I was struggling what to blog about this week until I went out for a run and again my right calf went tight on me at least this time I managed to power walk the last two and a bit miles. Nice to see that I am learning and not trying to do to much out of frustration. This is the second time in a row my calf has now gone and I have serious concerns about being ready and able to complete the Great South Run without getting an injury during the race and spoiling the day. If I have to crawl on all fours I will complete the race but I would really like to take part without the worry of injury and letting people down who have A, sponsored me B, running with me. I want to enjoy the the experience of my first ever run as much as I am enjoying doing the training and exercise for my lifestyle change and the Great South Run.
To everyone that reads this blog if you have any advice/help on how I can best treat/look after my calf I would welcome any ideas, I will be searching the Internet for sports massage just for my calf's and also see if there is any information on how to make it stronger and protect it from getting worse. I have been told that running on the pavement is not good for training? the race is 10 miles on the road so I feel that I should be training for those conditions. As I have said before gyms are not my favorite place and running on a tread mill is not fun I have tried them before and did not enjoy or get any benefit from it in the long run. I love running outdoors with the different weather coming off the Solent making each run different.
I wonder if I have the right body shape or if I am still to heavy at 16 stone for my body to cope with what I am trying to do? It has been been nearly 30 years of abusing my body and eight months of doing the right thing, so I am aware it will not be all plain sailing. For the first time since I started training for the Great South Run I am having doubts about completing the race yet I am at my fittest and lightest for years and years.
I have signed up with Powerade ion race ready http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/poweraderaceready which starts on the 03/09/2011 so really I need my calf sorted by then so that I can take advantage of there training for the race, I will not be able to go to all the session's due to work commitments but I am looking forward to going to the ones I can and I fully intend to embrace the information that they pass on to me.
Next week is my six month anniversary with http://www.ThinkingSlimmer.com I am planning on doing a review so I will have to work on it all week otherwise I will never complete it with my slow typing and and bad grammar (very sorry to all should have paid attention in school more). To busy eating I seem to remember!!
My weight was 103.1kg this week 102.1kg a loss of 1kg or 2.2lb 16st 1lb I have been 16st something for what seems like ages I am so looking forward to now being 15st something ad continue my amazing journey from obesity to normality.
This is my journey to lose weight the natural way after all the negative publicity.Thank god there are good people out there to help people like me.
Hi Darin - that's so frustrating about your calf. I can really relate to how you're feeling. Yesterday when I was out running I felt a sharp pain down the back of my leg and I thought I might have pulled something. My first thought wasn't for my leg at all, more about what would it mean for my training for the GSRun and for my weight loss. I did a lot of stretching yesterday afternoon and thankfully it seems to be OK but I'm definitely going to need to keep an eye on it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure with a bit of work you can get your calf back on track again. I'm not an expert on these things by any means but I have quite a few running friends and I've been picking their brains as I've been getting into running so here are some tips
1) Get properly fitted running shoes - I see from your Tweets that you've already done this!
2) Calf strengthening exercises - the best one I know is raising up on to your tip toes and holding or dipping up and down - I'm sure if you search online you'll find some more
3) Calf stretches - loads of these on the various running sites. Stretch as often as you can. People seem divided on whether you should stretch before exercise (after a warm up) but most people seem certain that you should stretch afterwards
4) Foam rolling - I recently bought a foam roller from Amazon and use it as a sports massager - a long cylinder of really dense foam that you can use on whatever muscle is giving you pain. Again, search online for some calf specific exercises if you fancy giving it a go - warning - it's pretty painful to begin with!
5) Sports massage/physio - if it keeps coming back it might be worth investing in a couple of sessions - a physio would be able to give you some specific exercises that would work for you
Hope something in there is helpful. Well done on your continuing weight loss - really an inspiration - looking forward to meeting you at the GSRun and I'm sure we'll do just fine on the day!
Becca
(Sorry that was a really long comment wasn't it?!)
Hi Darin
ReplyDeleteYou definately not too big to run. I started at 18 stones and am still 16 and my longest run is 12 miles to date. I'm doing the GNR in September and Edinburgh Marathon in May 2012.
Luckily no injuries as I've done it all slowly. I run at around 15 min miles (most people can walk this) but to me it's full on running. Becca has given some good advice and you are an inspiration.
My weight loss is very slow and I often feel like giving up but your progress keeps me going, Lynda