Went out for my weekend daylight run. 3 1/2 km in, I found myself thinking
"Is that a twinge or a problem in my calf?" Another hundred yards and decided it's possibly a problem, so did the sensible thing and stopped - then immediately realised OUCH & stretched calves on a convenient step, ( despite dog walkers potentially thinking I was mad).
Limped sadly home. 😔
I don't know why this has happened, I have been running now for 10 weeks without injury problems, and did nothing different today - I was just doing my usual gentle snail thing & had warmed up well, have had rest days as usual.
Time to rest & take the laundry off the ancient - exceedingly - basic exercise bike methinks - very disappointed. 😔😔
Any good advice for recovery welcome.
Written by
Elfe5
Graduate
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Hi Elfe5, sorry to hear you have tweaked something. I see you have been running 5k the last two runs, both runs were over 40 mins, so maybe you have overstretched yourself a bit.
Rest from running for a while, elevate the leg and place some ice (frozen peas wrapped in a towel) on it for short periods. Hopefully it will settle back down.
Heel drops and toe lifts are good for stretching calves ( do when muscles are warm ) Stand on the bottom stair facing up. Feet half on with heels sticking out. Go up on your toes, hold and back to level. Repeat a few times. Then gently drop your heels a bit, hold then back to level. Repeat a few times.
Oh no! So sorry to hear you're in pain. I hope meds and rest plus stretch will do the trick so that you can go snail gambolling soon again. Rest well and take care of those calves: perhaps think about hydration as well. I don't know you but, when it gets really cold, I tend to drink a bit less and forget that my body still needs quite a lot of water to avoid any tense muscle if I exercise. And do not stretch if too much pain: massage first to relax.
Thank you, I'll have to be the hobbling snail for a little while- doing all the right things to help recovery & looking forward gambolling again when I'm mended. 😏
Oh Elfe, so sorry to hear this. But you know, it happens to the best of us - and sometimes we just cannot figure why. You've had some great advice already - ice, rest etc. I want to add, do not lose heart or feel sad. You will recover from this, and you will run again.
I pulled something in the back of my thigh last week and on top of that, I have had a weird virus that has made me feel very sick. Haven't run since Sunday last week. Lesson I have learned is to be kind to myself, rest, and to not despair!
Thank you so much for your kind encouragement. I hope you are recovering too - looking forward to both of us being back in running shoes! Really it's quite comical my missing it so much when 11 weeks ago it wasn't on my radar at all! - How things can change in a short time! 😄
Ouch indeed. I’ve done the same thing today and now have one tender calf. I can point my toes forward but can’t move my foot in the other direction, i.e. stretching the muscle. Hoping it settles down in a day or so otherwise that’s graduation week scuppered
Oh sympathy Mike - I've been hobbling around making Sunday lunch for the family this morning and wondering how your hobbling is going. A member of the family (a doctor) advised me to rest my leg on a hot water bottle overnight and that seems to have helped a bit. I am doing hot water bottle then stretching at intervals. Hope you recover soon. 😃
Thank you. Trying to keep mine moving. I’ve stood at the local rugby pitch watching the kids play this morning, trying to keep gently stretching the leg. It’s definitely easier than yesterday, but I can’t see me running this week ☹️
Yes, I am anticipating a week off running, but plan to do some gentle walking or cycling ( in addition to stretches) for short periods of time to try and maintain a bit of fitness. Your graduation and my Park Run will just have to politely wait for a little while!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Injury! Oh no!
W5R2 those pesky gremlins!
Penultimate run done :) 
Oh dear!
C25K week 5 R3
