Running injuries are good teachers. Potentially dangerous habits we may have fallen into unaware can be revealed in an instant with the twang of a calf muscle. When my own calf muscle twanged a few weeks ago, I realized I had been less than diligent in replacing my running shoes and I had allowed myself to become the human equivalent of a 1965 VW bus with blown shocks. The cushioning in my shoes had been stomped flat, the tread worn smooth, I had not been paying attention, and – twang. So, a little lesson in mindfulness, courtesy of my blown Asics 2130s. The first and largest step in recovery was to toss the old shoes out and buy a new pair.
With training for fall races entering the more serious stage, I really couldn’t afford a lot of downtime – and yet, here was this calf strain, telling me it really didn’t matter what I thought. I took off a few days, heated, iced, yoga-ed. I noticed when I attempted to run on it, the calf reached a certain lower threshold of pain, and – so long as I didn’t push things too much – hovered there, not getting any worse.
Like a good Buddhist should regarding most things in life, I decided on the Middle Way for my calf issue. It seemed to be responding to stretching, walking, and moderate running, and I made my decision: so long as the pain reached that low threshold and didn’t get any worse, I was going to continue training. But I didn’t go all out. I ran my weekly tempo run and hill repeats at around 8:20/mile pace, rather than 7:45. I incorporated more walking into my walk/run ratios during my longer runs. I did more yoga, focusing on low-intensity, lower-body stretches. And I maintained constant awareness of my calf as I walked, stretched, and ran.
And lo and behold, not only did I survive the first week of training without serious compromise, but my calf pain is actually gone this morning. Completely. I will continue the Middle Way this week, just to allow the calf to heal more deeply – pain is only an indicator of a problem, after all, not the problem itself, and just because the pain has gone away doesn’t mean the problem has. But I’m getting there.
My longest runs since the Rocky Raccoon 100 back in February went like clockwork, albeit in dripping humidity. I was very fatigued after Saturday’s run, and after Sunday’s. But my legs feel good. My calf feels good. The fatigue issue will improve as I get used to the longer distances again, and as the weather slowly cools down and dries (although that’s going to be awhile – looks like it’s going to be a triple-digit week). So long as I just keep training in the Middle Way for a week or two longer, I can manage.
Monday: Yoga, 40 minutes
Tuesday: LHHS track, p.m. 25-minute tempo run @ 8:20, 45 minutes total
Wednesday: Neighborhood, p.m. 90 minutes. Yoga, p.m.
Thursday, noon: Hill repeats x 5. 50 minutes. Yoga, p.m.
Friday, a.m.: Power hike, w/some jogging during final 20 minutes. 90 minutes.
Saturday, a.m.: Four hours through the neighborhoods
Sunday, a.m. : Two hours around the lake. Restorative yoga, p.m.
