Tonight was the night! A week off and lots of ice packs and stretching and massage to my calves, it was time to test the leg. I needed to know if this was only going to be a temporary inconvenience on a chronic pain in the bum! After work today I was itching for a run. I’d been eyeing off my shoes all week and wishing I could get out there. I’ve put the new orthotics in the new shoes; they look far too new and need some dirtying and scuffing up!
I have actually always prided myself in my stretching, as I always seem to do more than the next person when it comes to warm-ups and cool-downs. Obviously, lately, that’s not been enough or maybe I am just kidding myself I’m dedicated to it. I must admit, since I’ve been running this last 3 months, my hip flexors and ITBs have been the areas that have given me the most stiffness, and I have tended to concentrate on these areas without a whole lot of concern for my calves. Now I have paid the price I guess. I was really pleased that the podiatrist had said she didn’t believe that it was caused by shin splints, and that with early intervention (as I had) the muscles soreness should repair. If I had continued to run on it however, it was the type of muscle strain that would develop into shin splints. It made me feel a little better about the down time knowing I was doing the right thing.
So by tonight I was stubbornly determined to run. I made sure I had a good stretch, I mean better than I usually do. Heading out with the setting sun it was a gorgeous day, and a better evening. It was nice to be able to see where I was running, the days are definitely much longer now. I decided that I’d just start running and see how my leg felt. I try to focus a bit on my (perceived in my head) form, keeping my body relaxed and tonight I was thinking about the pelvis and keeping the legs moving freely. Every time I did that and checked my watch, my pace had lifted to less than 5:10min/km without any effort. My calves were both a bit tender (not the back main calf muscle but the deep seated muscle that runs along the inside of the leg behind the shin area), but I was hoping the stiffness would run out.
It did get a little better and seemed to all but disappear. I felt very energetic having not run for a week; and my pace was well under 5:30 all the time. I’d gone over 4kms when my right calf started to ache, so I did the sensible thing and stopped and walked. I had hoped to get 5kms, so I should be happy with that. My average HR was 169 and my average pace was 5:18. All in all a good short tempo run for me. It has shown me the leg needs a bit more rehab, and probably a week or two of short runs only. I think if after that it isn’t improved, I may have to look at going back to my Ariels. The podiatrist seemed to think the Adrenalin will provide me with enough support, but I will have to gradually accustom my legs to more movement through the shoe. I don’t want to devote too much time to this, so if in a fortnight it isn’t any better, I shall concede defeat on the shoe front and go back to the “bricks”.
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