Life's little adventures, accompanied by a running watch

Monday, July 25, 2011

Averting Muscle Meltdown

Whhhhooooaaaaaa….time to stretch!  I’ve had some really good runs lately, but this weekend, I felt some steady calf/Achilles discomfort.  That’s a reminder for me to SIMMER DOWN!  Last week, my 18 mile run with Scott saw an increase in mileage, hills, and speed – all.at.once.  Oops.  Although I felt great, I realize I need to address stretching (or lack thereof) before my muscles and tendons rebel.

This weekend, my plan to decrease my long run to 14 miles and follow that with a 6 miler on Sunday was well timed.  Both runs felt decent enough, but I was very aware of that pulling sensation in my calves.  Lo and behold, I discovered a small bruise on each calf, approximately 6 inches from the bottom of my foot.  I’m no exercise physiologist (though I did change my major 27 times and land in a Sports Medicine program for a semester – that makes me a professional, right?), but me thinks this is not a good sign.

So, before things get crazy and I find myself injured, I’m taking this week to reign it in a bit and stretch.  Because seriously, no one wants to hear me wine.  Oops, I meant whine.

4 comments:

  1. YES, REIGN IT IN, SISTER!! That's just the voice of the injured calling out to you ( :

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  2. I totally thought of you Lisa! Reigning in has begun.....

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  3. I don't know if I do enough stretching, but I try to stretch a little after each run. Glad you're taking it easy just to be safe!

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  4. Yep, staying safe is much easier to digest than becoming injured!

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