started a blog. calf pain setback week 20. Any advice (on timeline or anything else)?

shawshank

Barefooters
Jun 8, 2011
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WEEK 19 BFR goals (160 mins total)



- goal for Mon = 50 mins Mon (@ YMCA indoor track). I made a mistake computing the time I needed to run so I ran 55 mins instead.



- goal for Wed =- 50 mins (@ YMCA track). Another miscalculation (I have been travelling past 3 weeks so it was bound to happen). I ran 55 mins instead.



- goal for Fri = 60 min Fri (@ YMCA due to weather). Out of town on Fri, but my calves were not feeling good this week. So I pushed the run back to Sat nite & ran for 65 (instead of scheduled 60). My calves felt even more tender. [I may have been trying to run a bit faster on the indoor track by concentrating on increasing my cadence.]



Which leads us to WEEK 20

- goal for Mon = 55 mins. Felt calf pain @ 35 mins so I stopped. The pain didn't stop so I took 3 days off. Calf pain lasted for 1 day after BFR (tender & I went back to massaging my calves w/ the roller & sitting on the tennis balls). I took 1 week off since I still felt soreness & adjusted down my goals for week 21.



WEEK 21 goals (??)



- goal for Mon = 35 mins. My calves still felt sore during the run & the next day. So I took 2 complete days off & tried to make a conscious effort to slow down. Calves were sore for next day. Did some massage w/ roller.



- goal for Fri = 35 mins. Had to stop after 30 mins when I felt calf pain. Decided to stop & stretch. I am taking at least one week off before giving it another try because I do not want to risk a more serious injury. I am doing yoga at least 4 times a week & will try to do the 100 ups challenge (http://naturalrunningstore.com/100upchallenge) and some more leg strengthening & see if that makes a difference.



Meanwhile, I will continue to swim & do yoga & try to incorporate more water running, elliptical (when my calves feel a bit better), & other cross training.

This is a major setback for me because I was really plugging along. The major problem may have been the combination of the Thanksgiving holidays that were sandwiched between two business trips that took me out of town (on top of stress on both the job & home front).



I am trying to stay patient so I hope you all do the same. Any advice is welcome! s/s.
 
do you allow your heels to

do you allow your heels to "kiss" the ground after the front of your foot? tight calves usually means no and that you could be landing to far up on your toes. worry more about form, or relaxing which is hard i believe for everyone, than time and you'll do better.
 
that may be one of my

that may be one of my problems. I am concentrating on doing it, but I will work on it more consciously. plus relaxing.



I foolishly thought that I was past the "calf pain" part of this process because I have been able to put together months of injury free 10% increase per week progress. But it is clear that I still have several things to work on.



tx! s/s.
 
ha! i worked through

ha! i worked through everything only to have another problem show up with compound symptons. PF is flared which tightens the calf, achilles, quads, and it band. of course i can't fail to mention how my right hip gets inflamed with my right shoulder getting so tense its like i'm carrying a barrel in my right arm.



strength training and concious effort to relax and land as well as i can help out. as well as the monthly massage.



oh, i'm going on two years min/bf. just for some reference. and yes, i do push myself more than i should sometimes. easier to give advice than always follow your own right.
wink.png




i'm icing my pf, calf, and achilles right now. i kept up with the fast guys yesterday. well, i should say they slowed down for me. WAY down.
 
Hello,  I would say take a

Hello, I would say take a break, or the pain might get more serious. There could be many factors, so search through the health section or post in the ask the doc's section. I think relaxing your lower legs will help.

Also, I was wondering about the running surface. I'm not too familiar with indoor tracks. When you are ready to run, search for some routes that offer a variety of running surfaces. I find most of my problems with aches and pains happen when the distances are long with no variety.

It's good to set goals, but realize there will almost always be setbacks. Good luck.

Rick
 
I'm massaging and staying off

I'm massaging and staying off of it. The indoor track is the same surface as a basketball court with a short loop (1/6 mile).

I'm not acclaimed to running outside (too cold) so I'm trying to use this as a chance to work on form.

Tx! s/s
 

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