Marathon Training Weeks 9 & 10

One week of rest (Week 9) was followed by a couple of attempts at returning to running in Week 10. The Achilles pain had gone by the end of Week 9, so I decided to go for a run on Tuesday. I started out on my normal 5 mile loop and things felt fine until just past the 3 mile mark when out of nowhere I felt a sharp pain in my left calf at the intersection of my calf muscle and Achilles tendon. The pain was enough that I couldn't run and had to walk the 2 miles back home. Walking didn't hurt at all.

I applied ice, gently stretched my calf and strapped on my compression bandage - it was time to wait and see how bad this apparent calf strain was and what damage had been done. If there was any swelling it was so minimal that I couldn't feel or see it, so that was a good sign that maybe it wasn't a severe strain.

I continued with the stretching and compression for the rest of the week and added in some foam roller sessions. I also made an effort to increase my Potassium intake as it is known to help muscle recovery - I'll be eating two bananas a day now and having a glass of orange juice!

By Sunday I felt comfortable enough to go for a short, slow run to see if I would be able to help the muscle heal by doing some active recovery. I managed to complete 3 miles and at worst the calf muscle felt tight and tender. When I got home I stretched, foam rolled and then applied ice and compression. I am just waiting to see how the muscle will feel tomorrow before I decide whether the short run helped or hindered my recovery.