It's Tuesday and I am looking at another six months track season ahead. It's Tuesday and I am reflecting on the calf tear of eight day's ago. It's Tuesday and I had better start some serious rehabilitation.
Where to from here?
The calf tear isn't too bad; I can walk now, striding out a bit.
Little injuries like this are part of life for the regular runner. It's NOT running which is life threatening.
I had better start a plan of rehabilitation. First, in the short term, because the pain's nearly gone, and because I spent the first two days regularly icing it, I can now afford to exercise it even if it gets a bit sore. So I will apply some heat, then go for a walk/jog/shuffle, then massage and do some gentle calf stretches, then apply some ice and anti-inflammatory. And if it's still not sore, I will try alternating heat/ice, but if it comes up sore I will just do the icing for the time being.
And THIS time there are no pressing races on the horizon so I will forget about racing and speed.
The lesson is, don't ignore the warning signs. I'm pretty good at identifying warning signs now, but I was away when the calf got a bit tight, and didn't get the early treatment (massage) which would have fixed it.
Maybe another lesson is, don't enter races ahead of time! I knew that anyway, it was a risk. The problem is, national events require entry well in advance.
I should be OK in a couple of weeks.
Where to from here?
The calf tear isn't too bad; I can walk now, striding out a bit.
Little injuries like this are part of life for the regular runner. It's NOT running which is life threatening.
I had better start a plan of rehabilitation. First, in the short term, because the pain's nearly gone, and because I spent the first two days regularly icing it, I can now afford to exercise it even if it gets a bit sore. So I will apply some heat, then go for a walk/jog/shuffle, then massage and do some gentle calf stretches, then apply some ice and anti-inflammatory. And if it's still not sore, I will try alternating heat/ice, but if it comes up sore I will just do the icing for the time being.
And THIS time there are no pressing races on the horizon so I will forget about racing and speed.
The lesson is, don't ignore the warning signs. I'm pretty good at identifying warning signs now, but I was away when the calf got a bit tight, and didn't get the early treatment (massage) which would have fixed it.
Maybe another lesson is, don't enter races ahead of time! I knew that anyway, it was a risk. The problem is, national events require entry well in advance.
I should be OK in a couple of weeks.
