OK, I’ll level with you…I didn’t expect to be injured so soon into a new training programme. Especially one that demands such a light load in the first week.

I was out this morning, completing the 5th, 90 second run interval of my 8x90sec run/walk session and there it was – an all too familiar sharp pain in my right calf. Familiar as this isn’t the first time it’s occurred. Around 6 months ago, one mile into an evening run, the same thing happened. That makes me concerned for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I rarely get muscle injuries and secondly, this is a recurrence, not a one off.

I’ve got to admit, I felt quite sorry for myself. I stretched well beforehand, walked for 5 minutes before I started running, ensuring I was fully warmed up and I can’t imagine 90 second run intervals were too much for my body. Last time I injured this calf, I had to rest it for around 2 weeks before the pain went away and then undertook a stretching programme for another 2 weeks commencing running again. On this occasion, the pain doesn’t feel as bad so I’m hoping recovery time will be quicker.

I’m determined to prevent this from knocking me off track as the injury allows, being disciplined with stretching and foam rolling to help it along. I also intend to carry on with every other aspect of my training programme including strength training and yoga, as well as cycling if the injury permits. I’m seeing it as a calf marathon training programme.

At the same time, I need to identify and mitigate against the cause so that it doesn’t happen again. Having done some research I have already ruled out some common causes of calf problems:

1. Not letting the previous injury recover – it was 6 months since the last injury and I’ve run comfortable on it a number of times since;
2. Not warming up sufficiently – I completed a 10 minute dynamic stretch routine and walked for 5 minutes prior to running;
3. Not wearing the right footwear – my shoes were fitted in a running shop and they are only 8 months old with less than 200 miles in them.

I did identify some potential causes from my research which I’ll be attempting to address during and after my recovery:

1. Tight achilles tendons can often be the cause of calf injuries – I’m going to foam roll the area regularly and focus more on dynamically stretching the area before future runs;
2. The muscle could tear as a result of it being weak – I’ll research strength training exercises for calves and start them once the muscle is recovered;
3. Poor biomechanics can be a cause of muscle injuries – I’ll be studying running form prior to my return to the road whilst in the meantime focus on strengthening my core to ensure my biomechanics are as efficient as possible.

So, there we are. Whilst I intended for this blog to be a documentation of my running journey, it seems that for now, it’s going to be about my recovery. I’ll share as much as I can in the hope I help others with the same issue, but if you’re out there and have experience of this, I’d love it if you could share some ideas that could help me.