I’m back! Sort of…

Yes, I know, it’s been a long time.  And the reason for staying away so long?

I was dealing with an injury caused by these (above).  Not the best running shoes, I know, but I was walking across the Brecon Beacons and thought they would be fine, especially as it was wet underfoot.  Apparently not.

The strain they put on my  calves and Achilles tendons was not apparent until a week or so later when I tried to run.  Searing, burning pain, which left me hobbling.

I ran again, a few days later, with the same result.  I was sure that I had Achilles Tendonitis and was very worried about exacerbating the problem, so lay off running for a couple of weeks, but when I started again, the burning returned.

In the end I bought a home Ultrasound device and also went to see my osteopath/physiotherapist.  He suggested I keep running, but drop back to a distance I was comfortable with and stick to the flat.

But running even one mile on the flat resulted in pressure and pain in the front of my shins.  I started to think that my ankles and legs were in meltdown.

Back to the therapist and more deep massage of my calves.

Now, the good news is that it isn’t tendonitis, but my lower calves had become so stiff that they were pulling on the tendons and creating the burning.  So massage seems to be the key – the normal calf stretches don’t move the muscles laterally and put more pressure on the tendons.

Back up to 10 miles now, but getting through a hell of a lot of Baby Oil.