How about an injury report?
It looks like there were quite a few races run this weekend, and good results were had by all. Congrats to Duncan, Dallen, and Mike, who tuned up with a sublime 10 miler, a tough half-marathon, and a hilly, near-PR 10k, respectively. I am supremely jealous of you all.
My calf problem is progressing along a ballistic trajectory. And that's no hyperbole! Get it?! Ha! Hyperbole, hyperbola? Nothing? Alright. Anyway, a ballistic trajectory in the sense that it got worse the day after it started, no better the second day, and no better on the third day. Today is day four, and I suspect it is not much better, although I think I am ready to begin the light massage and alternating heat and ice treatments that are recommended after 48 hours of rest. Forty-eight hours? But, it's been four days. Isn't that 96 hours? Well, yes, it is. The first two days I was in denial, and trying to do as much as possible without pain. Turns out that is a good way to prevent healing with a muscle strain. I only ran half a mile each day, but I stopped only after getting a single sharp pain. Feel that tingle? That means it's ripping.
So active rest doesn't work for strains. Sitting on your ass does. Sitting on my ass is very difficult for me. I picked up a bike trainer at a local sporting goods store and have been doing 25-30 minutes a day on that just to do something. It doesn't seem to aggravate my calf because I am a terrible cyclist, and I can elevate my heart rate to about 120 spinning away at 90 rpm on my massive 35x17. It's not much, but I would go nuts if I didn't do something.
Speaking of nuts, I can only make it about 30 minutes before said nuts get uncomfortable. No, I'm not sitting on them. I'm just not used to the pressure, and it's tough on the quads so far as well. I'm not getting used to it if I have any say in the matter.
I had a streak going, which I can talk about now that it is over. I don't get too worked up about streaks because keeping them going can force you to make bad choices, especially if you are on the verge of injury. Anyway, my streak went from about November ninth or tenth of last year to Saturday, May sixth. It was a good long time. I was secretly hoping for a full year. Didn't happen, but I can feel pretty good about taking a few days off now having that streak and a couple of thousand miles behind me. Not that I want to, but since I have to, it makes it easier. Relatively easier. I am still going crazy reading all of those race reports.
My calf problem is progressing along a ballistic trajectory. And that's no hyperbole! Get it?! Ha! Hyperbole, hyperbola? Nothing? Alright. Anyway, a ballistic trajectory in the sense that it got worse the day after it started, no better the second day, and no better on the third day. Today is day four, and I suspect it is not much better, although I think I am ready to begin the light massage and alternating heat and ice treatments that are recommended after 48 hours of rest. Forty-eight hours? But, it's been four days. Isn't that 96 hours? Well, yes, it is. The first two days I was in denial, and trying to do as much as possible without pain. Turns out that is a good way to prevent healing with a muscle strain. I only ran half a mile each day, but I stopped only after getting a single sharp pain. Feel that tingle? That means it's ripping.
So active rest doesn't work for strains. Sitting on your ass does. Sitting on my ass is very difficult for me. I picked up a bike trainer at a local sporting goods store and have been doing 25-30 minutes a day on that just to do something. It doesn't seem to aggravate my calf because I am a terrible cyclist, and I can elevate my heart rate to about 120 spinning away at 90 rpm on my massive 35x17. It's not much, but I would go nuts if I didn't do something.
Speaking of nuts, I can only make it about 30 minutes before said nuts get uncomfortable. No, I'm not sitting on them. I'm just not used to the pressure, and it's tough on the quads so far as well. I'm not getting used to it if I have any say in the matter.
I had a streak going, which I can talk about now that it is over. I don't get too worked up about streaks because keeping them going can force you to make bad choices, especially if you are on the verge of injury. Anyway, my streak went from about November ninth or tenth of last year to Saturday, May sixth. It was a good long time. I was secretly hoping for a full year. Didn't happen, but I can feel pretty good about taking a few days off now having that streak and a couple of thousand miles behind me. Not that I want to, but since I have to, it makes it easier. Relatively easier. I am still going crazy reading all of those race reports.
posted at 5:05 PM [+]
4 Comments:
Looks like I beat Mike to the bulletin board again. Sorry to hear about the injury trouble. Hopefully, you can bring the inflammation down in the next couple of days, and start easy jogging again.
For my last marathon, I had about 6 weeks notice to prepare. I was running about 40-50 just for fun, and a buddy dared me to jump in. I knew I couldn't boost my mileage quickly over such a short period, so I supplemented with some very intense cycling, to extend the time I could exercise at a high heart rate. I was happy with my results. Recently, though I'm much fatter, I've been trying some intense 30-40 min cycling (160-170 bpm) with good results.
I've always hated pool running, but if you can stand it, and mix it up with some cycling, you should be able to maintain excellent cardiovascular fitness while on the mend.
Fatboy beat everyone by hours! It's like nobody else is even trying! Hey. Wait a minute.
Today has been a much better day. No pain at all from a few 'tests' I have devised, such as walking down stairs. I will stay off it again today and continue the light stretching, massage, and heat after as long a trainer session as I can stand. Then hopefully tomorrow morning I will try to warm up well and do a mile run and some time on the trainer. Fingers crossed.
I have done some time in the pool, and I didn't mind it, but it's tough to do with my schedule. I need to be home in the early mornings with the kids while mom is at work. I basically can't leave the house most weekday mornings, so the trainer or the treadmill is all I got. And my remote control.
Ugh. While I'm glad you're feeling better today, I don't envy your situation one bit. Bonafide bike shorts will help, as the padding gets you off the "soft-tissue" a bit. Making sure your seat is level or pointing down a little helps, though pointing it down too much will fry your wrists. Sliding your seat back a little and riding no-handed might help a little too, since sometimes having to reach too far for the handlebars makes the pelvis rotate a little too-far forward. Think about trying to be able to "see" your navel when riding, which engages the abs and can rotate your pelvis back under you a little, so you're sitting a little more on your "sit-bones" and less on your...I'm going to stop here.
35/17, what the hell kind of bike is that? 53/19 is the groove, baby.
Yet another reason I quit bike racing.
53x19 makes me sleepy just thinking about it. I have a mountain bike (Trek 950 old skool), so the gearing is unconventional.
Thanks for the tips on positioning. I will give them a try.
Post a Comment
<< Home