Saturday: Tried the calf strain rehabilitation exercises recommended by my doctor. They are all pretty easy except the wall jumps, because any sort of jumping is painful. I managed 5 jumps. I went to the gym to see if the elliptical would be an option while my calf heals. I was so bored that I left about 5 minutes later.
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| My wall jumps were not nearly this fun [image: http://www.mariowiki.com/Wall_Jump] |
Sunday: Plenty of walking.
Monday: More calf strain rehabilitation exercises. I can now jump 10 times and it is just a bit uncomfortable. Made it official and paid to defer my race entry to 2015.
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| Not how I like to spend my money. |
Tuesday: I took a 2 hour nap to try to forget about my disappointment. It didn't help. I drank a few glasses of wine which did help.
Wednesday: Calf strain rehab and a 2 mile walk. I tried running a few short segments and was able to slow run maybe a tenth of a mile before feeling some discomfort in my calf. A definite improvement over the 5-10 steps that I made it last time. As soon as I felt any discomfort I switched back to walking for a few minutes.
My plan is to continue with the calf rehabilitation exercises for the next few days as well as walking a few miles each day. I know I will be tempted to try to run again every day, but I am going to force myself to take 2-3 days before I try it again. I don't want to hinder my recovery by overdoing it.
Ideally I would plan on run/walk intervals over the next few weeks. In November I would begin building back to my pre-injury level of running (35 miles per week). Then I would start my next training cycle on December 8th. I don't know if this is a realistic timeline, so I am trying not to get ahead of myself. But I just want to be running again.
Sorry you had to defer your race! Luckily you were able to...I have a half marathon coming up that was RIDICULOUSLY expensive to register for and I can't run it now due to a wedding that I have to attend. They wouldn't let me defer it so I just threw away a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteAgh, that is so frustrating! I am so glad I was able to just defer and not waste the money. Any running friends you can sell your entry to? Or does the race not allow transfers either?
DeleteSo happy that you're seeing some improvements with the injury. It may seem small, but being able to do more wall jumps or jog a little further is HUGE when coming off an injury. And I know you'll do great in 2015 when you get to run this marathon!
ReplyDeleteSo true! I keep reminding myself that even though it seems like baby steps, any progress is good progress.
DeleteCongrats on making some progress! I know it sucks, but really, take it slow. I was very determined to run both my fall half marathons after pulling out of my final tri that I started running too soon. My calf is not healed and I'm muscling through, but I really needed more time off. And honestly, after my fall season, I'll probably have to take more time off for forcing myself back into running too soon. Swim, spin, strength train, and just make progress when you're ready. The more honest you with your recovery now the less time you'll spend in the long run dealing with it.
ReplyDeleteSuch a bummer. I think I am in the same boat. :-( Could you let me know some of the rehab exercises you are doing? I would really like to try some to see if it helps.
ReplyDeleteAh, sorry! If you send me your email address (mine is shoesrun50@gmail.com), I'll scan the page of exercises and send it to you.
DeleteYou might also check out this site: http://www.athletestreatingathletes.com/ata-blog/2013/02/calf-strain/
and this article: http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/calf-heart-attacks?page=single