Week 9 and the calf tightness and pain is back.. 😡😔

[Dbon]

Hi guys,

It’s a problem I had the first time round. My calf tightness/pain has come back. The last two runs it’s been that painful I’ve had to stop and stretch out. But yesterday it happened a fair few times during my run yesterday. It just makes me feel so fatigued.

I’ve been trying to drink two litres of water day, but sometimes my job doesn’t allow me to drink what I need to. I do have a couple of glasses of wine of an evening, could that be the culprit?

I do have rubbish knees, but I want to continue to run. By this point of couch to 5k last time I was absolutely flying. I’m so upset about it!

I’m open to all suggestions.

Thank you

Dionne

[Blackberrypie Graduate]

That sounds so frustrating! My calves seem to be my weak point when running - manageable at the moment but I've discovered (thanks to recommendations on this forum) James Dunne who has some great tips on how to prevent calf strain. I can't comment on whether the exercises work yet as I've only been doing them for a day or two but you might like to take a look: youtube.com/c/JamesDunne/se...

[Dbon Graduate in reply to Blackberrypie]

I can’t quite get to that link. Could you post it again. Thank you for your help 🙂

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Wine is a diuretic, so will make you excrete fluids.

This post about hydration may help healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Stretching immediately after every run, nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/h... while muscles are still warm and supple, pulls out contractions, avoiding carrying tensions into the next run and also improves recovery by improving blood flow, as recommended in the guide to the plan.

Many people do not hold their stretches for long enough or put enough effort in. Hold post run stretches for 30 seconds and make sure the pull is strong enough to be on the verge of discomfort.

If the above do not work you could try a foam roller or compression socks.