It’s the last Friday of the month (noooooo! Can’t we have a “July extension?”) so I’m meeting Marcia at her RUNFESSIONAL. But have I been running enough to collect any runfessions? Let’s find out…
This week got off to a rocky start, when I ran on Monday AND MY CALF PAIN RETURNED. I have to runfess that I had a mini- temper tantrum and rage-fired my physical therapist (to be clear… the rage was all in my mind- I did not rage AT the PT! But I did cancel my future appointments.) Then I calmed down, re-framed the situation, and tried to be grateful for what I have.
Two days later, I had a PAIN-FREE RUN, and I’ll runfess that it’s much easier to have things go your way, rather than putting forth all the mental energy to “think positive” and “look on the bright side.” Screw all that! Just give me a good run and let me get on with my life.
I would also runfess that I did so many things at once that I can’t pinpoint what it was that made my calf feel better. It could have been the dry needling kicking in after a delay, or it could have been the Bob and Brad video I watched on strain/counter strain technique, or it could be the PNF stretching, or the KT tape, or it could have been this…
I’ll runfess that when I see videos of myself running, I notice all sorts of bad habits. The Chi Running cues of relaxing my lower legs, shortening my stride, and lifting my heels up behind me really seemed to help my calf. And as if that’s not enough… I finally got my FloatRun Harness in the mail!
I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but I’ll try it out on my run tomorrow. If nothing else, it will keep my arms from flailing all over the place. I’m excited!
Between the Chi running and my new harness, soon I’ll be looking like an Olympic runner. OH YEAH… the Olympics start tonight!!! I runfess that my sleep schedule will suffer greatly for the next two weeks, but it will be worth it.
Have you read Chi Running? Do you ever analyze your running form?
ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE OLYMPICS?
34 Responses
I’m glad something seems to be working for your calf and hope it keeps improving!
Wait, what does that harness do? With the name I thought it was something for pool running.
Nope, the harness is for land running! I’ll write more about it on Sunday- it’s supposed to keep your arms in the proper position.
I read Chi Running years ago and came across the book recently while decluttering. Sounds like “all the things” or who knows which of the things worked for you. Yay! I am SO excited for the Olympics and really bummed I have to work tonight so I’ll miss the opening ceremonies on the Seine. Boo!
Yes, I would be bummed to miss the opening ceremonies, BUT I’m sure you could watch a replay (I’m not watching it live either.) There are other things I would be more bummed to miss, like gymnastics and track and field. I think it’s going to be hard to watch everything with the time difference.
I’m glad you were able to run. You know you have to keep doing all the things now because you don’t know which one(s) made the difference. What does the nearness do?
I’m so excited for the Olympics but I just checked the schedule and the Opening Ceremony is at 3:30am our time so I will be catching the replay of that. There is a girl from our running group doing the 1500m in the paralympics which is pretty exciting. I love the swimming and running.
I’m watching a replay of the opening ceremony right now. I don’t think I’ll catch many live events this time!
And, yes- I’m afraid to stop doing ANY of the things I did. Like I don’t think the KT tape really does anything but I’m afraid to stop using it now, ha ha.
Oh gosh, this injury sounds like it has been super frustrating. I am so hopeful that everything you’ve been throwing at it sticks! And Jenny, as a non runner, I find ALL of your solutions so fascinating! I don’t think I ever realized there is a “proper form” for running?!?! When you described the Chi Running cues, I was like, HOW DOES A PERSON DO THOSE THINGS?! Isn’t running just like walking, like, you do it the way you do it? (APPARENTLY NOT!)
I know, you would think running would just be intuitive. And it is, FOR KIDS. Adults pick up all sorts of bad habits, apparently. When I look at videos of myself running I can see all these weird things I’m doing. Having said that- I don’t think most people should worry too much about their running form. Just going out and running works just fine, and I wouldn’t be messing with mine if I weren’t having issues.
It can be so frustrating when you throw “everything but the kitchen sink” at a problem and then it magically resolves. WHAT WAS IT SO I KNOW FOR NEXT TIME??!!
But, I’m thrilled it’s feeling better so keep up the good work. I know how much it means to you to be able to just go for a run without overthinking it or worrying about a body part hurting so this is great. You’ve slogged through a long stretch with this calf issue.
I’m not as excited as I usually am about the Olympics and that frustrates me in a weird way. Usually I am just over the moon, but I’m feeling a little “meh” this time. But I suspect once they get started I’ll get lured in! I do think that Americans are wayyyy more on top of their athletes than Canadians are, so you have more investment since you “know” your athletes better? Also, Canada doesn’t exactly dominate at the summer Olympics and lets be honest – it’s always more fun to watch when you think your country is going to win! I love diving, track and field, swimming, and gymnastics, so I’ll watch as much of those as I’m able to.
That is true- Americans get very into their athletes, and we tend to do really well in the summer Olympics. But, Paris! I’m watching the opening ceremonies right now on the Seine, how cool is that.
Yes, now I have to do about five different things before I run, including taping up my leg and doing Chi running drills. Hopefully as this calms down I’ll be able to start eliminating things, and eventually, like all injuries, I’ll have forgotten all about this one.
I am very excited to watch the Olympics! Like Elisabeth, my favorites are diving, track and field, swimming, and gymnastics. I am hoping that the US coverage is a little broader than it has been–I do want to see how the Americans do, but a little more coverage of other athletes, and a little less “she grew up in a small town with a dream” wouldn’t be amiss, I think.
Yes, I seem to remember watching the Olympics as a kid and there was much more emphasis on all the athletes, not just the Americans. I don’t know if there’s much of a chance for broader coverage this time- we’ll see!
It is so frustrating to not know what is helping vs what is hurting your calf. Fingers crossed you continue to feel improvement. I can’t stand to watch videos of myself running! Lol
Yes, it’s amazing that what you’re doing and what you THINK you’re doing are so, so different. Since I don’t know what’s helping I’ll just continue to do everything, ha.
Yay for things going right for a change! The big life lesson that I’ve had from the past few years is that a positive attitude can only go so far.
I’ll be interested to learn more deets on the running harness.
Also yay for the upcoming short nights c/o the Olympics. I know you’re working on sleep, but that’s for when you don’t have Olympics to watch.
I’ve actually been sleeping more the last couple weeks, not exactly in preparation for this (just by chance.). So, a few late nights won’t hurt me!
I saw a pelvic floor PT after I had Taco and she assessed my stride towards the end of my series of appointments. In my old shoes, I would get holes in the inner part of the shoe which clearly means I was touching my shoes together during my stride (it’s hard to explain what I was doing). So I knew I needed to work on my stride. But now that issue has resolved itself since changing to Hokas! I have super high arches and am a supernator so my stride can kind of collapse in to some extent and I have to focus on keeping my legs in their own lanes, if that makes sense at all? But I haven’t had any issues with pain since returning to running after having Taco – but I am not running high mileage anymore.
I am excited for the Olympics but I am so disciplined about my sleep schedule and reading before bed so I will miss a lot of the action which is ok. Paul’s care program is having an opening ceremonies watch party and I sent him there with red shorts and a blue shirt (although more of a dusty blue but I figured it was close enough) because they encouraged kids to wear red, white and blue! Families are technically invited but I have such a full day that I don’t envision myself going over there for it. 🙁
Lisa, I can actually envision your running stride- I also have super high arches and supinate. I probably should have had pelvic floor PT after Angie was born- but instead I worked on the issue on my own. Sometimes I wonder if some of my issues still stem from my pelvic floor.
I’m watching the opening ceremonies right now- The Seine! How cool.
I am very interested to see what this float harness does.
I know I have a noticeable hitch in my gait. It stinks, but I don’t know that I will ever permanently be rid of it. Sigh.
I’m not super into the Olympics. I just want to watch Simone Biles work her magic.
I’ll write more about the float harness soon! And about your gait- if you’re not having any issues, I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s really hard to change your running form, and if you feel good it’s probably not worth it.
I’ve seen myself on the jumbotron at Drake Stadium (for the numerous half marathons, and also the one time I did the DSM 26.2 and we had a lap around the track near the mid-point). UGH! My form looks so scary it’s comical. The thing is, I feel completely strong, LOL, but I still look like I’m on the last mile of a 100-mile ultra. I feel your pain (pun intended) on the frustration of not knowing exactly what caused your aches and pains.
Hahahaha, the last thing I would want is to watch myself on a JUMBOTRON. But- I guess we all look pretty scary at the end of a race.
YAY for a pain free run! I have read about those harnesses; I can’t wait to see how it works for you.
We are super excited about the Olympics!! We have Lil Momma’s show this weekend, but plan on catching the opening ceremonies and beginning events in highlight form while we are dashing about.
I think it’s going to be tricky, watching the events with the time difference. i’m hoping to see some live coverage this weekend and then I’ll just be watching replays during the week.
I’m glad you’re starting to see some progress with your calf, and hopefully all the new things you’re trying will help!
I am SO excited for the Olympics! I won’t get to watch the Opening Ceremonies until Monday probably since my race is tomorrow so I need to go to bed early tonight, but it gives me something else to look forward to.
Ashley, GOOD LUCK!!!! Maybe you’re already in bed by now- in that case you might read this when your race is done. I want to hear all about it!
I asked my husband to get Peacock just so we could watch Olympics coverage. My reading might go down precipitously in the next few weeks, although the NBC coverage tends to be on boring things to watch (like track and swimming, which I know people love to watch, but I think are mostly repetitive and uninteresting to watch – this is a ME problem), so who knows? I just know I can’t wait for gymnastics (especially trampoline!) and synchronized swimming, which are sports that make no sense to watch, but are super fun for me to watch.
In my stretch class today, the instructor was talking about race walking at the Olympics and it made me think of you trying to get your PR!
Engie, I have to laugh a little. You don’t want to watch track or swimming, but you’re excited about trampoline. The good thing about Peacock is, I think you’ll have more choices. If you were just watching the network NBC coverage, you would be stuck with the “boring” things like track. I agree that I’m excited for gymnastics though.
I haven’t heard of chi running, please share what you learn from it.
I had once a running coach see me running and he says I tend to move my legs inward, not necessarily a bad thing because each runner physiology is different so we could have different forms and they are fine.
hope you get to back running soon with the new gear.
Thank you Coco! I’ll definitely share what I learn from Chi running, and also how the harness works out for me. I feel like I’m officially back to running, with two pain-free runs in a row now!
I’m SUPER excited for the Olympics! I caught most of the Opening Ceremony last night but we were out at our Mexican place so it was on the TV but no sound on. I recorded it though so I want to watch it again today or at least some of it to hear the music and commentary. My only pet peeve is with the time zone difference! This morning I woke up, checked my phone, opened Facebook, as I do…., and immediately saw on the NBC Olympics FB page “so and so wins silver in diving!” Then I also saw the Prelims swim results (which were on early before I woke up). I guess if I want to watch in Primetime (which during the week, makes more sense…) I’ll have to delete Facebook for a while and be mindful to stay off the internet! It’s not as much fun to watch when you already know the outcome!
I went to a Chi running clinic years ago.. I think it was a thing. Haven’t heard about it since.
Hope things improve. I did wear rock tape on my calf when I strained it… who knows what helps and what doesn’t.
I hate calf pain so much! There’s only so much KT tape can do. I work as a carpet cleaner and strained my calf after a half marathon a few months ago. It was agony going to work! I’m glad you found some things that helped, and I really want to look more into the Chi running cues.
OK, fingers crossed, and also I’ll shut up now. I hope the calf continues to do its thing. 🙂