Back on my feet

Two weeks ago, during a tempo run I felt a slight twinge in my calf as I set out. It wasn't overly painful, just a little tight so I didn't think too much of it aside from mulling that I would probably miss the evening recovery run. Well, I missed a bit more than that. After the run, I felt a bit more stiff but not in too much pain or discomfort, but as the day wore on, I felt a bit more sore. Definitely wouldn't be doing that evening recovery, I decided.

The next day, I woke up quite sore. I'd arranged to run with Shan and since it was a gentle 8km, I thought it would be a good opportunity to test if it was a real issue. It was pretty sore for the first 5km, though not excruciating, and for the last few KMs it eased off. I was very hopeful that it might just require a few days off. The next day, off I went to Jacinta - who will leave for an exciting new life soon but leave us without her healing touch. She was optimistic, too. I still had decent range of motion. Her advice: three full days with no running and also a couple of days of real rest and then a short, easy run on Sunday. I therefore did nothing Thursday or Friday and just a gentle bike ride to keep David company on his long run on Saturday in Denmark (for just the first 20km). Sunday was D-day, and off I set on my 25 minute run. It felt a bit tight, but not horrendous, so I was hopeful I might manage another 20 minutes the next day. I made it less than two minutes down the road from our place in Denmark before turning around and walking back. Two days later, I tried another little run, again 25 minutes, and again the pain was there but not severe. However, I'd learned not to try two days in a row so decided to leave it at that as the next day, Thursday, we were heading back to Perth and I was due to see Jacinta again on the Friday.

By the time I got to see Jacinta I was way more sore than I'd been a week earlier and it seemed not from the run, but from 4 hours in the car! Turns out I'd developed some nerve spasms, most likely triggered by a combination of the injured calf and the glute exercises I'd been doing that had inflamed my piriformis. It was time for some nerve gliding exercises, plenty of treatment and a bit more rest. I was allowed another small run on Monday, 25 minutes on the flat - hence on a treadmill. I saw Jacinta again that day, and there'd been a fair bit of improvement, but still angry nerves, so the prognosis was another day of not running and then try again. Instead, I decided to spin on the Tuesday and water run on the Wednesday to allow two days off. Today, I tested it out again with a run around the river, just under 10km, in a very slow 59 minutes. And voila, I seem to be pain free - a little tight still, so no tempo or speed work for a bit, but hopefully fully on the road to recovery.

Thank you Jacinta, and please come back soon ...