Lower Calf Strain

Here we go again. I'm a dumbass! Yesterday, I complained about some minor pain in my lower right calf. Well, today, the pain had diminished. It was still there but just barely noticeable, so I decided to do a light run to see how it felt. Plus, it was bright and sunny and temperatures had warmed into the mid 40s, and I was extremely anxious to not waste the day. So, I put on my Forerunner 305 (GPS pedometer) and went for a light jog through the neighborhood. First, let me say that the run felt awesome. It felt good to NOT be running on that stupid treadmill, and the time seemed to pass by very quickly. The Forerunner watch was very cool and worked flawlessly and definitely glad we made the purchase (now we might have to buy another one, hmmm). The pain in my calf wasn't too bad, just a low dull ache, but I was able to run through it.

At about mile 2.4, it hurt a little more, so I walked for a couple of minutes, but was able to start running again and completed 3.1 miles (5k). This was after being awake for 17 hours, so it was my evening, and it just felt good. The bright sunshine sure helps knock down the case of SAD I've had the last couple of days.

Now, back to this pain. After a 5 hour nap, my lower calf is very tight, just like it was yesterday. It's not an extreme pain, just sore. After doing some research, it seems that I may have just strained it, or it could be a case of Achilles Tendinitis. The cause is probably the combination of not enough stretching, too much mileage and too many hills too fast, and possibly the way I run (over pronating more than my shoes allow). I did test my foot type and it seemed to be neutral, and my shoes fit that profile, but perhaps when I run, that changes. I believe there are some shoe inserts that I can use to try and fix that. Anyhow, the remedy is RICE, or rest, ice, compression, and elevation, taking a break from training, and more (a lot) stretching.

I've come so far, and I'm actually looking forward to the running now, and certainly don't want to back down, especially if the weather is nice. But, if I'm injured, it will only get worse and I'll never get back on track. So, despite my anxiousness about continuing my training, I guess I'll have to ease off for a few days and let this heal.

In retrospect, I definitely have pushed it too much. I still have 12 weeks left until the race, and I've been able to accomplish a lot more in just 3 weeks of training than I ever had envisioned, so taking a few days off now is probably not the end of the world. Slow and steady wins the race.