In which you get to see what an IPOS I really am.
After getting fed up of what I had assumed was a pulled calf muscle seeming to take forever to heal I finally went to the physio on Tuesday of last week. Turns out it was not, as I thought, the gastrocnemius muscle (the big muscle that sits on top) that was damaged, but the soleus muscle which runs underneath and down the sides of the ankle. I say this like I had any idea that there was more than one muscle in my calf, let alone knew what their names were. I just assumed it was that big ass calf muscle largely because I was oblivious to there being other options. Well, now I do, thanks to my excellent physio.
What did I really learn from this? Well, one thing was that this was the reason my foam rolling and stretching had had little effect. Not one to regularly do either of these things voluntarily (possibly a contributing factor?!) unless I have watched a video/read a blog post that succeeds in guilting me into it, I have been doing so fairly religiously since starting training again. There's nothing like being trapped indoors almost 24/7 to make things like foam rolling seem less dull. However, as my physio pointed out, it's very difficult to massage the soleus as it sits under another muscle. Having said that, she did manage to do so, during which time I mostly stopped myself from crying by trying to decide how embarrassing it would be to start crying. Similarly, it's quite difficult to stretch it out. Luckily she had a few exercises for me to do as "homework" to help, one of which is demonstrated here:
Of course, the fear of going to see a physio is always the dreaded, "Please miss, can I still run? Pretty please?" conversation. I was hopeful that she would say yes, as last time I saw her with knee issues she said it was fine as long as I didn't do anything stupid, although I'm not sure that was her exact phrasing. This time it was a definite no. I think my bottom lip may have started wobbling at that point as she quickly followed it up with, "We'll reassess when you come back on Saturday."
Well dear reader, I went back on Saturday and was I allowed to run? Why, yes I was. For 2km on a treadmill. And then told not to do any more until at least the next time. Which wasn't exactly what I'd been hoping for, but looking for the positives it does feel a lot better. There's no pain in my calf any more, though my ankles are still a little tight. And having all this homework to do has helped stop me looking at Strava everyday and watching my fitness level (or at least what Strava says is my fitness level) go down. And down. And down.
Luckily the Olympics are now on, so I shall be distracting myself by learning about all the sports I wish I'd tried as a kid and am now far too much of a wimp to ever have a proper go at. The women's skateboarding final today was great to watch. I'm also reading a fantastic book right now called, 'One More Croissant for the Road', which follows a food writer cycling around France eating delicious food. It's taking me a while to get through. There's a lot of stopping for day dreams. Luckily, time is something I have plenty of right now.
That's all for now folks. May all your runs be pain free and joyous.
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