Ouch, ouch, OUCH

[Philholly]

Penultimate run of wk9, thought I would go for the 5k rather than stop at 30 minutes, but 15 minutes in my left calf started to cramp up. I ran through the pain but had to stop at the 30 minutes. Got home, husband (real runner, not a gollumping lump like me) told me that you have to stop with cramp, so now I can hardly walk.

Stretched for half an hour afterwards but it's still seized. Ice pack or warmth? I really hope this won't stop me from graduating in 2 days' time. I've also just entered the Race for Life and already got half way towards my total, so I will have to do it on my hands and knees if necessary. Is there a Crawl for Life? :/

[TurboTortoise Graduate]

Hope it's feeling better now - was it definitely cramp or a bit of calf strain? Either way the advice is RICE it (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Take an extra day or two off if your body tells you to. Though I know you are chomping at the bit at this point and desperate to get on and GRADUATE!!! PS you ARE a real runner!

[Philholly Graduate in reply to TurboTortoise]

Thanks TT. It is a little better today, I'm still limping, but I think it's on the mend. I won't be graduating tomorrow, but hopefully by the end of the week. Coo, I'm a real runner? That's amazing!

[ufon]

Try standing on the stairs with your heels hanging over the edge to stretch the muscle a bit if you think it was cramp. An old dancer's trick that works every time with me to stretch the knots back out.

[Philholly Graduate in reply to ufon]

That's a really good exercise I had forgotten about! I did it when I had plantar fasciitis and will use it as part of my warm up and warm down. Thanks for the tip Uton.

[ufon in reply to Philholly]

Glad I could help!