Training April 19th - 27th April

Having got home from Lanzarote with only one good leg, I made a pact with myself to not even attempt running until my calf injury had healed and I was 100% pain free.
My first act of the week was to make an emergency massage appointment! My masseuse couldn't believe how tight my calf was, and spent 50 minutes of the hours appointment focusing on that area, trying to ease the muscle back to something close to its normal state. The muscle was so tight that tensing it had no effect; the calf's definition under my skin was no longer visible! I was quite worried I'd torn the calf, as the pain had been so bad whenever I put any real pressure on it, but my fears were unfounded. I was reassured that it was just a really bad pull with tightening of the muscle, and that if I was sensible I could rehab the injury in 6 - 10 days.
For the rest of the week I began implementing the lessons I'd learned in Linarite into my regime. Starting with my least favourite, getting out of bed earlier! For me this was certainly the hardest to enforce on myself and I soon realised that without the incentive of a thirty minute workout with an extremely fit (aerobically!) blonde Danish fitness instructor, the task was so much harder to achieve! But I persevered and eventually began to ease myself into the routine of getting out of bed at a more sensible hour.
Implementing the rest was a breeze by comparison. Stretch sessions and circuit training were also easier to include due to the lack of running in my schedule at the moment. The real test for these sessions comes once I'm back running twice a day. I'm hoping that the benefits I’m already experiencing from them will act as an extra incentive for keeping them in my schedule once I'm fully fit.
The rest of the week was again spent swimming and cycling. One slight change was my purchase of a float. I had increasingly become aware that I was relying on my arms to do the majority of the work as I swam. So I decided that in order to prevent this I'd completely take my arms out of the equation. I dread to think what people think as they see me getting into the pool. I’d hoped the addition of a bright blue float to my ‘speedo and goggle’ ensemble would make me at least look like a pro, but I fear I appear as more of a ‘wannabe’ trying too hard! But regardless of my appearance I've really noticed the difference. Focusing all my energies into my legs makes a lot more sense for a runner, and the resistance of the water makes the session beneficial to both my cardio vascular fitness and my muscular strength. A double gain from one work out can't be bad.
As the week progressed so the rehabilitation of my dodgy calf improved. By Wednesday I could walk up stairs and feel no pain. By Thursday evening I could stand on tiptoes and again feel no pain. So I decided that I would pencil in my first run for Saturday afternoon. I managed to keep the sensible head I've developed with this injury well and truly in place, and five minutes after I started, I stopped. Injury free and feeling good. Step one achieved! On Sunday ten minuets after I started, I stopped, still injury free. I was also pleased at how strong and relaxed I felt. I was itching for more but I know I need to take baby footsteps to ensure long term my running remains trouble free. So tomorrow I look forward to 15 minutes, no more, no less.