November 3, 2009

Well today I got home from work and dentist at 6pm and was determined to go for a run despite how hungry I was. I drank a glass of water and had a hammer gel so my tummy wasn't empty then geared up for a run in the dark and cold (hovering around freezing point). I was wearing my Zensah compression shin sleeves all day, and I left them on for the run.

So - I'd been thinking a lot about the next step in my forefoot running transition and how I was feeling more and more like I didn't want to keep going back to heel strike. I was talking to my twitter friend Colin and he told me I shouldn't heel strike at all anymore, that I should alternate the forefoot with walking instead. I thought it made a lot of sense and I'd already been thinking about doing just that. So... today I took out my orthotics because they feel a bit uncomfortable when I run on my forefoot, and I decided to do 3 min forefoot and 2 min walk today to see how that felt. I was fully prepared to increase the walk break if needed.

I walked 5 mins to warm up, the I started running. I felt great. I did my walk break and then I stopped and stretched a little to be on the safe side. Back to running/walking. I did about 1.5 km and had a sudden pain in my left leg - lower calf, just above the achilles. I stopped and stretched it a bit. Then I sat down and massaged it. Nothing helped so I limped home to reduce any further irritation. Got home, iced off and on for 20 minutes. It's still feeling tight and sore if I move it in certain ways but I don't think it's serious and it will likely go away in a day or so. At first I thought it was a cramp, but now I'm wondering if it's a mild calf pull. No swelling, no bruising.

So what did I do wrong?

1. Taking out the orthotics?

2. Cutting back from 3 min heel strike to a 2 min walk?

3. Poor form? (I was really focussed the whole time and I tried to stay loose.)

4. Didn't stretch enough? (I did stretch a little before and a little during)

5. Not enough salt/electrolytes or water? (I hadn't had dinner, I only had the gel and a glass of water before I left).

6. Wearing my shin sleeves all day?

7. All of the above?

8. None of the above.


And...

What should I do next? Try, try again on Thursday, assuming my calf is back to normal asap?