This week I’ve been super sensible. My calf was causing me a little bit of annoyance last week so I’ve taken just over a week off.
It’s frustrating to me because it felt absolutely fine during the marathon, during and after. And then when I started running again when I got home it felt fine. Even my eight miler was great. My hamstring was *slightly* niggly, but my calf felt normal. But the week after my two shorter runs didn’t feel good. My hamstring was also annoying me and so was my calf (both same leg). I decided the safest thing was just to stop running to let it rest.
I have Marathon Talk Run Camp approaching which I’m super excited about and want to get involved in (which is next weekend). I also have the Reading Half Marathon mid-March which I’d like to be fit for. I say “fit” as a relative term here. I won’t be PB-chasing as I’m not in any sort of shape for that. But I really like the race and want to be able to give it a little bit of welly.
So taking the time now rather than later is the wisest decision. The hamstring thing is interesting to me. I’ve had this issue since just before the Boston Marathon. In general it’s fine. It crops up occasionally in long runs at the end and is especially noticeable when I sit down for long periods of time (it’s basically just below my bum at the top of the hamstring, and niggled there and my foot recently). But mostly it’s not there when I run or in daily life. I found that avoiding direct hamstring exercises like deadlifts really helped. It’s a shame as I really enjoyed doing deadlifts, especially heavy deadlifts. But I’d rather run without issue so it was a sacrifice I gladly made.
Anyway, being the idiot that I am, since Christmas I’ve been adding in more hamstring exercises. Nothing heavy but some lighter, higher rep hamstring focused work. And this niggled it each time I did it. And yet I carried on (because I’m essentially an idiot). It aggravated my sciatic nerve.
Anyway, I wonder if the calf issue was made worse because of my hamstring being all angry – whether it’s annoying the calf directly or my calf overcompensating because my hamstring is feeling rough. I saw my physio (fully recommend if you’re in the Portsmouth/South Coast area) last night and he agreed that it’s probably all connected (as everything in the body generally is…). He commented that my hamstring injury area felt like “spaghetti” with the scar tissue. Bleurgh.
He worked on my back, “stretching” my spin (which was bizarre let me tell you), manipulated a few things, massaged and did acupuncture so I’m hoping that will help. Her didn’t seem too concerned though. I’m planning on doing Upton House parkrun tomorrow (yessss my “U”!) with friends so fingers crossed eh.
So needless to say I’ll be avoiding those pesky hamstring exercises that cause me issue. I won’t be bossing out any fast running either…but I hope to be getting back into more consistent running. But I won’t hold my breath 😉 I’m just going to jinx it all by being to hopeful.
Any advice on hamstring/calf/sciatic issues always welcome 🙂
Have you ever had any sciatic or back issues before?
Are there any exercises you avoid?
What are your weekend plans?
Wow you are storming through the parkrun alphabet!
Hopefully with the extra rest you will be good to go again- seeing a physio is a good idea too (yours sounds so good too).
I’ve had problems with sciatica before (and also the sacrioliac joint)- I have found that yoga really helps here, as gentle movement and stretching helps more than actual resting. Before if I felt pain, I would have stopped in case I made things worse, but I have learned through going to yoga that if I move gently then it can alleviate the pain.
I’m off to Brighton in a bit for walks by the sea, parkrun and tasty food 🙂
Maria @ Maria runs recently posted…My favourite new lunch, slopestyle and half pipe
Yeah there are definitely some good yoga moves that help relax my nerve and make me feel better.
AnnaTheApple recently posted…Things I’m loving lately – February/March
I occasionally get a wee niggle in my upper calf/lower hamstring and Steve does some functional movement work with me to sort it out. That shifts it in a day or two. Rest helps settle the symptoms, but if you don’t address the root cause then it will come back – a bit like taking a painkiller for a headache, but the headache is caused by needing new glasses so it will keep happening until you get new glasses.
I hope you resolve the issue soon.
Allison recently posted…Week In Review – Too Much To Do!
It’s so handy you have Steve there to help 🙂
AnnaTheApple recently posted…Things I’m loving lately – February/March
I’ve found that oftentimes an injury won’t start hurting during a run, but it will be a few runs later. So you could have done something to it during the marathon but just not felt it until after. Anyway, you are doing all the right things and this will get better!
Elizabeth C. recently posted…Kiss My Asphalt 5K
Yeah you could be right. Annoying!
AnnaTheApple recently posted…Things I’m loving lately – February/March