W8R1 Fail Any Tips?

[simonr1964]

Well I have been plodding along nicely completed week 7 without any problems and felt very confident running for 25 minutes.

Then week 8 came and everything ground to a halt. Tried the run but after 10 minutes I have to give up with pain in my calf and had to limp home. Left it a few days and managed to get up to 20 minutes but the same again pain so bad I could not carry on running. Thought I would leave it 4 days this time so tried again today 8 minutes in and the same again.

I just wondered if anyone else had come up against this and if a longer rest may be what I need or maybe some exercise that will help strengthen my calves?

It was all going so well and the high at the end of week 7 has now evaporated.

I am determined to get to the end but the body does not seem to be willing at the moment.

Thanks for any help to get me plodding along again.

[Fat_stab Graduate]

Hi Simon

And sorry to hear of your calf issue.

My advice would be to do the following..

Firstly go back to week six and see how your calfs feel then.

Secondly ensure that you are stretching your legs especially after your training session.

There is a post which I hope may become a stickie/pinned post one day with various tips on stretching and strengthening exercises for runners.

The link is here

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Hope this helps?

[Pc59 Graduate in reply to Fat_stab]

These are great videos I'm going to try them. I do make sure I stretch after my runs & then treat myself to a lovely soak in the bath!! So far so good! Simon I think the stretching before & after will help and maybe slow down your running! Go back a week or two to build up. No rush and you will get there!! Keep positive too the mind a powerful tool!! 😊😊Phyllis

[misswobble Graduate]

Yes, I have. It was in training for a 10 mile race so a bad time. I had two attempts to run again, both of which me saw me - like you- pulling up in agony. I rested mine for 3 whole weeks. It was fine after the rest. I iced and elevated mine at every possible opportunity, and even went to bed with an ice pack 😊

Know it's terribly frustrating but you have to allow it to heal.

[Fat_stab Graduate in reply to misswobble]

And as we get older, healing takes longer unfortunately.

However, if you feel you can't run, go for a walk. a walk is better than nothing, and is often recommended to aid healing (but not always).

If unsure see medical advice; ideally from a sports physio rather than a GP

[AncientMum Graduate]

Definitely not a fail. An injury is an injury, we all get them eventually - some more than others *AncientMum hangs head*. Don't be tempted to try running at all. You've obviously done some damage and your calf will need to recover. misswobble 's advice is probably about as good as it gets. Just rest, rest, more rest and then some more rest. Don't worry about losing all your hard won fitness, just drop back a week when you restart, and you'll be fine

[GazJ2k Graduate]

This happened to me in week 9 mate. The best advice I can give you is pick a day where you know you are going to do it. Where you don't feel any gremlins, any niggily doubts and run it but go much much slower. The best advice I received in this forum was to slow down massively and I got there and completed a ParkRun yesterday

[kaz56 Graduate]

This is me had a week off after week 7, half way through the week had a deep tissue for my back so she did my calves as well the one that really hurt was the calf that felt ok lol, then a few days later started week 8, and it wa sonly as i got to the last 6 mins that it began to hurt, but not enough to stop me,