.
Hey Andy,
I know how frustrating an injury can be. I've had a chronic foot injury for over a year. Get it taken care of and treat your body right soo you can recover! Ok, I'm off to run!
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