Weekly Rundown- I’M BACK!
Well, it was quite a week! My ongoing calf issue refused to let go; I basically threw everything but the kitchen sink at it, and apparently something stuck. Let’s see how it all played out. But first- thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown! Monday Sigh. This was a rough one. I walked for a mile and then started running… and after a few minutes my calf pain returned. I completed 2 miles of running, but it didn’t feel good, which made me depressed for the rest of the day. Will this EVER go away??? Later in the day I rallied and did the four hip stability exercises from Brad Beer’s book. Tuesday I started with a hard leg day, including squats and Bulgarian split squats. Later in the day I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout. I also noticed that, unlike previous experiences, the calf pain I felt in my run yesterday did not continue into the next day. I was able to do heel raises, run in place, and also stretch the muscle with no pain. Hmmm… maybe there IS hope, after all??? Wednesday All right, this is it. No more messing around! I taped up my calf and went to the gym for a treadmill run. I wanted to put a lot of focus on my running form, and also be able to stop and do something different if my calf hurt. I walked for half a mile, then cautiously, hopefully started to run very slowly, making sure to pick my heels up behind me and keep my lower legs relaxed. When that didn’t hurt, I gradually increased the speed to a normal running pace, and then ran 3 miles WITHOUT PAIN. VICTORY!!! I followed this triumphant run with bench press and some abs. Later in the day I did my hip stability exercises again. Thursday I started the day with an upper body workout at home, focusing on back and biceps. Later I did one of the hip exercises. There are four of them- two are boring and tedious, one is challenging but rewarding, and the last one I hate with my entire heart and soul. This one, of course, is for the piriformis, which is the main thing my PT wanted me to work on. Of course. A couple people asked about this exercise, and I’m just going to show the photo from the book, although I’m sure Brad Beer would prefer that you buy it (sorry, Brad!) It’s hard to tell from the photos, but what you’re doing in this move is externally rotating your hip, which is the action of the piriformis. It is so, so hard. You’re supposed to do 100 reps- I get to 30 and want to start crying. I can get up to 50, with some rest breaks. Obviously I need this one so I keep doing it- but I dread it every single time. Friday Let’s try running again! This time, I have my RunFloat harness, which finally arrived in the mail. The idea is to keep your arms moving minimally, and only back and forth. If your arms are flailing around (like mine) your hips are probably as well, and that slows you down and leads to injuries. The jury is still out on the harness, but I did run for 3 miles with no pain. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think this calf issue is finally, finally behind me. Saturday OFF- other than hip stability exercises, including the piriformis torture. Sunday On tap- It’s time to take my run harness and taped up calf outside for a run! I’m excited to get back out there. And then later in the day of course there’s the Olympics! Swimming! Gymnastics! Diving! So much to be happy about- this week is ending on a high note. How was your week? Are you watching the Olympics? Top photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash