After 8 days of frustration 😫 my first ‘post calf strain’ outing and my first foray into Jeffing 🏃🏻‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️- ‘She Persisted’(Not 🤦‍♀️)

[RacingintheStreet]

Fair to say , it wasn’t a success and on oh so many levels 🙄🤷🏼‍♀️😂

I am keen to maintain a degree of positivity, because my calf is definitely much improved from last week when it was sore to walk and sore to touch, but I only managed 1.5 K and 11 minutes worth of Jeffing .

I spent longer on my warm up excercises to make sure I was fully warmed up and then sorted my phone, then I checked the battery level on my watch , then I went to the loo, then I tried out my earphones as they had been playing up , then I had a think about where I might go on this Jeffing expedition and then I thought maybe a last trip to the loo . 🙄🤦‍♀️....................You get the picture? 🤦‍♀️😂

I think, in truth, I was actually a little afraid to go out 😕

After all this prep I got out to find that the ‘pre procrastination’ light drizzle had turned to the proper stuff ,🙄☔️☔️ I remained determined though 👌.

I hoped it might ease off and besides, no way was I going to waste that good warm up 😂

I had preset the Garmin with a 30:30 run/walk workout (which I was quite chuffed about actually😂😂) so I was all set with that and a good playlist 🙂

Buttons pressed and off I went with no particular awareness of anything untoward with the calf , all good 😊👍

100 metres from the house the earphones started buzzing and then died , 😣 never mind I’ll just listen to the phone playing from my pocket 🙄🎶 (PMA and all that). I’m not a candidate for naked running , I like my tracks 🎶🎶 or my guide companion but , maybe in Spring of Summer though 🤔🙂)

Then the real fun and games stated 😩, the Garmin was to buzz and vibrate at the 30 sec intervals as I’m sure anyone who has one /or similar already knows . I had a trial run the previous evening to see what came up on the display etc. And it all looked fairly simple . I wasn’t really sure how I would enjoy 30 secs of intervals but thought it a good place to start .

So my watch ‘buzzed’ after my first 30secs of running and I knew I should now walk , but then it buzzed again and said walk 🤷🏼‍♀️. Well I was already doing that 🤷🏼‍♀️

Then it buzzed again quite soon , but hey ho 🤷🏼‍♀️ 30secs isn’t long so off I went for my next running interval . A few seconds more and it buzzed again 😩 this time I looked at it and it said ‘behind’ , then soon another buzz , it says ‘ run’ 🙄😣 ....and on , and on , and on it went until I hadn’t a clue 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Meanwhile the rain is getting heavier , I’m passing dog walkers totally kitted out in rain jackets & waterproof trousers and I’ve got music playing out the pocket of my lightweight non- waterproof , barely rain - resistant hi viz jacket . Even the dogs are more appropriately dressed and rolling their eyes at me 😂😂🐕‍🦺🐕‍🦺

I begin to feel like a burst balloon 🎈🎈With my air of positivity slowly seeping away from me . I am wet, the Garmin is still bleeping at me and as I switch Dire Straits off in mid flow I start to feel the quiet tightness in my lower calf.😢

But , 🙂it is quiet ( unlike Mr Buzz Garmin’ ) and it is only to the inner calf at the bottom , so although this whole outing has been an absolute disaster it has at least not totally aggravated things .

I walked awhile as I concentrated on what my calf was doing and I was able to work out what the Garmin was doing too. I have it set on my usual runs to alert me if my pace goes above a set pace so that I can manage my tendency to set off too quickly .

So the poor thing was going demented telling me I was too slow 😂🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

I picked up a light jog to get me home and although still aware of it the calf didn’t get any worse. I will still be a fair while off picking up Wk 3 of the distance plan though 🤷🏼‍♀️ So I’ll just need to be patient

Once I reset the workout on the app I might give Jeffing another go but maybe 60:30and definitely only the one set of buzzing 😂😂

After a hot shower and a couple of coffees I could smile at my less than happy little adventure so I put it in my ‘Smile Diary’ .📖✍️

I was listening to Michael Ball on Radio 2 a couple of Sundays ago and he was explaining that each day he tries to note down three things that made him smile that day .🙂

Next day he reads them again , which of course makes him smile again 🙂 Then starts again . There’s is after all still a lot out there to make us smile 👌

Maybe because I am not seeing my daughters and grandsons just now there seems to a few other trends in my smile diary 🙄 Dogs in coats ( dogs in general actually) , ‘Bernies Mittens Memes’ and the happiness of Dr Fauci under his ‘New Boss’. Yes , my calf needs to heal as I am watching far too much News 😂😂🤦‍♀️

Photo : The Dairy has just started delivery in our area so I’ve just started getting my milk delivered and this really brought the biggest smile #simplepleasures #purenostalgia

[Runforurlife Graduate10]

So much to love in your run report! As a fellow IC occupant, although not near a return just yet like you, I read your report with interest as you felt your way back after your calf injury. Great that you’ve got back out there and had a return of sorts to test out the calf and no major issues 💪🏼💪🏼 I feel your pain on the Garmin misfires!! We’ve all been there and I’m still working out the basics on mine after too long now 🤔 And the procrastination.. haha.. I feel ya 😂 When I realised I was watering the plants all round the house one day after a full warm up and still dithering, I thought enough, get going!! Not before I put a wash on tho 😂😂Hope your calf continues to be trouble free and you can get back to running easy again.

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to Runforurlife]

😂😂 That’s procrastination and multi tasking all in one 🤣 I know I faff about at the best of times but I think I had a fear that I’d go out and it would just happen again and I’d be back to square 1 🤷🏼‍♀️😕

I knew I’d laugh about the run later but gosh I was so cross at my ‘ridiculousness’ at the time 😡😂

The rainproof dogs sticking their noses up at me was the last straw 🐕‍🦺🐕‍🦺🤦‍♀️

I’ve not been back out yet , today is so nice as well, but I really don’t want to blow it 🤷🏼‍♀️.

I couldn’t do anything with my calf when it first happened so I laid off it , now 10 days later I have progressed from just stretching to doing some calf strengthening exercises . Around the house and with the dog walks I’m not feeling it but I know as soon as I put ‘ running weight’ on it I probably will 😩

So maybe tomorrow I’ll try either a short jog or do longer run periods on the Jeffing 🤷🏼‍♀️ ( I’ve sorted ‘Buzz Garmin’ out and taken my pace alerts off 🙄😂)

Love my Garmin but not using it to its full potential due to laziness 😂

I was reading your post re your shins and I do hope you too are feeling a bit of improvement / managed to get a physio appointment .

Your progress from C25K is way ahead of mine so you must be so frustrated 😕

It’s interesting though that these things can happen anytime , I knew I was fortunate that I’d had nothing bother me in all the 6 months I’d been running but I hadn’t reached the distances that you had been achieving ( and routinely too )

I was interested that you said about maybe skimping on the warm ups etc.

The day I strained my calf was one of a series of really cold , icy days and I only got out late afternoon between it thawing and freezing again . ( ironically I was trying to avoid injury by not running on these icy days 🙄🙄) .

Anyway , I do exercise workouts on you tube each morning and often use those as my warm up before going out on my run straight from the house and no 5 minute walk .

Usually works fine , but over the course of the day (S) I’ve often been sitting reading in the afternoons and not put the heating on quick enough ending up getting really cold ( particularly my legs)

I think I saw the opportunity to go out a run , did a ‘ few stretches and again ran straight from the house but didn’t account for the fact that my whole body has just gotten really cold .

I should have done even more of a warm up really It just didn’t think in my haste to get out 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sorry , really long winded but it had been at the back of my mind until you mentioned warming up .

Cant take anything for granted 🙂

Enjoying reading some of your posts , hope you get back running soon you clearly love it 😊🙂

[Runforurlife Graduate10 in reply to RacingintheStreet]

Yep, this period on the IC is a time of reflection for me, a reminder of the importance of regular stretching and foam rolling (even when I can think of nothing less I'd rather do, like now 🤣), not upping the miles too quickly (annoying when I'm enjoying myself on a run and feel I can keep going) and getting to grips with a regular and comprehensive warm up and cool down routine. I managed to get a long walk in today (10km oops) and the shins are "ok" but the foam roller is calling and I have an appt with a new physio this coming Fri to see what the professional opinion is. Until then, I'm taking it easy. I hope your calf is doing ok and you're planning to get out for another gentle run soon to test it out 👍

[LottieMW Ambassador]

...if I had a smile diary...this post would go in there! 😂

I could just see those fully kitted dog walkers ☔️🧥🥾wondering where those tunes were...🎶...and doggy eyerolls 🐕🙄

...and not to mention buzzy mr. Garmin 🔊⌚️🔔🚨

😂😂😂

Glad to hear that the calf was holding up...that’s the main thing!

In other news...is that real unpasteurised milk 💚🥛 ???

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to LottieMW]

I grew up getting raw unpasteurised "green top" milk from the local farm.

New regs that came in in the early 2000s meant the farmer had to completely replace his bottling equipment which would have cost too much. He switched to selling his milk to the bulk processors and sold on his milk round. Eventually even they gave up.

The farm now specialises in providing stabling for horses.

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Just the usual pasteurised , but I do like getting it in glass, not plastic and ‘putting out the empties’ makes me smile 😂🤷🏼‍♀️I actually don’t like milk at all ( old enough to remember getting little bottles of milk at school, they sat in a big crate beside a cast iron radiators slowly getting lukewarm 🤮🤢) and now the kids have all ‘flown he nest’ ,I’m having to reassess ‘consumption’ for just the two of us .

Food waste, using local producers and farmers and not ‘going to town’ has been my ‘Lockdown focus project’ . The various ‘Honesty Sheds’ for spuds, veg, eggs and also even ice cream are quite abundant and local to me so I’m happy 😊 Lots of wee local boats bringing in a bit of seafood too 🦐🦀

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to LottieMW]

Hey Lottie 🙂 Thank You 👍It really was a ‘train wreck’ of a run , but lots learnt 🤷🏼‍♀️

The calf is still on the mend but it’s getting more ‘ghost of’ every day .

Was pretty down for first couple of days just through not being able to get out and also I’d just hit another period of getting a good routine again 😫

Anyway I then got a grip and started to do some strength exercise with dumbbells which I’ve been meaning to have a go at for ages , so that’s keeping me out of mischief 😈.

After the calf felt a little less tender have also ‘upped’ the stretches and can now do more exercise on it too.

The dog keeps me walking and even on these I’m becoming less aware of the strain .

Just takes its own good time 🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t want it to be a recurring thing so I’ll need to be patient .

No the milk is just the normal pasteurised , delivery is new in my area and I just love having it in glass bottles to recycle and it makes me happy ‘to put the empties out’ and be greeted by milk on the doorstep.

I don’t even like milk 😂😂 it’s for Hubby .

We have a local farm that has an ‘Honesty Shed’ and you can refill milk there but it is also pasteurised and only ‘blue top’ but you can blether with the cows who provide it . 🐄🐄🐄

They also make the most delicious ice cream ( which I do like 😊)

Hope all is going to plan for your runs 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️ You’ll be at that 10k mark in a few weeks 👌

[LottieMW Ambassador in reply to RacingintheStreet]

I’ve never been a big fan of milk, but Mr.L has converted me. He got accustomed to full fat raw milk when he was away in Ireland...so when we found some ‘local’ producers, he was well happy. When I say ‘local’...the 2 nearest farms are 25/26 miles away...and one is in England! Since the second lockdown we’ve been going to the one by Abergavenny...she has an “honesty” fridge and sells the milk in 2 litre plastic bottles. 🐄🥛

One more run to the halfway point...but I’m giving myself at least 2 recovery days now...plus the adverse weather...so maybe in March 😂🐌🐢🏃🏻‍♀️

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to LottieMW]

Good idea Lottie , no harm in doing so . Keep your sights on the prize 👌🥇🏆😂

[LottieMW Ambassador in reply to RacingintheStreet]

👍🏆🔟

[grumpyoldgirl]

Oh you poor thing, thank you for such a funny write up, but I don't expect you felt like laughing while your Garmin was doing its buzzy thing! I failed to master the intervals function the other day and got totally confused, so you are not alone. Love the milk bottles, they've definitely made me smile 😊- see?

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to grumpyoldgirl]

Glad to raise a smile - job done then ✅ 😂It did cross my mind that it might be something I’d laugh about later but I was sort of having an ‘out of body running experience’ as I watched my ridiculous self 🙄😂

Good to know I’m not the only one re ‘Buzz Garmin’, I love it really but know I should really do a bit more learning about it .

Hope the hip is continuing to improve , very frustrating this IC 😕

Still , we have had a couple of lovely days and it made me wistfully think of running in Summer ( which I couldn’t do last year ) 😊

[GailXrunning]

Epic (on so many levels)! I’m smiling and then some (thank you 🙏🤗😁)

I do hope your calf strain eases... and that that sense of fear/ nerves goes away.

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10]

ThanksGailX Yes and all over in 11minutes too 😂🤷🏼‍♀️I do think the calf is improving with each day and I’ve started exercising them rather than just resting/stretching them .

I haven’t been out again , although today has been a perfect day for running , but that’s when I will possibly feel something as I put my moving weight on it .

As with all things it’s a balance between the gradual use of it and giving it enough time to properly heal 🤷🏼‍♀️

You do, irrationally I know, begin to wonder how you might actually run 7.5 K again ( that’s as far I got on the time plan ) however I’m sure once mended I’ll just work my way back .

Hope all your runs are happy ones and you’re continuing to master the nasal breathing , you are certainly doing some interesting stuff 👌😊

[Pnegirl Graduate10]

I was thinking about you in the week wondering how you were getting on with the niggle in your calf. I'm sorry that your run wasn't the smoothest but I wouldn't say it was a total disaster as you got out there and have used it to decide what to do for your next run 🙂. I'm completely with you on having to have something to listen to while running! I get the bonus of being to tune into nature and the freedom but I very much need my music to motivate me. I hope your calf continues to get better and that your garmin behaves next time 🙂

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to Pnegirl]

Sorry for late response 🙂 I don’t know if I’ve just been in the huff with my injury or lapsing into ‘Lockdown Lethargy’ . That’s why I started running in the first place 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

Anyway , yes totally agree , a run without music is just a bit of a void regardless of the lovely sights .

I left running until today and the calf tightness kicked in at about 2.5 K 😕

So I stopped and spent a long walk home ‘looking on the bright side’ 😂😂

I’m hoping it will recover from the run and I can maybe at least get out without it getting any worse and if I leave enough rest it will recover .

On the other hand I should maybe just totally leave it a month 🤷🏼‍♀️ Not sure .

I’m going to trawl the forum and internet for advice .

It was a really good run too 👌😂 and I was pleased to talk myself into getting out after the last run. Weather here has been a lockdown in itself so that hasn’t helped .

Looking forward to running in spring & summer as I only started C25K in August last year . Really hoping this sorts itself out .

Hope you are continuing to get out and enjoy some running as you made such good progress and likewise it will be lovely for you to get and run in the sunshine .......... hope all is well with you and life is treating you kindly 😊😊

[acountrycabbage 60minGraduate]

Hello Racing, it’s been a while 😊

Sorry to read on Lottie’s post that your calf is still not right. How’s your patience holding up?

Speaking of patience, last week I tried to reply to your post above to have the app crash after two attempts at a lengthy reply..! Was ready to throw my phone across the room..! 😡🤯

Loving the milk, direct from cow to coffee 💕 Indeed, simple lovely things.

No wonder you felt deflated after your Garmin poked and prodded you like that!

I think you’ve said before that you enjoy a bit of Coach Bennett action so wanted to suggest Coach Cory to you.

His ‘60’s’ intervals proved to be fun. That’s 60s bursts, not 60’s music sadly ☺️ He is more bossy and energised than CB but whooped me across all the finish lines which made me smile. I liked having someone tell me what to do for every moment of the run, it took all the thinking out of it. It may/may not be your kind of thing but mentioning just incase you fancy a change. (When you can).

I did also notice that my knees felt painful during intervals for the first time in forever. Presumably those bursts of energy put more pressure on our joints.

Love the sound of your smile diary 🙂 Dogs are top of my list every day. Today I cuddled a Basset Hound puppy and I was beside myself. So much joy 🐾💕

Anyway, for now I’m sat with you on the IC. I injured my back at work and my hips are sore too. If the weather is going to be as bad as they say, hopefully that will make me less grumpy about not running since I won’t be able to anyway.

What’s your chocolate bar of choice? I’ll grab the choccie, you stick the kettle on 😊

🛋🍫☕️

[RacingintheStreet Graduate10 in reply to acountrycabbage]

Thanks for this CC , you did make me smile ( one for today’s diary 👌🙂) I must confess Im in the doldrums a bit but you have definitely ‘perked me up’ .Galaxy Ripple for me please 😂🍫☕️

Sorry to hear about your back , I think I did read that in your last post ( I have been quite lethargic on the forum too 🤷🏼‍♀️😕) That cake look fab 😋

I’m sure you must feel the same if you’re not getting out on your runs , I know you are making such good progress and really enjoying ‘mixing things up’ too.

I heard a track from Hamilton on the radio the other day and did think of you 😊

I just find it quite amazing how sort of sad I feel that I can’t go and do a run 😔🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s quite a void .

I started running during the last lockdown as I felt I would just go demented watching myself doing nothing ( or at least I had run out of ‘projects’ to keep me occupied and really felt I had to find ‘something’ ) C25K saved me from completely going round the bend with boredom 😂😂

So here we are again and I can’t run .

I went out yesterday and managed a lovely 2.5K but then it started to bother again . I stopped and walked home but really enjoyed it up until that point .

Today I don’t feel it at all except if I were to exercise heavily on it .

So I think I’ll have to give it a total break from running of longer than 10 days .

Patience ? Not really part of my toolkit 😂😂 but I can’t take the chance , I do want to get running again . I’ve been researching strength exercises so may use that to keep me occupied .

I do hope your back gets better quickly , is it a recurring issue or have you done something specific to it recently ?

I do look forward to Spring and hope we are both running again by then .

Thanks again for cheering me up 😊😊